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.
Neighbors say the Granats lived in the home with their teenage son, and a father of one of the victims may have lived in the home at one time.
"It's so sad," said neighbor Janina Lassak. "The kids go to the same school. They meet at the stop every day and they've got only one son, so I don't know what's happened and how such a crime can happen in this neighborhood."
"It's very unusual. I can't remember the last time I've heard of a murder like this, especially a double homicide, in a quiet neighborhood," said neighbor Cheryl Hoban. "So it was a little disturbing."
