Crime & Safety

Discovery Ongoing For Men Charged With Murdering Mother and Daughter

The latest court update on the pair of men charged with killing a mother and daughter and setting their bodies on fire in a Palos forest preserve.

The two men accused of strangling a mother and daughter, driving their bodies out to a forest preserve in Palos Township and then lighting the bodies on fire appeared in court Thursday morning. 

Robert Danno, 50, and Jose Fernardo Martinez-Hernandez, 24, both of Chicago, each face two counts of first degree murder and two counts of concealment of a homicidal death. They are currently being held without bail. 

Prosecutors say that Mary Ann Urban-Danno and Theresa Urban were strangled to death in their Chicago home. The men are then said to have waited until nightfall, placed the bodies in a PT Cruiser, driven the car out to Cap Sauer Holdings forest preserve in unincorporated Palos Park and set the car ablaze. 

Robert Danno had been married to Mary Ann Urban-Danno for 10 years at the time of her death and Martinez-Hernandez was a previously homeless man who moved in with the couple. 

Read the prosecution's full account of the murders.

Danno entered the courtroom on Thursday clad in a bright yellow jumpsuit while the smaller Martinez-Hernandez entered behind in tan prison-issued garb. The two men stood before Associate Judge Colleen Ann Hyland for a status hearing. 

The case is still in discovery and pictures of the deceased mother and daughter were turned over to defense attorneys and another 30-plus CDs of material will also soon be shared with the pair's legal representatives.  

The two men are scheduled to appear in court for another status hearing on Feb. 5.  


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