Sheriff's Officer Drags Accused Parent-Killer from the Courtroom by His Collar

The year-long saga to acquire cell phone records from one of the accused killers of a Palos Township couple appeared to have finally been accomplished, but a trial date is still no where in sight for the couple’s son and his friends charged in their brutal murders.

John Granat, and his friends, Christopher Wyma and Mohammed Salahat, appeared in a Bridgeview courtroom on Thursday morning for a hearing in their first-degree murder trial.

An alleged fourth accomplice, Ehab Qasem, is scheduled to appear in court next week.

The four high school friends are accused of killing Granat’s parents, John Sr. and Maria, on Sept. 11, 2011.

The 20-year-old Granat’s appearance has changed dramatically since his arrest more than three years ago. He now has a shaven head and sports a chin beard.

There also appeared to be some dissension in the courtroom on Thursday, with Granat exchanging words with his fellow defendants. A sheriff’s police officer grabbed Granat by the collar of his yellow jail uniform and forcibly removed him from the courtroom at the end of the hearing, as Granat shouted out, “this is ridiculous.”

Salahat was all smiles when he viewed his family members sitting in the front row, blowing them kisses as he entered and exited the courtroom.

Cook County prosecutor Donna Norton said that Wyma’s cell phone records were being downloaded to a hard drive in the upper chambers of the Bridgeview Courthouse “as we speak.”

Also on the table are several motions filed by defendants’ attorneys. Cook County Associate Judge Neil Linehan set a hearing for March 10 to hear the first of those motions to suppress statements made to police by Wyma.

There was also some confusion among the attorneys as to why only three of the defendants appeared in court on Thursday. One reason mentioned was that there was no room on the prisoners’ bus for Qasem, whose next court date is March 31.

Granat was 17 years old in September 2011 when prosecutors said that he had a falling out with his parents after they discovered him growing marijuana plants in their upscale home in unincorporated Palos Park.

In the days leading up to John and Maria’s murders, prosecutors said the Amos Alonzo Stagg High School senior told other students that he wanted to kill his parents. He thenallegedly conspired with three friends — Wyma, Qasem and Salahat — over Skype, using the code word “concert” for the murder plot.

Wyma, the son of a Palos Hills police officer, and Qasem attended Stagg with Granat.Salahat was a sophomore at Oak Lawn Community High School.

Prosecutors have alleged that in the early morning hours of Sept. 11, 2011, the three friends drove to the Granats’ expansive home in the 12700 block of 81st Court in unincorporated Palos Park.

While Salahat waited in the car, the then-19-year-old Qasem, and 17-year-old Wyma went to bedroom of Granat’s Poland-born parents, John Sr., 44, and Maria Granat, 42, and beat the couple to death with baseball bats, according to the charges.

Prosecutors maintain that after the teens killed the couple, they ransacked the Granat home where they found $35,000 in cash and divvied it up between them. At the time of their arrests, police were able to recover $21,000 of the stolen money.

John Sr. sustained massive blows to his head that broke his jaw, knocked out his teeth and lacerated a kidney, according to Cook County Medical Examiner.

Maria, in addition to being bludgeoned to death, was stabbed up to 20 times, the medical examiner said.

Granat, who claimed he woke up to find his parents bloody, battered and dead in their own bedroom, was arrested Sept. 13, 2011. Prosecutors said his numerous alibis and stories didn’t add up. His friends were arrested and charged a month later.

Salahat, the alleged getaway driver and 16 at the time of the killings, has stated that he was unaware of what was happening inside the Granat home. Prosecutors claim that Salahat was given $4,000 for his role in the murder plot, which he spent on fine restaurants and video game shopping sprees.

The four young men are facing 75 counts of first-degree murder.

Photo 1: John Granat, and his high school pals (top to bottom) Mohammad Salahat, Ehab Qasem and Christopher Wyma.

Photo 2: John and Maria Granat

Photo 3: The Granat home in the 12700 block of 81st Court in unincorporated Palos Park.