'Scum Like You': Accused Mom-and-Dad Killer Claims His Public Defender 'Detests' Him

PALOS PARK, IL — The accused ringleader who allegedly cajoled three friends into helping him brutally murder his parents wants to fire his public defender in a case that has crawled through the court system for almost five years.

John Granat was a 17-year-old Stagg High School senior on Sept. 11, 2011, when he called police to report that he found his parents, John and Maria Granat, bludgeoned and stabbed in their beds in unincorporated Palos Park. Now 22 years old, Granat has since been held without bail in the Cook County Jail, where he has celebrated five birthdays.

He and his trio of then-teenaged helpers are charged with beating his father to death with a baseball bat and then stabbing his mother as many as 20 times. Electronic records from the Bridgeview Courthouse reveal that the most recent movement on the case is a July motion asking for the firing of one of Granat’s two public defenders.

Citing a possible “conflict of interest,” the handwritten request addressing Judge Neil Linehan calls into question the motives of assistant public defender LaFonzo Palmer and asks that he be removed as Granat’s counsel. The motion also references the Illinois Court Rules of Professional Conduct and alleges that Palmer “detests his client.”

Granat’s private attorney withdrew early in the case for unspecified reasons, leading him to be paired with counsel from the Cook County Public Defender’s Office.

Granat explains in his motion that the assistant public defender expressed his disdain, telling the accused young killer: “You killed your parents. If it is up to me, you will get the electric chair. I have no sympathy for you. You are the scum of the Earth. I hate defending scum like you.”

The motion further states: “A client has the [Right] to loyal and diligent representation and protection, and if the lawyer has shown bias, the client also has the [Right] to discharge the lawyer as stated in Rule 1-16.”

If Palmer is allowed on the case, Granat warns that his, “continuous representation will result in legal malpractice.” Granat asks the court to grant him, “pro bono counsel other than a public defender, who has experience in defending clients charge[d] with Parenticide.”

He also explains that the “breach of fiduciary duties” has caused him to “loose” faith in Palmer representing him vigorously.

It’s not clear whether the impeccably neat handwriting in the well-crafted motion is Granat’s own or if someone helped him compose it. The document also states that he has filed additional complaints with the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, as well as the Illinois Bar Association. However, a check of the ARDC’s disciplinary records on Thursday afternoon did not reveal any existing complaints or pending proceedings against Palmer.

Photo: 2011 Facebook selfie of John "Johnny Hashish" Granat. The page has since been taken down.