Stage Set for Granat-Wyma Double Murder Trial, Co-Defendant Qasem To Be Star Witness

BRIDGEVIEW, IL -- A Hickory Hills man accused of taking part in the double murder of a Palos Park couple in 2011 will be the star witness against two former friends and co-defendants who are set to go to trial this week.

Ehab Qasem was a 19-year-old Moraine Valley Community College student when prosecutors said he and three other youths helped a high school student John Granat kill his parents, John and Maria, on Sept. 11, 2011.

Attorneys met last week with Cook County Judge Neil Linehan to go over ground rules for the double murder trial of John Granat and Christopher Wyma, that will be held in the Fifth Municipal District Courthouse in Bridgeview. Now 22 years old, both men will be tried together but with separate juries. During certain parts of the testimony, one of the juries may be moved out of the courtroom if it doesn’t apply to their respective co-defendant.

Jury selection is being done alphabetically, with Granat’s jury being chosen on Monday, and Wyma’s on Tuesday. Crawling through the legal system for the past five years, Linehan wants opening statements for Wyma’s trail to take place Tuesday afternoon if a jury is able to be seated. Opening statements for Granat will happen Wednesday morning. The trial is expected to continue into the next week.

Granat and Wyma were both 17 and seniors at Stagg High School when prosecutors said they conspired over Skype with Qasem and 16-year-old Mohammed Salahat, a junior at Oak Lawn Community High School, using the code word “concert.”

Prosecutors said Salahat drove Wyma and Qasem to Granat’s house. Salahat claims he waited outside in the car and thought his three friends were only going to rob John and Maria Granat, who kept thousands of dollars of cash on hand inside the house.

Salahat said he didn’t know the couple were being murdered, but at the time of his arrest, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said that Salahat was fully aware of the alleged conspiracy. After the murders were done, prosecutors said the four went back to Wyma’s house in Bridgeview where they got rid of evidence and split $35,000 that was found inside the home. Salahat pleaded guilty last year to one count of murder and was sentenced to 35 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The younger Granat was arrested and charged in the days immediately following his parents’ grisly slayings. The other three continued going to school and were arrested a month later. All four were ordered held without bond. Salahat pleaded guilty last year and is now serving a 35-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Qasem, now 24, is currently being held in protective custody in the Livingston County Jail in Pontiac, IL. Qasem is said to have provided detailed information for police about where they could find the baseball bats and knife used to allegedly bludgeon and stab John Granat, 44, and his 42-year-old wife, Maria, as they slept in their bedroom in unincorporated Palos Park.

Qasem will testify against his two former friends in exchange for a yet-to-be-announced plea agreement. He has a status hearing in front of Linehan on Monday. Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Donna Norton told Linehan that Qasem will testify on the four men’s plans to kill the Palos Park couple and concealing evidence in the aftermath.

Prosecutors expect to call 20 witnesses to the stand, including Maria Granat’s sister, DNA and cellular phone expert witnesses, and the police officers who investigated the case. Video from the Palos Heights police officer’s traffic stop of Granat for a broken tail light -- two hours before Granat made his 911 call to report finding his parents “drowning in their own blood” -- will be shown. Audio from the 911 call will also be played for the court.

A female friend, who claims she heard the four youths talking about their plot on Wyma’s driveway the day of the double slayings, will also take the stand. Also expect a lot of testimony about marijuana.