Glen Ellyn man indicted in ex-wife’s murder
DuPage County prosecutors kept quiet for more than two months about the indictment of man accused of murdering his ex-wife because they didn’t want to tip him off.
They broke that silence on Wednesday, because investigators are seeking tips to try to find the suspect, Juan M. Granados.
“They were hoping that if we put something out, it might jog someone’s memory so they might come forward with some information,” said Paul Darrah, a spokesman for the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.
A grand jury indicted 34-year-old Granados on June 26 in the Oct. 16 sexual assault and murder of his ex-wife, Nancy Bustos. Granados has been indicted on seven counts of first-degree murder and one count each of aggravated criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual assault.
Glen Ellyn police officers conducted a well-being check on Bustos at 1:34 p.m. Oct. 16 at her Briar Street apartment. Once inside, officers found the 36-year-old’s body in a bathtub. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
Initially, Glen Ellyn police said Granados was a “person of interest,” and they wanted to talk to him. At the time, authorities indicated that Granados might have fled to Mexico, where he has another home.
In an October interview with the Daily Herald, Nancy Bustos’ father, Richard, said Granados has family in the Chicago area as well as a brother in Texas.
Darrah said details about the indictment weren’t released in June because authorities still were pursuing leads in an effort to locate Granados.
“We didn’t want him reading about himself in the paper and finding out that he had been indicted,” Darrah said.
Bustos divorced Granados in 2010, according to court records. However, Bustos’ family said she had been living with Granados and their two children until he moved out about a month before her death.
Authorities say that at some time during the evening of Oct. 15 or morning of Oct. 16, Granados and Bustos were in the apartment together when a fight occurred, resulting in the sexual assault and murder of Bustos.
“Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women in the United States,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. “The negative effect on all family members, especially children, can be devastating when, as is alleged in this case, a case of suspected domestic violence turns into a murder.”
A no-bond arrest warrant has been issued for Granados. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to call the Glen Ellyn Police Department at (630) 469-1187 or the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office at (630) 407-8000.