Week Before Brutal 9/11 Murder Trial, Granat Defense Attorney Wants No 9/11 Talk

PALOS PARK, IL -- On the anniversary of one of the deadliest days in America’s history, a bloody, shocking scene unfolded much closer to home, in a Palos Park bedroom where a husband and wife had been brutally bludgeoned.

Their son, John Granat Jr., called 911 early in the morning of Sept. 11, 2011 to report that he found his parents -- John and Maria -- upstairs in their bedroom “drowning in their own blood.” Granat Jr. would be charged a few days later with his parents’ murders when his alibis fell apart, Cook County Sheriff’s investigators said.

A month later, three other teens accused of helping to kill Granat’s parents were arrested. Now, with the trial of the younger Granat and co-defendant Christopher Wyma set to start next week, the irony of the anniversary is not lost on Granat’s assistant public defender.

LaFonzo Palmer, of the Cook County Public Defender’s office, has filed a motion asking that no mention be made during the trial of the terrorist attacks against the United States — the anniversary on which the murders are alleged to have occurred. Palmer maintains that such allusions would deny his client — Granat — a fair trial, according to court records.

“[The] state plans to use evidence that these crimes occurred on or about Sept. 10-11, 2011. September 11 is a national day of mourning for the horrific actions that occurred on that date in 2001,” the motion states.

“To highlight or comment upon that fact in opening, closing or during testimony that above crimes occurred on that date will deny the defendant [Granat] a fair trial.”

Granat tried to get Palmer thrown off his case, alleging in a handwritten motion that the assistant public defender “detests his client.” Granat also requested private, pro bono counsel “experienced in defending clients charged with patricide.”

Wyma and Granat will be tried at the same time and in the same courtroom, but with separate juries. Juror selection for the double murder trial is expected to take place Jan. 9 and Jan. 10 at the Fifth Municipal District Courthouse in Bridgeview. Opening statements are anticipated to start Jan. 11.

The two are facing 75 counts each of murder, home invasion and robbery. A third defendant, Ehab Qasem is awaiting trial in Livingston County, IL, where he is being held in protective custody. Qasem is also scheduled for a status hearing in front of Cook County Judge Neil Linehan the day jury selection is set to begin on Jan. 9.

A fourth defendant, Mohammed Salahat, pleaded guilty last year to one count of murder after several of the other charges against him were dropped. Salahat is said to have driven Wyma and Qasem to the Granat home and waited outside in the car. He is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence.

Granat and Wyma were both 17 and seniors at Stagg High School. Salahat was a 16-year-old junior at Oak Lawn Community High School. Qasem, the oldest of the quartet at 19, was enrolled Moraine Valley Community College student.

Prosecutors said at the time of their arrests the four then-teens plotted the couple’s murders over Skype, using the code word “Concert.”

The five-year-old case has crawled through the legal system ever since.