John Granat, 17, pleaded not guilty in bond hearing Tuesday morning in Bridgeview. He is being held without bond.
Sheriff's police say Granat made the 911 call from his family home in the 12700 block of 81st Court in unincorporated Palos Park Sunday morning, alerting police that his parents were dead. John Granat, 44, and Maria Granat, 42, were found dead in their bedrooms. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office determined that John Granat suffered blunt force trauma to the head, while Maria Granat suffered blunt force trauma to the head and was repeatedly stabbed.
"He had said he had been in his house all night asleep," Dart said. "He woke up and found them dead. Unfortunately for him and his story, at 5:15 that morning, about two hours before he made the 9-1-1 call, he was stopped by a Palos Heights police officer in his car driving back toward his house. He had in his car a bottle of ammonia bleach."
Investigators said the bleach was presumably going to be used to clean the crime scene. Dart said the son had a difficult relationship with his parents.
The teenager's attorney said his client is innocent and prosecutors said there is no specific motive.
"This young kid is approximately 5'4", maybe soaking wet about 130 or 140 pounds. There is no way that that young man could have done that to those two human beings. It's impossible," said Rick Beuke, defense attorney.
Beuke says John Granat did the best he could after seeing his parents bludgeoned to death and contends the attacker is still on the loose.
John Granat is a senior at Stagg High School. Some other seniors and a recent graduate say the things Granat is accused of doing don't seem like the guy they know.
"He was a quiet kid, he got good grades, he did all his homework. Never bad signs of anything," said Greg Smialkowski
Investigators say their interview showed another side of Granat, someone who had threatened to kill his parents previously.
As family prepares to defend Granat, they are simultaneously planning services for John and Maria. A wake is planned for Friday and their funerals Saturday.
