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Family Irate As Trial Date For Man Accused Of Fatally Stabbing Six-Year-Old Boy Is Once Again Pushed Back

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Justice was delayed once again for the families of two children stabbed in an elevator in Brooklyn, one of them fatally.

It happened in June of 2014 and the accused killer's trial date has been pushed back until January.

"It's very hard, very depressing," one of the victims' mother, Aricka McClinton, said Monday.

McClinton cannot believe she's still waiting for her little boy's accused killer to stand trial three and a half years after his brutal murder.

"If we do not have our day in court, Prince is not getting justice," she said. "He's not resting in peace."

McClinton thought that day would finally come in November, but it's been pushed back -- again -- until Jan. 10.

"Now we're going into 2018," McClinton said. "It's not right."

The case of 6-year-old Prince Joshua Avitto, known as PJ, and his little friend, Mikayla Capers, shook the city.

Daniel St. Hubert -- a stranger to both of the children -- is accused of stabbing both children multiple times with a kitchen knife in an elevator in East New York, Brooklyn.

PJ succumbed to his injuries. Eleven-year-old Mikayla was only 7 at the time.

"From day one, she was told that the bad man, as she refers to him, would be put away and he would go to jail," Mikayla's great grandmother, Regenia Trevathan, told CBS2's Andrea Grymes. "Well, he's still in jail, and that he would never be able to hurt another child -- we can't assure her that because he hasn't had a trial."

St. Hubert was arrested a few days after the crime. As CBS2 has repeatedly reported, the court case has had multiple delays. One of the biggest reasons is St. Hubert's mental state.

The defendant has also changed attorneys.

"This case has been kicking around for years, primarily because there were points in time the defendant was found unfit to stand trial," current defense attorney Howard Greenberg said.

Greenberg says right now, his client is fit to stand trial, but the latest delay is due to Greenberg's own scheduling conflict with his other cases.

He says he believes St. Hubert was framed.

"He's a patsy," Greenberg said. "He's being made to take the fall because they can't find the real killer."

As for Mikayla, she may be called to testify when the trial does begin.

"Mikayla has to have justice," McClinton said. "The child has to go on with her life. To me, it's like they're holding up that baby's life who is here."

Mikayla's great grandmother says the little girl still suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and sees a therapist every week. They just want her to finally be able to put the trial behind her.

Meanwhile, St. Hubert remains behind bars as he waits for the case to move forward.

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