Son Denied Bail in Palos Park Couple's Murder

John Granat, 17, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder

The son of a Palos Park couple found dead over the weekend in their home was denied bail Tuesday morning in connection with his parents' murders.

John Granat, 17, stood before a judge during the bond hearing wearing a white jumpsuit and showing little emotion. 

Granat was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the beating deaths of his mother and father, Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart said Tuesday.

The bodies of John Granat, 44, and Maria Granat, 42, were found Sunday morning in their bedroom. An autopsy determined John Granat suffered blunt force trauma to the head, while Maria Granat suffered blunt force trauma to the head and was repeatedly stabbed.

Dart said the couple's son made a 911 call Sunday morning from his family home in the 12700 block of 81st Court in unincorporated Palos Township. Granat told dispatch he woke up from sleeping in the basement to find their home ransacked and his parents murdered.

But when he was questioned by investigators, Granat's story became murky and alibis didn't pan out, Dart said.

Hours before he called authorities, Dart said, Granat was pulled over by police, who said the car smelled of ammonia.

"The house was clean except for the bedroom," Dart said. "The bedroom area had blood from the floor to the ceiling, the walls, everywhere. It was a lot of violence that occurred in that room."

Seventeen members of the Granat family, including the defendant's aunts, uncles and cousins, were in the courtroom Tuesday. Many of them shook their heads as they heard the facts of the case.

According to Granat's attorney, those family members believe the Stagg High School senior didn't do it at all, that the actual killer is still on the loose.

 
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