Petit Family Murders in CT-2007 SOLVED-Death Sentence for both men.

[Sister]

Thank you for the updates Blonde.

[KittyMom]

http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2011/09/13/news/local/584315.txt
Komisarjevsky to be painted as leader of killing team
Trial set to begin next week 

[KittyMom]

Komisarjevsky will appear in court Tuesday where he is expected to plead not guilty to an amended information containing the charges against him. The new information will outline the state's theory regarding the 17 murder counts Komisarjevsky faces and whether he is a principal or accessory in the crimes.

17 murder counts?  Is that right?

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/09/18/connecticut.home.invasion.trial/
Connecticut residents seek 'justice' at deadly home-invasion trial
September 18, 2011

 ::snipping2::
Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters -- 17-year-old Hayley Petit and 11-year-old Michaela Petit -- died in the July 23, 2007, invasion of the Cheshire, Connecticut, home of the Petit family. Dr. William Petit, Hawke-Petit's husband and the girls' father, was beaten and tied up at the beginning of the attack before he managed to escape.

In December, Steven Hayes was sentenced to death after being convicted on 16 of 17 charges related to the killings.

On Monday, the trial begins for his alleged accomplice, Joshua Komisarjevsky. Prosecutors allege that the two went into the home, beat and tied up Petit, raped and strangled his wife, molested one of their daughters, then set their house on fire before attempting to flee.

The two daughters -- both of whom had been tied to their beds -- died of smoke inhalation. William Petit escaped to a neighbor's home.
 ::snipping2::
According to motions filed with the New Haven Superior Court, Judge Jon C. Blue denied requests from defense attorneys to move the trial to a different court and to limit testimony from Petit, the home invasion's only survivor.

Petit will handle testifying, Bartoli predicted Sunday, "with the same grace and courage that he's demonstrated throughout."

"It's been a very long road for him, for all of us who loved Jen and the girls and the Petit family," she said. "This is the last lap ... to go, and I'm sure he'll handle it superbly."

In March, Komisarjevsky's attorneys filed a motion for the court to accept a guilty plea on the condition that he would be spared the death penalty. That motion was denied, according to a ruling filed in the New Haven Superior Court.

Hayes forced Hawke-Petit to go to a bank and withdraw $15,000 from an account after finding evidence the account held between $20,000 and $30,000, authorities said.

During Hayes' trial, a court clerk read from writings of Komisarjevsky, in which he described the incident in a 40-page letter that he wrote to author Brian McDonald in 2008.

"All were compliant," he wrote. "This time I took a risk, pulled the trigger, and the chamber was loaded. ... The Petit family passed through their fears and into terror.
"... It was captivating, validating that this pain in me was real. ... I was looking right at my personal demon, reflected back in their eyes. ... Hayley is a fighter; she tried time and time again to free herself. ... Mr. Petit is a coward; he ran away when he thought his life was threatened, and ran away to leave his wife and children to madmen. ... I was cheated of my retribution, and so was Steve. ... I am what I am; I make no excuses. ... I'm a criminal with a criminal mind."

The reading continued, "Michaela, Hayley, and Jennifer, forgive me; I am damned. ... I can't believe I lost control; I hate myself/I love myself. ... I stand condemned."

[KittyMom]

Is there a live feed for this trial?

[KittyMom]

http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevsky-trial-preview-0919-20110919,0,1154219.story

Komisarjevsky Trial Starts Monday

Komisarjevsky's father and sister are expected to attend the trial.

Komisarjevsky was adopted as a baby and grew up in Cheshire. His parents, Benedict and Jude Komisarjevsky, were, by all accounts, a quiet, hardworking and devout couple who did what they could to raise their son in a proper home. He was home-schooled and never graduated from high school.

Komisarjevsky's troubles with the law appear to have started in 1995, when he was 14. That year, state parole records show, he was raped by a foster child his parents had taken into their home. Court records of that case have been sealed.

But Jude Komisarjevsky mentioned the sexual abuse when she addressed Superior Court Judge James M. Bentivegna in Bristol just before he sentenced Komisarjevsky to nine years in prison for burglary in December 2002.

The family initially tried to help Komisarjevsky deal with his depression and trauma through religious outings and other spiritual retreats. When that didn't work, they turned to psychiatric professionals for help. He spent a short time at Elmcrest psychiatric hospital in Portland, where doctors tried to place him on medication, his mother told Bentivegna.

"We did refuse the drugs because Joshua wanted them. He wanted to overdose with them," his mother told the judge at the time. "And we did seek other treatments, many of which they just kicked him out and told him he was worthless."

 

So, you seek help for your child and then decide that the meds the doctors prescribe aren't the route you want to go.  I'm sorry, but these people hold some responsibility for this monsters actions.   

[KittyMom]

The only running coverage I can find is through twitter.  Here is one of the links from a local media outlet.

http://twitter.com/#!/nhrlive
Edit-needed hyperlink.  MB

[seahorse]

Good morning Monkey's,

No one in his family had any courage to stand-up to him, IMO.

 





Accused suspect came from prominent family


Joshua Komisarjevsky's grandfather was the late Theodore Komisarjevsky, an internationally known theater director and designer. His grandmother is Ernestine Stodelle, 95, once an acclaimed modern dancer, who lives across the street from the Komisarjevskys. His step-grandfather is the late John R. Chamberlain, national conservative columnist and author.


http://www.myrecordjournal.com/cheshire/article_a01ec251-02aa-57e0-87a5-24ccf2b1e1f3.html

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/19/ap/business/main20108207.shtml
September 19, 2011 10:31 AM
2nd home invasion trial begins in Connecticut
(AP)  NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The trial of a Connecticut man charged with the killings of a woman and her two daughters during a home invasion is getting off to a contentious start.

The trial of thirty-one-year-old Joshua Komisarjevsky (koh-mih-sar-JEV'-skee) began Monday in New Haven. He faces a possible death sentence if convicted. His co-defendant, Steven Hayes, was sentenced to death last year.
 ::snipping2::

[trimmonthelake]

Komisarjevsky trial
WTNH Sept.19,2011
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/xXVQmqhPyQI?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/xXVQmqhPyQI?version=3&amp;amp;hl=en_US</a>

[trimmonthelake]

ErinCox8 Erin Cox
by WTNH
Three backup jurors released from #komisarjevsky trial decline to talk. I had asked if they were relieved
32 minutes ago]ky trial decline to talk. I had asked if they were relieved
32 minutes ago http://twitter.com/#!/WTNH

Edit -fixed link.  MB

[trimmonthelake]

Live blog.
http://nhregister.com/articles/2011/09/17/news/doc4e74c474b599a339321565.txt

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/crime/komisarjevsky-trial-testimony-day-2
Dr. Petit on the stand
Second day of testimony
Updated: Tuesday, 20 Sep 2011, 5:32 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 20 Sep 2011, 5:32 AM EDT

New Haven, Conn. (WTNH) - Day two of testimony in Joshua Komisarjevsky's Cheshire home invasion trial may be a very emotional day with Dr. William Petit expected to take the witness stand.

Petit is the lone survivor of the 2007 home invasion that resulted in the brutal deaths of his wife and two daughters. He was beaten and tied up in the basement, but was able to free himself and get to a neighbor's home.
 ::snipping2::

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/09/20/news/doc4e776a3a6e1c2760947421.txt
Komisarjevsky did not intend for the Petits to die, defense says as Cheshire triple-slaying trial begins
Published: Tuesday, September 20, 2011
 ::snipping2::
Defense attorney Walter Bansley III’s detailed account of the crime set the stage for the defense team’s strategy of blaming the deaths on Hayes, who was convicted last year and is on Death Row.

Bansley conceded Komisarjevsky planned the break-in, targeted the home of Dr. William Petit Jr. and beat Petit with a baseball bat after entering the house.

But Bansley added, “He never intended to kill anyone.”
 ::snipping2::

 ::snipping2::
Even before the jurors were sworn in, the defense attorneys signaled they will not shy away from using combative methods in their quest to save Komisarjevsky from conviction and a possible death sentence.

While the jury waited outside the courtroom, defense attorney Jeremiah Donovan rose, pointed toward the rows of Petit relatives and supporters and told Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue, “I count 27 Petit Foundation pins on what we call the ‘Petit posse.’”

Donovan noted Petit himself was wearing one of the pins for the foundation, a charity he started in honor of his lost family. Donovan complained those wearing the pins were sitting only a few feet from the jury box. Continued...
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

The Petit Family are the victims.  I hope Dr. William Petit will see justice in the courtroom for himself and his family. 

[KittyMom]

The Petit Family are the victims.  I hope Dr. William Petit will see justice in the courtroom for himself and his family. 

Victimized by these thugs over and over again.  Those attorneys should be so ashamed of themselves.  I don't know how they look their wives and granddaughters in the eye.

 

[KittyMom]

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20529948,00.html
Trial Begins for Second Defendant in Connecticut Home Invasion Case

[KittyMom]

http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Cheshire-home-invasion-survivor-Dr-William-Petit-2179194.php

Cheshire home invasion survivor Dr. William Petit set to testify today in Joshua Komisarjevsky trial

 

Day two of testimony in Joshua Komisarjevsky's Cheshire home invasion trial may be a very emotional day with Dr. William Petit expected to take the witness stand.

 

May God give Dr. Petit the strength to get through the day.  May HE also bind the tongue of the defense attorney while questioning Dr. Petit.

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/130184423.html
Dr. Petit to Testify Today
Rev. Hawke went over to defendants dad and introduced himself.
By Amanda Raus
|  Tuesday, Sep 20, 2011  |  Updated 10:24 AM EDT
 ::snipping2::
Prosecutors declined to make an opening statement on Monday and instead called its first witnesses. Mary Lyons, manager of the Bank of America, was tearful as she recalled Jennifer Hawke-Petit’s trip to the bank and asking to withdraw $15,000 for the two men holding her family hostage. Lyons testified that she went back to her office and called 911.

David Simcik, the Petits’ neighbor, told the jury how he found Dr. Petit bloody and beaten after having escaped from the basement of the family's home. He also described how they tried to rescue the Petit women as flames were shooting out of the house, but said there were no signs of life.

The case is expected to last three weeks, not including closing arguments.

Follow the case on Twitter.

[trimmonthelake]

http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL

NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit heard very little from upstairs, until heard wife say something about needing to get dressed, grab checkbook and grab ID. #Komis
36 seconds ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit says he struggled with ties around wrists. The more he struggled the tighter the binds seemed to get. #Komis
1 minute ago

NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Picture showing ties used to bind Dr. Petit also shown. Petit recalls being seated on pillow in basement, something thrown over head.#Komis
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Photo on screen shows pole in basement where Dr. Petit was bound. Blood around pole. #Komis
5 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
It's been said, but bears repeating: #Komisarjevsky very different defendant than #Hayes. Often #Hayes barely moved, #Komis fully engaged.
7 minutes ago
George Colli
GeorgeColli George Colli
by NotesFromHeL
Petit: knew bleeding wouldn't easy stop cause I had been on blood thinning medication for 3.5 years #komis
12 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit recalls being bound in basement, bleeding, unsure of what was happening. #Komisarjevsky
12 minutes ago