Judge in Dragged Out Granat Case: 'This Has To Be Some Kind of Record'

John Granat (left) and Christopher Wyma, as they appeared at the time of their arrests in 2011 when both were 17. | Cook County Sheriff

Bridgeview, IL, May 24, 2016 -- Two of the four defendants charged in the murders of John and Maria Granat of unincorporated Palos Township appeared in court Tuesday morning in the nearly five-year-old case.

John Granat and co-defendant Christopher Wyma, who both turned 22 in jail this past April, appeared before Cook County Judge Neil Lineham in the Bridgeview Courthouse.

Gone were the usual khaki jail scrubs; both defendants were wearing black-and-white striped, one-piece jumpsuits.

Prosecutors requested additional time to review a police report submitted by the offense of a burglary that took before the couple was found murdered in their home on Sept. 11, 2011 at 12762 S. 81st Court in unincorporated Palos Township near Palos Park.

The couple’s then 17-year-old son, John, was charged with their murders that same day after Cook County Sheriff’s investigators said his story kept changing.

His three friends, including Wyma, who was also 17, were charged two weeks later after investigators learned that Granat and his pals allegedly plotted to kill his parents over Skype, using the code word “concert.”

During the alleged killings, Granat, Wyma and co-defendant, Ehab Qasem, are said to have ransacked the home, stealing $35,000 in cash. Only $21,000 was recovered.

In addition to the burglary report, prosecutors told the judge that an expert from the U.S. Secret Service is assembling cellular tower analysis. Such analysis shows a person’s movements within a specific area based on cellular tower pings. The outline of the expert’s analysis would be shared with defense attorneys.

Attorneys also mentioned a long witness list of “family members.”

During the brief hearing, Wyma stared at Granat, who kept his eyes on the judge. Based on past hearings, both appear to no longer get along.

“We need to get this to trial,” Judge Lineham said. “It’s been five years. This has to be some kind of a record.”

Granat and Wyma are due back in court on July 22.

“How much more discovery can there be,” the judge said. “I want these matters disposed of.”

“So do we,” an attorney responded.

Granat’s Facebook page, where he struck a rapper pose while a senior at Stagg High School under the name “John Johnny Hash Granat,” also appears to have been removed.

Qasem, now 24, who's being housed in the Livingston County, IL, correctional facility, is due back in court on Aug. 8.

Mohammed Salahat, who was two days away from his 16th birthday when the alleged murders went down, pleaded guilty Jan. 28 to one count of murder. Qasem and Wyma were driven to the Granat home by Salahat, waited in the car. He claimed to be unaware of the plans to murder the couple, thinking his friend's parents were only going to be robbed.

Judge Lineham sentenced Salahat to 35 years, receiving 1,685 days credit for the time spent at Cook County Jail. Salahat is incarcerated at the Menard Correctional Center. His projected parole date is July 18, 2046. He will be 51 years old.