Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

Beyond the horror of the torture that was involved in these murders, I find with the more I hear and learn about this crime, the more unsettling it is.

Mrs Red, it's being compared to In Cold Blood as well. The two perps saw Mrs Petit and Michaela at the local grocery store the night before, apparently followed them home and then planned to return at 3am that morning, break in and commit at least robbery? Mrs Petit was driven to their bank early the next morning and told to withdraw $15,000.00, whereupon she was able to alert the teller who then called 911.

By the time the police arrived, the perps were fleeing in the family SUV but also one officer heard one of the girls screaming as he arrived. Both daughters died of smoke inhalation and the mother of strangulation.

What is also emerging now via a criminal psychologist I heard on MSNBC, is that this was likely a targeted jealousy hate crime? Solely due to the family being wealthy, much like the demise of the family killed and detailed in Capote's book - for a safe which was rumored to exist but in reality didn't? One of the perps is also the grandson of a famous Russian choreographer as well as wealthy family?

The mother and youngest daughter were raped, yet the 17 year old was not?

It's all so bizarre beyond the fact this crime seems so random yet so threatening due to that?

I just think there are several points here, such as the jealousy hate element I feel was present in the Natalaee Holloway case plus the choice of the 11 year old over a 17 year old I do find disturbing too.

Such a horrible, horrible crime.......I cannot imagine how each of them suffered.  :sad:

Here is an article on the crime:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3407703

Conn. Town Stunned by Deadly Robbery
Connecticut Town Stunned After 3 Family Members Die in Apparent Arson-Home Invasion
By SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press Writer
CHESHIRE, Conn. Jul 24, 2007 (AP)

 Share Two parolees with long criminal records were arraigned Tuesday on charges alleging they broke into a doctor's home, forced a hostage to withdraw cash from a bank and set fire to the house several hours later, killing the doctor's wife and two daughters.

The suspects were caught Monday in the family's SUV as they fled the burning home, which they apparently had torched to cover their tracks, authorities said.

Dr. William Petit Jr., 50, a prominent endocrinologist, was the only survivor and was severely injured in the attack.

Joshua Komisarjevky, 26, of Cheshire, and Steven Hayes, 44, of Winsted, were charged with assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, burglary, robbery and arson. Bail was set at $15 million each, and state police have said that additional charges are likely.

A court bail commissioner said Hayes and Komisarjevky each have rap sheets with more than 20 prior burglaries, and both were out of prison on parole.

The two men did not enter pleas, and answered only "yes" when asked if they understood their rights. Both were represented by public defenders.

Bank employees had contacted police around 9:30 a.m Monday after one of the suspects accompanied a female hostage, who was not identified, to make a withdrawal. Police went to the home, where they found the victims and arrested the two men.

Petit's wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, were dead in the home, a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation said.

The attack rocked Cheshire, an upper-middle class community of 29,000 full of colonial-style homes just east of Waterbury and about 15 miles north of New Haven.

"In Cheshire we're not used to this type of event," town Police Chief Michael Cruess said. "It's a very unfortunate, tragic event that's probably going to reach right down to the core of the community."

Hayley Petit had received an early acceptance to Dartmouth, her father's alma mater. She was a fundraiser for multiple sclerosis and captain of the basketball and crew teams. She was also devoted to her school, so much so that even while she was recovering from a collapsed lung, she attended commencement.

"She was such a good, good person," said M. Burch Tracy Ford, head of school at Miss Porter's School in Farmington. "The younger kids just worshipped the ground she walked on."

Dr. Petit, 50, the president of the Hartford County Medical Association, is a noted specialist in diabetes and endocrinology and the medical director of the Joslin Diabetes Center Affiliate at The Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain.

"It is a shocking day for everyone. It's just beyond anyone's understanding," said Larry Tanner, president and chief executive officer of the hospital.

Jennifer Hawke-Petit was a nurse and co-director of the health center at Cheshire Academy, a private boarding school.

"They're just a lovely family," said the Rev. Ronald A. Rising, a neighbor for more than a decade. "It's just awful to think it would happen to a family like that in this community. You don't think about those things happening."


Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.


Edit to add two men found guilty!  MB

Well part of the information I had was incorrect, if the NY Post's article is correct?

It seems Hayley and Michaela were both raped, it does not mention Mrs Petit?

this crime was beyond heinous and it appears these two perps met in their halfway house post their parole?

death is almost too good for them IMO

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07292007/news/regionalnews/vicious_fiends_stalked_victims_from_food_store_regionalnews_elizabeth_wolff_______in_cheshire__conn__and____ginger_adams_otis_in_n_y_.htm?page=0

Hi nonesuche,

I have read about it, very sad.
Probabely knew the suspects, about how much money has the family.

This is a terrifying story. It is similar to In Cold Blood, in so many ways. It also reminds me of that family down in Richmond, VA, murdered on New Years Day in their home. There were 2 young children in that home who were butchered along with their parents.

It's all so senseless.

pdh3-

I am wondering if the younger one of these perps was trying to copycat the Richmond murders too. Heinous seems too kind a word for what they did to these three women, it's only of the most violent torture crimes I believe I've ever heard of like the Richmond murders.

NYC_lover-

Mrs Petit's father is a minister, I don't think they were wealthy but I have also heard Dr Petit and his wife were very philanthropic. They gave back much to the community, their home was worth around $500,000.00 which isn't that large based upon northeast housing prices......and their eldest daughter Hayley also helped to fundraise over $50,000.00 toward MS research. Mrs Petit had MS and her entire family rallied around that cause as well.

None. thank you for bringing all of the information in here.  What a senseless tragedy ... and because they were jealous?  SICK - I can't even fathom that!! 

Please keep us posted on things that are discovered... I will be on the look out as well.

Mrs the police and DA are blocking the release of any details? One has to wonder why on earth ?

I have found this piece from Dr. Petit's colleagues http://www.bristolpress.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1643&dept_id=571108&newsid=18662941

I also found this on a blog and would have to agree something isn't right here. Why did it take the police so long from the time Mrs Petit left the note with the teller, for the police to arrive at the Petit home? This wasn't a large city and everyone seemed to know everyone, so knowing the reputation of the Petit's in their community one would think her note would have been enough to send the police packing over to that home asap??? I hope there are some details released soon, surely seems to be reason for questioning of why the police took so long?

http://whdad.wordpress.com/2007/08/01/timeline-fuzzy-on-cheshire-killings/

I also keep waiting for Joe Tacopina to ride up as the perp's attorney in this case  :-x

Disgusting... it seems like that was handled as if it weren't a life and death matter... West Hartford isn't exactly a poor community... seems like they would have moved quickly on a report like that.

I'd also like to know why the DA won't allow details to be released? I can understand wanting to protect the case against the perps but good lord, they caught them leaving the home and they drove through three police cars in barricade to try to escape? They also know that they came through the basement and broke the bulkhead to get into the home? That area wasn't touched by fire, the SUV with their prints all over it and video at the gas station of them loading up the gas tanks is on file?

CT has the death penalty but has rarely used it, I think that is now what's becoming the driver here. Finally they have a crime that powerful people in CT just might scream about if the death penalty isn't secured in trial. I read about a case in CT where a female bank president was kidnapped in her bank parking lot, raped and shot. Then she tried to crawl away, perp realized she was still alive, then came back and shot her three times at short range, execution style. He did not get the death penalty?

Sounds like Joe T's kinda state.

It would not surprise me one bit if Joe Tacopina represented one of these animals.

They should pour gas on these two guys and light them up for everyone to see.  This is unthinkable what they did.  I can't even get myself to read this story in the newspaper because it makes me so angry what they did to this family.

I think they'll end up with court-appointed lawyers. They are very unpopular people right now, to say the least, and no PR savvy lawyer will touch these two scumbags. It's a no win situation for any defense attorney, and I feel for the ones who get stuck with this case. Everyone will transfer some of the anger to them.

Nones,
 I read the posts on the link,  I think the same thing,  WHY ON EARTH would it take the PD so long to go into that house? (they sat there 20 minutes before the perps got out of the house?)  WTF!!!  :2brickwall:If the Cheshire PD is in a small community, wonder how many police cars it really has and if they were all out on calls or all on their coffee break at the local
Donut Shop.  I'm not buying they were waiting for the swat team or state police to come for backup.   

I would agree that police "establishing a perimeter" was a time-consuming timidity in a situation where clearly time was not available.

Contrary to early reports and the extortionate bank-withdrawal, it appears that this was a sex crime right from the start. Their purchase of gasoline indicates their intent to do away with their victims in an intensely painful manner.

Suspects in horrific Conn. family murders met in rehab, had very different backgrounds

http://www.courttv.com/news/2007/0806/komisarjevsky_ap.html

Venice family's tragedy on national stage
http://tinyurl.com/2noyqa

Thanks Muffy for the update.

It is just unthinkable what they did to this family.

YW San.  I find it disturbing that I can read about a horrific murder and it's news.  Then just a couple weeks later, no news.  Nothing.  Nada.  I do searches and can't find anything.  I have tried to go back and research some of the missing and unsolved and draw a blank.  I wonder what happened to some of these cases?  What happened to the suspects?  Do they all disappear into some file somewhere?  What about some that are like the little 2 year old that went missing.  Nothing.  Or the little girl that was never enrolled in school, and  no one had seen here in a year?  The parents lawyer up, don't speak.  Where are they? :sad:  I feel fortunate to have found this article about the Pettit family.

I found this article from the Washington Post in a search this morning, it is horrible to know those girls might have been saved had the police been quicker about this. I agree with FoolsGold that all the earmarks were clearly there, and time wasted that might have made a difference. I am all for our LE protecting themselves but the gas was a huge tip-off, also Mrs Petit was as respectable a citizen as they could possibly find. An SOS from her should have had an immediate and quick response, such a tragedy that it did not.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/10/AR2007081002116.html?hpid=topnews

Judge deciding on Cheshire home invasion warrants

Posted Sept. 17, 2007
6:06 PM
http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=7087895&nav=3YeX
Cheshire (WTNH) _ Details about the deadly home invasion in Cheshire may soon be made public.
 
A judge is deciding whether to unseal 11 search warrants in connection with the state's case against Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky.  They are charged in the murders of a mother and her two daughters.
 
The search warrants contain alleged statements made by one or both defendants and the defense claims releasing the documents would damage the possibility of a fair trial.

David Atkins, a lawyer for the Hartford Courant is arguing for the documents to be released.

"Obviously the concern is pre trial prejudicial information that comes out that would affect the jury pool," said Steven Hayes's Public Defender, Thomas Ullmann.

Atkins said "there can't been an assumption because there are a statements in court filings including motions including affidavits that might not be the liking of the defense that it automatically prejudicial."

A decision on whether to release the warrants is expected next month.
      

Oct 23, 4:47 PM EDT

Details Released on Deadly Home Invasion

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
Associated Press Writer
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HOME_INVASION?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
 NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- The attackers in a deadly home invasion poured gasoline on and around a woman and her two daughters, then set their house on fire, according to court documents released by a judge Tuesday.

The 11 heavily redacted search warrants provide the first official details on the July 23 deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11. Hawke-Petit's husband, Dr. William Petit, was badly beaten but escaped.

Investigators found traces of rope-like material around the ankles of all three victims and tied to the two girls' wrists and bed posts, according to the warrants. They also found three partially melted one-gallon gas containers.

"One of the deceased was burned beyond recognition, with indications that an accelerant was liberally poured on her," investigators wrote in one search warrant. "The remaining two victims appeared to have some indication of accelerant being poured onto or in close proximity to them, but not to the same degree as the other victim."

Hawke-Petit also was strangled, while the two girls died of smoke inhalation at their home in Cheshire, according to the medical examiner.

The two men accused in the deaths, paroled burglars Joshua Komisarjevsky, 27, and Steven Hayes, 44, both face capital felony and multiple murder, kidnapping, sexual assault and arson charges. They are scheduled for another hearing on Nov. 6. Bail for each man is set at $15 million.

Superior Court Judge Richard Damiani had agreed last week, after arguments by an attorney for The Hartford Courant, to release portions of the warrants. Defense attorneys said coverage of their contents would make it difficult to find impartial jurors for their clients' trials but they did not appeal.

"I don't think there is anything new that hasn't been previously disclosed," said Thomas Ullmann, the public defender representing Hayes. He declined to comment further.

Telephone messages were left for Komisarjevsky's attorneys. New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington declined comment. Prosecutors have said they will pursue the death penalty.

The released documents do not include alleged confessions by the defendants.

Police say Komisarjevsky and Hayes entered the home about 3 a.m., planning to burglarize it. When they found that the family was home, they beat Petit and tied up his wife and daughters.

Police were alerted by suspicious employees at a local bank when one of the suspects forced Hawke-Petit to make a withdrawal around 9:30 a.m.

Police said Komisarjevsky and Hayes were caught in the family's car as they fled the burning house.

According to the warrants, police searched a car registered to Komisarjevsky's mother and found a package for a BB gun, duct tape, a Lowe's Home Improvement store receipt, flexible ties and different types of gloves. In another car, they found Petit's wallet, his wife's wallet, two pearl necklaces and a red, blood-like stain.

http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/hc-petit-hearing-0722.artjul22,0,264710.story
CHESHIRE KILLINGS
Plea Deal For Komisarjevsky, Hayes Has No Support From Prosecutors, Petit
(http://www.courant.com/media/photo/2009-07/48196297.jpg)
Marybelle Hawke , the mother of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, speaks with the press after a hearing in New Haven Superior Court. (MARK MIRKO / HARTFORD COURANT / July 21, 2009

NEW HAVEN — - This week marks the second anniversary of the slayings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, inside their Cheshire home.

It is also another chapter in what promises to be a grueling court process.

Members of Hawke-Petit's family, including Dr. William Petit, who was beaten in the July 23, 2007, attack but survived, were frustrated with the pace of the proceedings as they emerged Tuesday from Superior Court in New Haven following a hearing for suspects Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky.

"Our system is out of kilter — victims' rights are totally abused," Petit said.

Defense attorneys made an offer to speed up the process — let the suspects plead guilty to the charges in exchange for life sentences that would spare them a place on Connecticut's death row.

But neither prosecutors nor the victims' relatives expressed any willingness to deal.

Hayes, 46, of Winsted, and Komisarjevsky, 28, of Cheshire, are charged with capital felony and charges of murder, kidnapping, sexual assault and arson in connection with the killings. Hawke-Petit was strangled and Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, were left bound in their beds as the house was doused with gasoline. Before Hawke-Petit was killed, she was forced to go to her bank with one of the suspects and withdraw $15,000, police believe.

Petit was badly beaten but managed to escape. The suspects were arrested while fleeing from the burning home.

Neither Hayes nor Komisarjevsky spoke at Tuesday's hearing, which was contentious at times.

Judge Richard Damiani sounded stern as he assured Victim Advocate Michelle S. Cruz that the criminal case was not lagging and was on schedule.

"Any indication that we are dragging our feet is an insult to me ... and the entire process in Connecticut," Damiani said. He said the average time in a capital case between the date of arrest and trial is three years and four months. With jury selection in Hayes' case slated for January, the time in this case is two years and five months, he said.

But Public Defender Thomas J. Ullmann, an attorney for Hayes, said the case could have already ended if prosecutors accepted plea deals. Four months after their arrests, Hayes and Komisarjevsky offered to plead guilty to all charges in exchange for life sentences, and they have offered the same guilty pleas at every court appearance, he said.

"We've been rejected every time," Ullmann said, adding that such a deal would mean no trial for the victims' family, fewer costs and the absence of possibly a decade or more of post-conviction court filings.

"It's only the insistence of the state that death be the ultimate punishment that has caused this case to last as long as it has," said Jeremiah Donovan, an attorney for Komisarjevsky.

Petit said outside court on Tuesday that the suspects should plead guilty, but that the court should decide the punishment.

Gary W. Nicholson, one of the prosecutors in the case, declined to comment after Tuesday's hearing about the defense team's offers.

"I think enough has been said," New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington said in the courtroom.

A judge has ordered both sides to refrain from talking publicly about the case.

Petit planned to read a multiple-page statement in court. The state victim's advocate last week filed a motion on his behalf asserting his rights as a victim. Petit was upset about unwanted contact he and his family received from members of the defense team and the pace of the case.

Initially, Damiani refused to let Petit read his statement. Then after lengthy words from Ullmann, Damiani changed his mind, prompting objections from Ullmann and Donovan. Petit then consulted with the victim's advocate's office and Dearington and decided not to read his statement in court.

Outside the courthouse, Petit offered only a part of his statement to reporters.

He said prosecutors wanted to move the case along quickly and were ready to go to trial in March 2008. He said defense attorneys are not acting with urgency and said Ullmann appeared to be blaming prosecutors and Petit's family for not taking the plea bargain.

"It was his client who helped kill three innocent people," he said. "So now we, the Petit-Hawke families, are the people, are the cause of this. We are the people costing the state money when all we are looking for is justice."

Petit said victims and their families receive little financial assistance from the state while millions are spent on the defense.

"People can't see it through the eyes of people who have been victimized," Hawke-Petit's mother, Marybelle Hawke said when asked about whether Komisarjevsky and Hayes should get the death penalty. "I'm a Christian, and I don't believe in killing people, but we do need to have a deterrent for crimes of this nature."

Hawke carried her own paperwork into court — a notebook of handwritten questions she wrote. "We don't have the opportunity to ask any questions and make any statements," Hawke said. "I don't think there will ever be."

Damiani declined to act on the victim's advocate motion for a no-contact order. Last month, Petit and members of his family received letters from Sarah Anthony, a North Carolina attorney and deputy director of the Durham, N.C.-based Fair Trial Initiative, according to the website fairtrial.org. The nonprofit specializes in training young lawyers how to handle death penalty cases including offering fellowships to recent law school graduates who work with underfunded lawyers in capital cases, the website says.

Anthony told the family that she was a victim liaison offering "a line of communication" between the defense team and Petit and his family. Anthony said lawyers for Komisarjevsky asked her to "assist in outreach" to Petit and his family.

Cruz said the letters caused the family "emotional harm."

Damiani said Anthony wrote a letter to the victim's advocate, saying she would go through the victim advocate in any future communication. Damiani said the defense attorneys agreed to have all similar contact go through the victim advocate. They also agreed that anyone contacting witnesses in the case would accurately represent who they are to the witnesses.

http://www.myrecordjournal.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=20347412&BRD=2755&PAG=461&dept_id=592709&rfi=6

Support for Petit foundation runs strong
By: Richie Rathsack, Record-Journal staff
07/19/2009
(http://images.zwire.com/local/Z/Zwire2755/zwire/images/2009/07/story/L20petit_kamime_story.jpg)
      
   Richie Rathsack / Record-Journal

PLAINVILLE - Support for the Petit Family Foundation continues to grow as thousands of people turned out Sunday morning to honor the lives and aspirations of the family at the second annual GE 5K Road Race.

After the race and awards ceremony, many runners and organizers, such as Bob Heslin, stood in the General Electric parking lot in awe, reflecting on just how many people showed up for the race.

"I think it's just fabulous. We had a lot more people come this year," Heslin said of the nearly 3,000 people who signed up to participate. "Everybody comes out and supports the event. Dr. Petit was just elated."

Dr. William A. Petit walked around talking with runners, volunteers and supporters after the race, some who wanted their pictures taken with him or a quick hug.

"It seems like it went really well. In their lives, I think Jennifer, Hayley and Michaela touched a lot of people," Petit said.

Petit's wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, were killed two years ago in an attack at their Cheshire home in which the house was set on fire. Petit was severely beaten, but escaped.
When something this evil happens, people want to help out to maybe make the world a little better of a place to live in," Petit said.
<snip>

http://www.wfsb.com/news/20153111/detail.html
Petit Family Remembered 2 Years Later
Service Held 2 Years After Home Invasion

POSTED: 8:55 am EDT July 23, 2009
UPDATED: 7:41 pm EDT July 23, 2009
PLAINVILLE, Conn. -- Three members of the Petit family were being remembered at a memorial service in Plainville on Thursday.

A service to honor the lives of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and Hayley and Michaela Petit was being held at Our Lady Of Mercy Church on Broad Street.
(http://www.wfsb.com/2007/0724/13744037_240X180.jpg)
Hayley Elizabeth Petit, 1989-2007
Michaela Rose Petit, 1995-2007
Jennifer Lynn Hawke-Petit, 1958-2007
Dr. William Petit Jr.
The service was held two years to the day that the three were killed during a home invasion at their Cheshire home. William Petit was assaulted and seriously injured in the incident.

William Petit was hugged by friends and family members at the 8 a.m. service.

"Bill has been through a lot," said Petit family friend Bernie Lidestri. "He hides his pain, but this is so hard."

Two paroled convicts, Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes, have been accused in their deaths.

Komisarjevsky and Hayes are charged with capital felony murder, assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, arson, larceny and risk of injury to children. Hayes was charged in the sexual assault of Hawke-Petit, and Komisarjevsky in the sexual assault of Michaela.

Police said Hayes and Komisarjevsky entered the Petits' Sorgum Mill Drive home at about 3 a.m. They said once inside, they beat and bound William Petit and left him in the basement. Police said the pair then terrorized Hawke-Petit and her daughters for hours.

Police said they surrounded the home after Hawke-Petit was taken by one of the suspects to a bank and made a withdrawal around 9:30 a.m. Hawke-Petit was able to communicate to the teller that she and her family were being held hostage in their home, authorities said. The teller contacted police and police said Hawke-Petit was taken back to the home

Police said Komisarjevsky and Hayes set the house on fire before leaving the scene. They were arrested while attemtping to flee, Cheshire police said.

The medical examiner ruled Hayley and Michaela's cause of death to be from smoke inhalation and Hawke-Petit's to be from asphyxiation.
Hayley was 17 at the time of her death and had recently graduated from Miss Porter's School in Farmington. She planned to attend Dartmouth College. She also ran a charity called Hayley's Hope, which raised over $50,000 to fight multiple sclerosis, from which her mother suffered.

Michaela was 11 years old and loved to cook. She was a member of her school's student council and played the flute.

Hawke-Petit was 48 years old and was a nurse and director of the Student Health Center at Cheshire Academy.

Dr. Petit and his wife were married for 22 years.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iEym_cK579acqUBys6kL2S1PlEqQD99MASVG0
Conn. home invasion survivor faces long court case

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN (AP) – 3 hours ago

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — At 52, Dr. William Petit faces years — perhaps decades — of emotionally draining court hearings before the two men charged with murdering his family in a 2007 home invasion may be convicted and executed.

He'll have to listen repeatedly to the horrific details of the crimes against his wife, who was strangled, and two daughters, who were tied to their beds. All three died of smoke inhalation from a fire police say the intruders set as they fled Petit's house after holding the family hostage for hours. Petit, a prominent physician who was beaten during the ordeal, will sit feet away from the defendants as they assert their rights and file appeal after appeal.


As lawmakers weigh the future of the death penalty in some states, officials are giving greater weight to the effect of prolonged death penalty cases on victims' families. Petit realizes that the case might drag on for years, but he remains committed to seeing defendants Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky put to death.

Defense attorneys said this week in court that their offer to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison could have ended it all. But they said prosecutors refused because they want to win death sentences.

A trial could begin in January.

Petit countered that an attorney for Hayes was trying to shift blame to him and prosecutors for not accepting a plea bargain, "when it was his client who helped kill three innocent people."

Commissions in New Jersey and Maryland in recent years found that death penalty cases are more harmful to the families of victims than cases that end with life sentences.

"The commission finds that regardless of whether or not a survivor supports an execution, years of court dates, reversals, appeals and exposure to the killer is harmful to the family members of murder victims," the Maryland commission wrote in its report last year.

New Jersey repealed its death penalty in 2007, while Maryland has had a moratorium since 2006.

Across the country, relatives of murder victims say the plodding pace of a death penalty case in court is difficult.

Phyllis Bricker of Baltimore has sat through 26 years of court hearings since her parents were murdered in 1983. Their killer, John Booth-El, remains on death row.

"It's hard on the family, very hard," Bricker said. "Your life is on hold because you never know when another trial is coming up, another appeal is coming up."

One time, Bricker said, the defendant turned to her family and said, "See you next year."

Despite the protracted battle, Bricker said she does not favor a sentence of life without parole. She said that option did not exist at the time of the crime and she's skeptical prisoners would be kept behind bars for life.

The Rev. Cathy Harrington's daughter, Leslie Ann Mazzara, was killed in 2004 in California. A 2007 plea agreement was reached in which her convicted killer, Eric Copple, got life in prison.

"I could see us exhaling," Harrington said of her family at the sentencing. "I hadn't realized how tense we were. I didn't have any room to really grieve properly. I was so busy trying to get through this, never knowing when the phone rang who it was going to be."

Harrington has written an essay about her daughter for a book and is studying for a doctorate focusing on restorative justice. Her sons are building a cottage for abused children in Leslie's memory.

"I'm so busy. I'm tired, but I feel like I can maybe start to live my life now," Harrington said.

She said Petit has the right to favor the death penalty in his case.

Hayes and Komisarjevsky, who were on parole after serving prison time for burglary, are accused of breaking into Petit's home, beating him and forcing his wife to withdraw thousands of dollars from a bank before they strangled her. They've pleaded not guilty to capital felony murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and arson.

Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell in June vetoed a bill to abolish the death penalty, saying the state cannot tolerate people who commit particularly heinous murders.

Petit has taken on an active role, participating in fundraisers in memory of his family that benefit the causes they championed and lobbying lawmakers not to repeal the death penalty.

He thanked Rell for her veto and called capital punishment "what is required to maintain the fabric of our society."

A Quinnipiac poll released Nov. 7, 2007, less than four months after the killings found that 73 percent of Connecticut voters believed the two suspects in the Cheshire murders should be executed, while 23 percent said they shouldn't.

Gun permit applications in Cheshire, about 14 miles north of New Haven, jumped substantially after the Petits were attacked.

The General Assembly passed new laws that lengthen sentences for repeat offenders, revamp the parole system and create a new crime of home invasion.

Connecticut has 10 men on death row, including a few sentenced 20 years ago. Besides appeals, a lawsuit alleging racial disparity in death sentences is delaying executions.

If Hayes and Komisarjevsky are convicted and sentenced to die, their appeals could easily continue for decades. In 2005, Connecticut serial killer Michael Ross was the first person executed in New England in 45 years — even after waiving his appeals, Ross was behind bars for more than 20 years before he was put to death.

"It was a load off of our shoulders," said Edwin Shelly, whose daughter was Ross' seventh victim. "The hate is gone because there is no one to hate."

Raymond Roode, whose daughter also was killed by Ross, said he is glad Ross was executed.

"The finality of the death penalty is the thing that appeals to me," Roode said. "It doesn't matter how long it takes."

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-parole-cheshire-0726.artjul26,0,6064083.story
After Petit Slayings, It Takes Longer To Get Out On Parole
 By DAVE ALTIMARI and MATTHEW KAUFFMAN  The Hartford Courant

July 26, 2009
Violent offenders are spending more time in prison before earning parole, following changes made in the two years since the brutal slaying of three members of a Cheshire family exposed inadequacies in the state's prisoner-release system.

"If somebody were to look at our process today and compare it to what it was prior to Cheshire, they'd see a remarkable change," said Robert Farr, the chairman of the Board of Pardons and Paroles. "Because of that awful case there has been huge changes to the system."

Now board members are flooded with paperwork, and case files are two or three times the size they were in the past, according to Farr.

Board members routinely read pre-sentencing reports, juvenile records and transcripts of sentencing hearings to ensure they don't miss key details, Farr said. Parole board members acknowledged that they approved the early release of Joshua Komisarjevsky, one of the suspects in the Cheshire case, without ever reviewing court records that would have shown a judge had described him as a "cold, calculating predator."

Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes were both paroled following routine administrative hearings a few months before they allegedly broke into the home of William Petit and Jennifer Hawke-Petit in July 2007. William Petit was severely beaten and Jennifer Hawke-Petit and daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, were killed. The two girls were burned alive as Komisarjevsky and Hayes fled the home, police said.

The two men are awaiting trials that could begin early next year. Both face the death penalty.

An analysis by The Courant of parole data provided by the state shows that since the Petit killings, convicts in prison on 12 of 14 felonies ranging from burglary and robbery to assault to selling drugs have served a greater portion of their sentences before being released on parole, compared with prisoners granted parole on the same charges prior to the Cheshirecase.

For example, before the Cheshire killings, prisoners released on parole following convictions for selling narcotics served an average of 58 percent of their sentences. Since the killings, they have served 68 percent before release. Prisoners convicted of second-degree burglary and later released on parole served 69 percent of their sentences before the Cheshire case and almost 74 percent since.

The Courant examined 14 felonies for which at least 10 prisoners have been released on parole since the Cheshire killings. Of those, only two showed prisoners post-Cheshire serving a lower percentage of their sentences before release — manslaughter and risk of injury to a minor. For manslaughter cases, however, prisoners released since the Cheshire case actually spent more time in prison, because those inmates had longer sentences on average than those who came before the parole before Cheshire.
<snip>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/31/AR2010013102870.html

Conn. home invasion suspect has medical emergency

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
The Associated Press
Sunday, January 31, 2010; 9:34 PM

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A Connecticut official says a man charged with killing a mother and her daughters during a 2007 home invasion is facing a medical crisis.

Chief state's attorney Kevin Kane says Steven Hayes has "undergone some kind of apparent medical emergency."

A New Haven Register report citing unidentified sources says prison guards found Hayes unconscious in his cell Sunday morning and he was hospitalized in a medically induced coma.

Neither public defender Thomas J. Ullmann nor a University of Connecticut Hospital nursing supervisor would confirm those details.

Ullmann says jury selection scheduled for Monday has been halted.
Hayes and another man have pleaded not guilty in the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley.

Hawke-Petit's husband, Dr. William Petit, was beaten at the Cheshire home but survived.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/01/connecticut.petit.slayings/?hpt=C2
Trial stirs painful memories of brutal home invasion
By Taylor Gandossy, CNN
February 1, 2010 4:46 p.m. EST
(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/CRIME/02/01/connecticut.petit.slayings/story.family.petit.courtesy.jpg)
Dr. William Petit, with his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and their two daughters, Michaela, left, and Hayley.
(http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/01/connecticut.petit.slayings/story.petit.cheshire.cnn.jpg)
The Petit family's house has been torn down and replaced by a heart-shaped garden.

(http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/01/connecticut.petit.slayings/story.suspects.courtesy.jpg)
Joshua Komisarjevsky, left, and Steven Hayes could face the death penalty if convicted of capital murder.

Cheshire, Connecticut (CNN) -- A small, well-tended garden is all that remains at 300 Sorghum Mill Drive in this quiet town.

Even on a dreary, rainy January day, with little abloom, the spot is peaceful. It shows few signs of the horrifying home invasion that killed a mother and her two daughters there more than two years ago, robbing a man of his wife and children.

The killings shook the suburban community, prompted legislative changes in the state, and attracted the attention of the national media.

Two men broke into the home around 3 a.m. on July 23, 2007, and subjected the Petit family to a seven-hour ordeal, according to police. By the end, they had beaten up Dr. William Petit, strangled his wife, 48-year-old Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and set the home ablaze, authorities said. The couple's daughters, Hayley Petit, 17, and Michaela Petit, 11, died from smoke inhalation, authorities said.

The deaths occurred after one of the attackers drove Hawke-Petit to a Bank of America branch to withdraw money around 9 a.m., police said. She was able to alert a bank teller that the family was being held captive, and the bank teller alerted police, authorities said.

Media reports said that Hawke-Petit and Michaela were sexually assaulted. Prosecutors declined to confirm details because of a gag order in the case.

The men left the home around 10 a.m. and were taken into custody after crashing into two Cheshire police cruisers that had formed a barricade, police said.

Steven Hayes, 46, of Winsted, Connecticut, and Joshua Komisarjevsky, 29, of Cheshire, face charges that include felony murder, kidnapping, sexual assault and arson. They could face the death penalty if convicted.

The motive in the killings remains unclear, but its effect is plain.

"Because men murdered Michaela, she cannot make homemade sauce, play with her friends, or kiss me goodnight," Dr. William Petit told state lawmakers in March, during a hearing on whether the state should repeal the death penalty.

"Because men murdered Hayley, she cannot experience her college years at Dartmouth, row on the Connecticut River, or sit and chat with me. Because men murdered Jennifer, she can no longer comfort a student at Cheshire Academy, talk with her parents and sister, or sit with me on our porch.

"My family got the death penalty, and you want to give murderers life. That is not justice," he said.
My family got the death penalty, and you want to give murderers life. That is not justice.
--Dr. William Petit, to Connecticut lawmakers

The lawmakers voted to repeal the death penalty, but Gov. Jodi Rell vetoed the bill. Connecticut has carried out only two executions in nearly 50 years, the last in 2005.

Jury selection for Hayes' trial is under way in nearby New Haven, with three jurors selected as of last week, according to the New Haven Superior Court clerk's office. It is expected to take several months to pick a full jury. Evidence will be presented in the case in September. Komisarjevsky will be tried separately.

"It's probably difficult to find a juror who didn't know somebody who knows somebody who knew the family, who didn't feel at all affected by the case," said Yale law professor Steven Duke, who is not involved with the case.

"Nothing like that has probably ever happened in Cheshire, or anywhere around there in probably 100 years," he said.

"It's a very unusual case in many respects for a little town like this ... and it's pretty clear it's had some effects on the politics in Connecticut."

State Sen. Andrew McDonald, co-chairman of the Senate's Judiciary Committee, said the killings spurred lawmakers to change the state's criminal justice system.

"It was really a function of people who were very shaken, including legislators, about the tragedy," he said in a phone interview. Lawmakers "wanted to use that opportunity to reflect and act upon deficiencies that could be clearly identified and isolated within our criminal justice system."

"The Petit case is in my experience probably the most violent crime in my tenure," said McDonald, who was elected to the Senate in 2002. "This crime ... was unique in its violence and viciousness. It was particularly heinous, in my opinion."

Legislators called for hearings in January 2007 and passed a number of reforms during a special session the following year, McDonald said. One created a new crime of home invasion, a Class A felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

"The consensus in Connecticut was that an invasion of one's home can be, under some circumstances, much more detrimental to society and to a community's sense of well-being than a burglary of an office building," McDonald said.

The reform package also changed the makeup of the Board of Pardons and Paroles. It added a staff psychologist and grants the board permission to access an offender's records from juvenile court, which previously had been held confidential.

The legislation also bars the board from acting on a case unless it has all of the relevant records, according to a statement from Rell when she signed the bill.

Hayes and Komisarjevsky, who had criminal histories of burglaries but not violence, were on parole, but neither had been subjected to a full parole hearing before they were released, The Hartford Courant reported. They were released after "administrative reviews," which are performed by three board members, the newspaper reported.

Such administrative reviews, which did not require the appearances of the inmates, "were essentially abolished" with the 2008 legislation, said Robert Farr, chairman of the parole board.

He said the board did not have "the information that should have been available to them" when the paroles were granted to the two men, including the presentence investigation, a copy of court transcripts, and some police reports.

"The board didn't have any of that information," he said. "The process of parole hearings in Connecticut has changed dramatically."

The Petit family killings also highlighted a breakdown of communication among criminal justice agencies, McDonald said.

There is a "complete inability to share information electronically," he said. The state now plans to integrate the information, he said.

Despite being mentioned often during the state's death penalty debate last year, the killings did not change the opinion of Connecticut voters about the death penalty, according to Quinnipiac University polls from 2000 and 2009.

In 2000, the poll showed that 63 percent of voters were in favor of the death penalty; 27 percent were against it. Nine years later, ahead of the governor's veto of the bill to ban capital punishment, 61 percent said they favored keeping the death penalty and 34 percent opposed it.

Support for the death penalty in Connecticut becomes higher, however, when the question is tied to a specific case, said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Doug Schwartz. In a 2007 poll from the university, 73 percent of Connecticut voters said they would favor the death penalty if the Cheshire suspects were convicted of murder, he said.

In her June veto message, Rell used a quote that Petit had incorporated into his address to lawmakers.

"Dr. William Petit recently quoted Lord Justice Denning, master of the rolls of the Court of Appeals in the United Kingdom, who said: 'Punishment is the way in which society expresses its denunciation of wrongdoing: and, in order to maintain respect for law, it is essential that the punishment inflicted for grave crimes should adequately reflect the revulsion felt by the great majority of citizens for them.'"
It brings it all front and center again.
--Chris Gilleylen, Petit family friend

Revulsion and pain are certainly still felt in Cheshire, an upper-middle-class city of about 30,000 residents, just north of New Haven. The jury selection only worsens it, one former neighbor of the Petits said.

"It brings it all front and center again," said Chris Gilleylen, a friend of the Petit family.

She lives about 10 houses from where the family's house stood, she said, and is an organizer of the garden there now, called the "Three Angels Garden."

She also authored a petition that sought to first bar publication of a book on the killings because of a gag order in the case, and then to keep it from the town's library.

Seeing the house every day after the killings was "very, very stressful, very difficult," Gilleylen said. The garden, which includes some of William Petit's favorite flowers, helps, she said.

One small sign on the property notes that it is a "living memorial garden." The sidewalk below the garden slopes in one spot, an eerie reminder that it once marked the beginning of the family's driveway.

"It will be prettier in the spring," she said.


 




   

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/02/15/news/metro/a1-mon-hayesmed.txt

Medical error may have played role in Cheshire suspect’s OD

Published: Monday, February 15, 2010
By Randall Beach, Register Staff

(http://images.**/nhregister.com/content/articles/2010/02/15/news/metro/a1-mon-hayesmed.png)

Steven J. Hayes was able to hoard his medication in prison and then overdose on it because it wasn’t given to him in the proper form, sources have told the Register.

Hayes, awaiting trial for murder and other charges in the Petit family triple homicide, was found unconscious in his cell at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield on Jan. 31. He was taken to the University of Connecticut Medical Center in Farmington, but within 48 hours was returned to the prison and placed in the infirmary.

A source said Hayes had been suspected of “cheeking” (hoarding) his Thorazine and Klonopin, so it was switched to liquid form. Thorazine is an anti-psychotic drug and Klonopin is anti-anxiety medication.

But a medical person in charge of administering the medications allegedly then failed to mix the crushed pills and liquid, which allowed Hayes to hoard the drugs, according to the source.

Hayes’ overdose resulted in the suspension of jury selection in New Haven Superior Court for the past two weeks. Defense attorneys, prosecutors and Judge Jon C. Blue are scheduled to meet for another status conference Tuesday to discuss Hayes’ medical condition and the circumstances under which he is being confined.

Four jurors have been selected for the trial, which is supposed to start Sept. 13.

During a court hearing last Monday, one of Hayes’ attorneys, New Haven Chief Public Defender Thomas Ullmann, complained to Blue that Hayes was being denied medication and confined in a space that has bright lights on 24 hours a day. Ullmann called the conditions inhumane. He said because Hayes cannot sleep, jury selection must be put off.

After news outlets reported this, Ullmann was threatened via a comment on the Hartford Courant’s Web site, according to a Courant news story.

The comment reportedly said: “Ullmann, you’re finished. I know where you live I know where your family sleeps you dirtbag, it’s only a matter of time pal, I will see you, you can count on that.” It was signed “Truth_in_CT.”

State police are investigating the threat. Ullmann had no comment when reached Friday.

The Cheshire killings, which occurred in July 2007, have drawn intense publicity and strong emotions. Jennifer Hawke-Petit was killed during the home invasion, as were her daughters, Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17. Their father, Dr. William Petit Jr., was severely beaten but survived.

A co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, is scheduled for trial next year.

Hayes’ overdose raised questions about state Department of Correction policies and procedures regarding inmates who receive prescription medication.

Brian Garnett, a department spokesman, has refused to answer any questions about this, even when the queries did not specifically concern Hayes.

When asked about Hayes, including how drugs were administered to him and whether the DOC is investigating the overdose, Garnett cited the court-imposed gag order that prohibits attorneys and authorities from commenting on the Petit case. It’s not clear the gag order applies to Garnett.

When he was asked about the administration of drugs to any inmate, Garnett said, “I am exceedingly reluctant to talk in generalities about matters that are obviously connected with this (Hayes) situation.”

The Register then appealed to the office of Gov. M. Jodi Rell. A staffer there told the Register that if the DOC has a generic drug distribution policy that doesn’t fall under a state Freedom of Information exemption, it should be turned over to the Register.

The questions were: Who administers such drugs to inmates; is that person supposed to watch the drugs being ingested; is the inmate frisked periodically; and is his cell searched periodically for hidden drugs.

FOI Administrator Joan Ellis told the Register that those providing such services are employees of the UConn Medical Center. She suggested a person there to contact, but he did not return a phone call.

Ellis did cite some DOC directives covering such procedures. One of these states: “Psychoactive medications shall be administered only by physicians, registered or licensed nurses or others legally authorized.”

Another directive states: “The DOC, through its contracted health care provider, shall prescribe and administer psychoactive medication to inmates requiring such treatment in a safe and effective manner.”

The Register is still trying to find out if these procedures are being followed. Also, the Register is continuing to seek the information on frisking and cell-searching.

http://www.registercitizen.com/articles/2010/02/16/news/doc4b7ade950bc24585788020.txt
Paperwork SNAFU delays court hearing in Cheshire triple-murder case
Published: Tuesday, February 16, 2010
NEW HAVEN — Court proceedings for Steven J. Hayes, one of the two men accused in the Petit family triple homicide, were delayed Tuesday because the necessary paperwork to have him taken to court was not completed, said Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue.

Hayes was supposed to be transported from MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield to Superior Court in New Haven Tuesday, so his attorneys and prosecutors could discuss his medical status and the circumstances under which he is being held.

“I’m not interested in assessing blame,” Blue said of the paperwork snafu. “My initial belief is there is plenty of blame to go around…all I can do is apologize to everyone,” for coming in to court Tuesday.

Jury selection will not resume Wednesday, but Hayes will be taken to court Wednesday for the status conference, Blue said.

Jury selection for the trial has been delayed since Jan. 31 when Hayes was found unconscious in his cell.

Hayes, of Winsted, is suspected of hoarding his daily doses of anxiety and anti-psychotic medication and taking them all at once. But within 48 hours of being taken to the University of Connecticut Medical Center in Farmington he was returned to the prison and placed in the infirmary there.

At an earlier court date New Haven Chief Public Defender Thomas Ullmann, complained to Blue that Hayes was being denied medication and confined in a space that has bright lights on 24 hours a day. He had asked for jury selection to be put off because Hayes cannot sleep.

Ullman’s complaints were not addressed Tuesday because Hayes was not brought to court.

Hayes and a co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, are accused of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17, during a home invasion in July 2007. Dr. William Petit Jr. was severely beaten, but survived.

“We’re just frustrated,” Petit said of the delay outside the courtroom Tuesday.

Hayes’ trial is scheduled to begin in September. Komisarjevsky is scheduled for trial next year.

http://www.necn.com/09/12/10/Murder-trial-starts-Monday-in-Conn-home-/landing.html?blockID=309376&feedID=4206
Murder trial starts Monday in Conn. home invasion killing
Sep 12, 2010 9:19pm
NECN) - Steven Hayes' murder trial is set to begin Monday in Connecticut.

He and Joshua Komisarjevsky are charged with killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters Hayley and Michaela during a home invasion in Cheshire in 2007.

Doctor William Petit was severely beaten in the attack. He is expected to testify against Hayes.

The state is seeking the death penalty in this case. Komisarjevsky will be tried separately

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20425064,00.html
Doctor to Revisit Horror of Wife and Children's Murders
By Nicole Weisensee Egan
Monday September 13, 2010 07:10 AM EDT
Three years ago, Dr. William Petit, Jr., was the lone survivor of a brutal home invasion that left his wife and two daughters murdered.

Since then, the Connecticut physician has tried to "think about the good memories," he says, seeking to salvage something from their senseless deaths by starting a foundation to raise money for victims of violence and other causes.

But as early as this week, Petit will revisit the horror.

Petit is set to testify in a New Haven courtroom in the trial scheduled to begin Monday for Steven Hayes, 47, one of two men accused of holding Petit and his family hostage in July 2007 for hours, beating Petit, strangling his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and setting their house on fire.

Petit was left for dead in the basement of their Chesire, Conn., home. When police arrived, the suspects had fled, and the couple’s daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley, who had been tied to their beds, were dead from smoke inhalation.

The second defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, 30, will be tried separately next year.


Doing the Right Thing
Petit, who is expected to take the stand early in the week, told reporters last month that his focus during the trial will be on "doing the right thing, testifying to what I know and being the face of my family, since they can't be here to represent themselves."

Still, the prospect of talking about the murder of his family is taking its toll. "You can actually feel the stress level creeping up," he says. "It's very emotional. It conjures up lots of sadness, puts a lot of stress and strain on the family."

Petit has also become a very public advocate for the death penalty in Connecticut and has reacted strongly when Hayes's attorneys have challenged its constitutionality in court.

He also founded the Petit Family Foundation, which has raised more than $1.4 million in the last three years.

"It's very rewarding and satisfying that people care that much about Bill and want to help," says Ron Bucchi, treasurer of the foundation and one of Dr. Petit's closest friends. "It's a testament to him. I think it's a tragedy that has touched everyone somehow. I think it's one of those events that you just say, 'Why?' "

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/13/earlyshow/main6861220.shtml
Gruesome Conn. Murders to Be Relived
Crime Stoked Death Penalty Debate; Trial Set of 1 of 2 Men Who Allegedly Assaulted, Killed Wife, Daughters of Prominent M.D.
(CBS/ AP)  They were a model family living in an affluent suburb. William Petit was a prominent doctor. His daughter was on her way to Dartmouth, hoping to follow in his footsteps. His wife had multiple sclerosis and the family was active in efforts to raise money to fight the disease.

But a chance encounter with a career criminal at a supermarket in July 2007 destroyed the family, authorities say. Joshua Komisarjevsky spotted Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters at the store and followed them home, then returned later with his friend Steven Hayes and together they broke into the house and severely beat Petit and killed his wife and daughters, investigators allege.

The crime drew comparisons to "In Cold Blood," Truman Capote's chilling book about the 1959 murders of a Kansas farm family. It prompted a special session of the legislature and spurred more residents to buy guns and led to a continuing debate over the death penalty in the state.

Hayes heads to trial Monday.

Both defendants have offered to plead guilty in exchange for life sentences, but prosecutors, seeking the death penalty for both, pushed for trials, defense attorneys said, forcing the state to revisit the unsettling crime and its lone survivor to relive it in the courtroom.

Each has tried to blame the other for escalating the crime.
"It left the state shocked and people feeling vulnerable in the sense that it happened in a town where violence rarely occurs and it happened in a way that shook civilization, people's idea of civilization," said Rich Hanley, journalism director at Quinnipiac University.

Dr. Petit is scheduled to testify early in the trial, which is expected to last about a month.

Over the last three years, he has launched a crusade to have both men convicted and executed for their crimes, fighting proposals to ban the death penalty in Connecticut, observes CBS News Correspondent Betty Nguyen.

After a recent court hearing, Petit said he welcomed hearing the names of his wife and daughters in court.

"Most of the process tends to be one of depersonalization," Petit said. "I was actually pleased to hear their names to show it was personal, they were people, living people. They can't be there to give their side of the events."

Hayes and Komisarjevsky, two paroled burglars, are accused of beating and tying up Dr. Petit, taking his family hostage and forcing his wife to withdraw money from a bank.

Hayes, 47, is accused of sexually assaulting and strangling Hawke-Petit. Komisarjevsky, 30, is charged with sexually assaulting 11-year-old Michaela. The two allegedly tied Michaela and her 17-year-old sister, Hayley, to their beds, poured gasoline on and around them and set the house on fire, killing the girls, authorities say.

Dr. Petit managed to escape.

Hayes and Komisarjevsky fled the burning home in the family's car and were caught after ramming several police cruisers, authorities say. Hayes was wearing Hayley's school cap, police say.

The pair, each with more than 20 burglaries on their records, had spent time in the same Hartford halfway house. At the time of the killings, both were free on parole after serving time for 2003 burglary convictions.

Hayes' murder trial will be held in New Haven Superior Court. If the jury convicts Hayes, the same panel will weigh his fate in the penalty phase. Once the Hayes case is finished, Komisarjevsky's will be scheduled.
Hayes is charged with capital murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, burglary and arson.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys have declined to comment on the case, citing a court-imposed gag order.

"The evidence seems to be overwhelming," says CBS News legal analyst Jack Ford. "The doctor will identify them, they're caught, basically, running from the house. So, the defense looked at this, probably saying, 'Here's our chance to try to save the lives of these guys.' So, they offered up themselves. They said, 'We'll plead guilty, end this thing right now, put us in prison without any possibility for parole, and everybody go home.' But, this has generated such emotional response. … I've tried five death penalty cases, and they're very different and very hard on everybody involved.

"This is a case that's so atrocious that I think even some people who are opponents of the death penalty would have second thoughts about this," Ford remarked to "Early Show" co-anchor Erica Hill.

"You could have a bizarre scenario here where they could go through the trial of these two men, the juries could find them guilty, probably will find them guilty, (based on) the evidence (we've seen), and -- (with) death penalties, there are two separate trials within one trial. A jury says 'guilty of murder' or 'not guilty' or guilty of something less. If they say 'guilty of murder,' they move to the penalty phase, another small trial within the trial, and say whether they live or die. You could get a scenario where a jury might say death penalty for these two guys, and then, down the road, with a new governor in Connecticut, you might have the death penalty repealed again. So, they might be taken off death row. So, it's a strange procedure but, at this point in time, prosecutors have said, 'This is such a horrendous case, we're going forward with this. We don't care if you want to plead guilty, you're still going to be looking at the possibility of the death penalty."

In a state full of well-to-do towns, Cheshire stands out. With a population of about 29,000, it has a median household income of about $100,000, according to the U.S. Census, and a median home value of about $320,000 this year, according to the Warren Group.

The town was designated the Bedding Plant Capital of Connecticut by the General Assembly because of its abundance of bedding plant growers, and Connecticut Magazine last year ranked it the fourth best town to live in.

The Petit home invasion and deaths have had an effect. Gun permit applications in Cheshire rose from 33 in 2006 to 81 the year of the crime to 125 last year, police say. More residents bought security systems and dogs.

"It's like the Lindbergh baby kidnapping," said Bruce Koffsky, a defense attorney who has tried death penalty cases, recalling the abduction and death of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh's toddler in 1932. "It has been burned into the consciousness of the community."

The Petit case led to tougher laws for repeat offenders and home invasion.
Last year, the legislature voted to repeal the state's death penalty, but Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed the bill, saying the state cannot tolerate people who commit particularly heinous murders. Dr. Petit actively lobbied in favor of keeping capital punishment and thanked Rell for her veto, saying it was "what is required to maintain the fabric of our society."

Connecticut executed its first inmate in decades on May 13, 2005, when serial killer Michael Ross was put to death by lethal injection after he willingly halted his appeals. It was the state's and New England's first execution since 1960.

Petit has kept busy attending court hearings, lobbying and carrying on the charity work of his family. He has said he's coping by trying to recall good memories with his family.

"It's very emotional," Petit said after a recent pretrial hearing. "It conjures up lots of sadness, puts a lot of stress and strain on the family."

The family's house was torn down, but a remembrance garden was created in its place, filled with flowers in the shape of a heart and a brick sign that reads "Three angels."

"My heart breaks for Mr. Petit," said Mim Ramadei, 60, who was walking recently in the woodsy neighborhood filled with large colonials.

"He's a remarkable man," said her friend, Maddy Tannenbaum, a 57-year-old audiologist who lives nearby.

Hayes and Komisarjevsky were caught fleeing the scene and gave incriminating statements to police, authorities say. Hayes told police "things just got out of control," a detective testified last month.
Hayes' attorneys will focus on trying to spare him the death penalty, such as by pointing out his troubled mental state at the time of the crime, said Hugh Keefe, a defense attorney in New Haven who has no connection to the case.

"This case is all about the death penalty," Keefe said. "The evidence is overwhelming."

Hayes, who tried to kill himself in prison, told the judge in April that he wanted to plead guilty. He changed his mind under pressure from his attorneys. Previous12.

http://newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/petit_trial_day_1/id_29236
Petit Trial Court Diary, Day One: Deceptive Calm
by Katie Rohner | Sep 13, 2010 10:25 pm
A video played on the screen inside Room 6A Monday morning as a spectacular murder trial got underway in Connecticut Superior Court on Church Street—a video, like much of the rest of the day’s proceedings, imbued with an eerie, deceptive sense of calm.

The video played in the courtroom of Judge Jon C. Blue. Blue is presiding over the long-awaited trial of Steven Hayes, the first of two men accused of a murder the brutality of which startled the nation, the July 2007 murder Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters in Cheshire.

In the video, Hawke-Petit seemingly returned to life as she stood, looking tired but focused, at a Bank of America counter on the morning of July 23, 2007 and requested a withdrawal of $15,000 from the joint savings account she shared with husband, William Petit.

The teller, Kristin Makhzangi, listened to Petit’s patient explanation that her family was held hostage at home. She called the bank manager over to assist with the urgent transaction.

The video was the most powerful image of Monday’s proceedings. It was not a continuous feed, but more like a series of jerky, fast-moving stills of the transaction in progress. 

Two witnesses, employees of the bank, took the stand and testified about what was in the video.

Bank of American branch manager Mary Lyons spoke of how she checked other Petit family accounts that might cover this request and asked for ID. She testified about how, when Petit opened her wallet, shes could see only a picture of her daughters inside.

“I looked at the pictures, and we locked into each other’s eyes and I knew I had to help her,” explained Lyons
Both Lyons and the second witness used the same word to describe Jennifer Hawkes-Petit’s manner during the scene captured on video: “calm.”

Only the fact that “her hands were a little shaky” gave hint to the panic she undoubtedly was feeling, Lyons testified.

The victim on screen was calm. The defendant whose life is at risk in the courtroom was calm. The lawyer trying to save his life, the lawyer seeking to convict him, the witnesses who took the stand were all calm. Everyone but the judge, it seems, was calm.

Editor’s Note: Local attorney Katie Rohner will be keeping a courtroom diary of the Petit trial for the Independent.

The calm was a veneer covering wells of emotion, events with life-or-death consequences, and the strategies of the drama’s two legal teams.

At 9:23 a.m., the video abruptly ended with an empty frame where Mrs. Petit had been patiently standing, but now had suddenly disappeared.

Calm was the last emotion many of us expected to find in Courtroom 6A at the long-awaited onset of the trial against Hayes, who stands accused of 17 crimes including capital felony murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, arson, burglary, and assault.

But beginning with a gentle drizzle all morning, the mood throughout the day remained low-key and sedate.
The specifics of these crimes are horrific and unfathomable, but it is the randomness of how the Petit family was chosen to suffer that strikes the greatest fear in our hearts. That fear seemed veiled or subdued Monday by the tone of professional calm surrounding the news trucks parked along the curb outside the courthouse, as well as the reporters lined up early inside for a seat in one of the first two rows set aside for them behind the defense table.

Judge Sets A Tone
The only source of nervous energy and anticipation came from Judge Blue, who unexpectedly appeared in the hallway before the courtroom was opened and casually answered a few reporters’ questions regarding the schedule as well as the gag order in place.  Later, the judge popped in and out of the courtroom at least a dozen times . He offered advice on seating. (It’s the law of the jungle, first-come first-served; perhaps the reporters could alternate seats like a volleyball team?). He equated the blocked visibility of the big screen used for exhibits to an obstructed view at Fenway Park. He reminisced about the standing-room-only experiences he enjoyed while seeing Broadway plays in college. He seemed to be trying to eliminate any tension and unease with gentle humor and conviviality; since I normally only see him sitting quietly alone at the counters of neighborhood restaurants during weekday lunch breaks, I found this side of him a bit surprising.

He smiled sweetly at each juror who was called in individually for a final assessment of their ability to sit on the jury. (Three were excused for bias or conflicts that arose since they were originally picked months ago). He greeted each one with a sincere “nice to see you again.”  Just as he was beginning to seem more captain of a cruise ship, than judge overseeing a murder trial,  Blue exclaimed to the jury, “Welcome aboard!” And the trial began.

Despite the emotionally-charged scenes underlying the case, the two attorneys—New Haven State’s Attorney Michael Dearington and Public Defender Thomas Ullmann—delivered low-key opening statements   While the opening and closing statements are not evidence, they are powerful tools of persuasion or, as Judge Blue explained to the jury, a “preview of the coming attractions.”

Dearington, standing still and looking directly at the jury, declineded to give an overview of the case due to the length of time that would entail. He simply stated his confidence in the jury to render a just and fair decision about “what, if any, involvement” the defendant had in committing the crimes for which he is on trial.

Dearington’s calm demeanor made sense, because the guilt phase of this trial is almost a formality.

In keeping with that notion, Tom Ullmann kept his statement short, reading most of it from his notes, and acknowledging that Hayes sexually assaulted and murdered Jennifer Hawke-Petit. He said that Hayes stated that it got “way out of control” and “no one was supposed to get hurt.”

Ullmann’s true objective at this trial is to try to save Hayes’ life by shifting the blame for the escalation of violence on Hayes’  co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, who will face trial in a few months.

In an almost hushed tone, Ullmann said that he and his co-cousel, Patrick Culligan, were “profoundly sad” by these events.

“Be The Change
One by one, each of the five witnesses Monday—nurse Mona Huggard, who worked with William Petit; the two bank employees, neighbor David Simcik, who found Dr. Petit lying beaten in his driveway; and Cheshire Police Officer Thomas Right—each calmly and methodically answered the questions posed to them.

Steven Hayes, dressed in khaki pants and a striped, short-sleeved shirt, quietly rocked from side to side in his chair and occasionally spun around to look at the clock on the back wall. William Petit, surrounded by a large contingent of his close-knit family, sat calmly, foot jiggling often. He chewed gum for a while, holding the pew in front of him with his left hand as if to brace himself. On his wrist was a pink and green wristband reading, “Be the Change.” On his lapel, and on those of his extended family, were pins in the shape of a heart. 

The somewhat sedate proceedings were punctuated a couple of times, when Lyons, the bank manager, choked up in recalling the calm Jennifer Hawke-Petit’s bravery; when Simcik, following his description of how he and his wife discussed the mundane task of disposing grass clippings at the transfer station, discovered William Petit in a mess of blood, initially recognizable only by his voice; and when Officer Right was asked what he found on the second floor of the Petit home after the fire was extinguished.

But, again, it was Lyons and the haunting image of that video of Jennifer Petit calmly trying to secure the cash needed to free her family that provided such a jarring juxtaposition of calm and utter fear. In Lyons’ 911 call, played for the courtroom, she told the dispatcher in a composed manner that Jennifer Petit was “calm,” but “could have been petrified,” and that Petit described the captors as “being very nice.”

Listening to this, we could imagine that Petit still held hope that the money would suffice to appease the captors and save her family, and that she went about that goal with a steady determination.  At that point, she could not know what we now know about how that morning would end.

Connecticut doctor whose family was killed takes the stand

By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 11:47 AM, September 14, 2010
Posted: 10:48 AM, September 14, 2010


http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/connecticut_doctor_whose_family_eWPz3N9foeiSbXiWwlizKJ

NEW HAVEN -- "If he moves, put two bullets in him."

Dr. William Petit -- sole survivor of a 2007 Connecticut home invasion that left his wife and two daughters slaughtered in his flame-engulfed home -- took the stand this morning in the murder trial of the first of the crime's two alleged attackers, describing for the first time his family's nightmare of rape, arson and death.

It was a July morning, before dawn, when he woke suddenly from the sunroom couch of his home, 14 miles north of New Haven, where he'd fallen asleep the night before. First came the pain to his head. Then, in the darkness, he saw the outlines of two men -- both standing over him, one of them holding a big black handgun.

"One person said, 'If he moves, put two bullets in him," Petit told jurors.

Petit -- a respected endocrinologist, has been vocal in his support of the death penalty but essentially silent on the events of the 2007 morning when two burglary parolees broke into his tree-shaded colonial, clubbed him in the head with a bat, tied his daughters -- Michaela, 11 and Hayley, 17 -- to their beds, and forced his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, to withdraw $15,000 cash from a nearby bank.

His testimony, long awaited as the only eye-witness voice to the horror, began slowly, at shortly after 10 a.m., with the mundane and now so poignant details of his family's charmed life before the horror.

"That's our house, here," the doctor said, his voice a study in control, as he used a laser pointer to indicate his home's location on an overhead screen showing an aerial view of his street.

He calmly gave jurors his daughters' birthdays and school histories. He described the older girl's reaction upon learning, in 1998, that the mother, Hawke-Petit, had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis -- an incurable neurological illness for which the mom, still a picture of health and blonde beauty in photos just prior to the attack, was taking medications.

"Hayley said that if she could raise enough money she could save her mother," the father remembered to jurors.

Petit testified before a packed courtroom in New Haven Superior Court -- where lawyers for Steven Hayes, 47, who prosecutors say has admitted to the attack, are fighting to save him from the death penalty.

"Things got out of hand," prosecutors say Hayes explained to cops after he and co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky, 29, were caught speeding away from the burning home in the Petit family SUV -- Hayes wearing Hayley's woolen hat on his head.

By mid-morning in what's expected to be day-long testimony, Petit began to delve into the dark details of the invasion.

"It was very strange. I remember thinking, or feeling, 'Ow. Ow. Ow.' " he told jurors. "There was something warm running down the side of my face."

He saw the gun -- figuring it was a 9 mm semi-automatic by it's size. Petit has treated several police officers for diabetes, he explained to jurors in the grim testimony's only laugh line so far. "It was always a bit unnerving," he said. "I'd say, 'Wow, that's a big gun.'" Petit then looked at a 9 mm semi in evidence, and pronounced it "consistent."

The men bound him with plastic ties, threw a cloth over his head, deepening his darkness. He heard something of their prowlings. He heard nothing from his wife and girls, but birds begin to sing: must be dawn coming, he told jurors he thought.

Eventually, the two men walked him downstairs to the basement and tied him to a support pole, he told jurors. He bled profusely, and slipped in and out of consciousness, he told jurors.

The men would come back, demanding valuables. "We have no safe," he told them.

"Somebody, the same person at some point, said, "If you give us what we want, we won't hurt you."

At one point, his wife's voice wafted down to him from the kitchen, saying she'd need to get her purse and his checkbook in order to go to the bank. She would make the trip to the bank with Hayes driving their SUV, returning with $15,000, according to yesterday's testimony.

The guilt phase of Hayes’ murder trial is expected to last some four weeks, and, if he is convicted of any of six capital felonies in the indictment against him, will be followed by a penalty phase to determine if he will be put to death by lethal injection under Connecticut’s death penalty law.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20016411-504083.html
September 14, 2010 4:30 PM
Dr. William Petit Takes Stand, Describes Wife Jennifer Hawke-Petit, Daughters in Conn. Murder Case
Posted by Naimah Jabali-Nash Leave Comment


http://abcnews.go.com/US/dr-william-petit-testifies-trial-familys-alleged-murderer/story?id=11633236
Dr. William Petit Takes the Stand, Tells of His Family's Slaughter
Pleasant Day Ends With Rapes, Beating, Two Men Setting Conn. Home Ablaze
 09/14/10

http://newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/petit_trial_court_diary_day_two_the_/id_29270
It Kept Coming Back To “The Girls”
by Katie Rohner | Sep 15, 2010 8:06 am
(1) Comment | Post a Comment | E-mail the Author
Posted to: Legal Writes

William Petit and “the girls.”
 Bound at the ankles by hard, plastic “zip ties,” disoriented from a severe head wound,  William Petit “rolled” up the driveway of his neighbor, David Simcik. “Dave, Dave, Dave,” he called.

Lying on his side, Petit banged on the garage door. When it opened, his neighbor did not recognize him beneath the blood and swelling.

“Dave, it’s me, Bill.  Call 9-1-1.”

A plainclothes policeman appeared seemingly within seconds. Gun drawn he asked Petit, “Who’s in the house?”

“The girls,”  Petit cried.

The policeman, dressed in a heavy, black SWAT uniform, yelled two more times, “Who’s in the house?”

Twice more Petit cried, “The girls are in the house.” Finally, the policeman told Petit to “stay down, you’re a witness”—to which, Dr. Petit beseeched “the girls are in the house.” 

Three years after two men brutally killed his wife and two daughters and nearly killed him, William Petit told that story Tuesday to Room 6A of Superior Court on Church Street in downtown New Haven. He was indeed a witness.

He told that story, and many others, about the day of the triple murder and the family it abruptly destroyed.

Amid all the matter-of-fact recitation of bloody, unimaginable fact, it again kept coming down to “the girls,” Petit’s wife Jennifer and his daughters, Hayley and Michaela. It came back to memories and anecdotes that belong in scrapbooks and family-table stories, and they proved as powerful Tueday as the bloody facts of the triple’s murder’s commission.

Petit testified in the second day of the the Cheshire home invasion and triple murder trial of accused co-murderer Steven Hayes.

Prosecutor Michael Dearington first guided Petit through a series of questions regarding how long he lived at 300 Sorghum Mill Drive in Cheshire and the nature of his medical practice. Then he turned the questioning to the events of July 23, 2007. Petit took a deep breath.

Petit and his wife had been married 22 years in 2007. The jury heard Petit describe Jennifer’s training and career as a registered nurse, specializing in pediatrics, and her diagnosis in 1998 of multiple sclerosis. He recounted Michaela’s fiftth-grade year at St. Margaret’s-McTernan School in Waterbury, where she progressed from Brownies to Girl Scouts, participated in school sports, and played two instruments.

The jury heard most of all about Hayley, who had just graduated from Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, where she played three sports, co-captained the basketball and crew teams, was nominated student leader of sports, and excelled in French, English, and Biology. He recalled how 9-year-old Hayley, learning of her mom’s illness, started a group called “Hayley’s Hope” in order to raise enough money to cure her mother and help others with MS. This memory, coupled with her early-decision acceptance to his alma mater, Dartmouth, appeared to forge a special connection between father and daughter.

Next Dearington led Petit through the last day he spent with his wife and daughters: He had “asked the girls” if it was OK to play golf with his father in Farmington that afternoon whlie they went to the beach. He called them to check on dinner plans and was instructed to look for corn or vegetables at a farm stand.

The girls, for their part, would pick up ingredients at the local Stop-n-Shop. That visit that would turn out to have tragic consequences.

Michaela, who loved cooking, helped prepare the meal. While “the girls were chatting at the table,” Petit shifted to “what Jen called the Florida room,” which is where he would later be beaten awake by strangers around 3 a.m

Petit remembered alerting the girls to the start of one of their favorite programs, “Army Wives,” at 10 p.m. Like any other indulgent dad, he relinquished the room and falling asleep in the room next door. 

Jennifer, Hayley, and Michaela were savagely assaulted and murdered the day after they went to the beach and made dinner for dad. But the jury, and others present in the courtroom, also caught a poignant glimpse of this family’s everyday life in all its warmth and familiarity. There were photos of Hayley’s worn sneakers, Jennifer’s pocketbook, souvenir glasses that held spare change, the strand of pearls he bought that “must be Michaela’s because hers were not finished,” whereas Hayley’s complete strand was safely draped over a small statue on his bureau so “then we would know where it was.”

A picture of an IPOD station that he bought “for the girls for Christmas” was in the SUV in which the defendant attempted to flee the burning Petit home on July 23.

Perhaps convenience and routine prompted the shorthand, “the girls,” that Petit used often when speaking of Jennifer, Hayley, and Michaela. But as he described himself as ” the guy around the house surrounded by women,”  it was clear that this was the identity that gave Petit his greatest comfort and pride, and offered some of the most searing testimony heard in Courtroom 6A.


Previous installment of the Petit Trial Court Diary:

• Day One: Deceptive Calm  http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/petit_trial_day_1/

My family got the death penalty, and you want to give murderers life. That is not justice.
--Dr. William Petit, to Connecticut lawmakers

What a brave man!

Conn. horror home invasion detailed in 911 calls and surveillance video

By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 7:49 PM, September 15, 2010
Posted: 4:57 PM, September 15, 2010

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/conn_horror_home_invasion_detailed_cztNqVMOpWMwT6GckNdCKO

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- She's trying desperately to save her family. And maybe she could have, had cops only acted more quickly.

Newly-released video shows the astonishing calm and resolve of Connecticut mom Jennifer Hawke-Petit as she withdrew $15,000 cash ransom from her bank, clearly and carefully informing the teller that men are holding her husband and daughters hostage back home, threatening to kill them all.

But cops in wealthy Cheshire, CT failed to immediately chase Hawke-Petit's car, in which she had been driven to the bank by one of her attackers -- despite knowing immediately its description and location, according to shocking testimony today.

Worst of all, throughout that half-hour of watching and waiting, fire vehicles were not called to the scene as a precaution, leaving cops to fight the sudden inferno at first alone, without gear -- with a single

By the time fire trucks arrived -- finally summoned only at the first sign of smoke -- a full 40 minutes had elapsed since the valiant mother stood before the bank teller, composedly telling her tale of horror.

Her body by then lay raped, strangled and charred beyond recognition, barely indistinguishable from the family room couch it was propped against, according to crime scene photos so graphic, they brought five jurors, men and women, to tears yesterday.

These revelations -- which suggests the family could have been saved but for police hesitancy -- came on day three of testimony in the murder trial of crack addict Steven Hayes, charged as one of the two monsters who launched a reign of rape and murder against the Petit family on a Monday morning in July, 2007.

Here's the chilling chronology of inaction, according to trial documents and testimony:

9:17 a.m. Hawke-Petit, 48, receives a time-stamped receipt for the $15,000 ransom withdrawal. The terrified mom has bravely, despite her captors' death threats, told the teller and the manager that she, her husband Dr. William Petit, and their daughters, Hayley, 17 and Michaela, 11, were being held hostage in their home.

9:21 a.m. Bank manager Mary Lyons calls 911, relaying Hawke-Petit's story, specifying that the mom appeared "petrified," and giving the vehicle's location and description as it left the parking lot.

9:26 a.m. First details of the "possible" hostage situation, and the bank employees' description of Hawke-Petit's vehicle, as allegedly driven by Hayes, are broadcast on police radio. Captains begin deploying a half-dozen marked and unmarked police vehicles around the perimeter of the Petit home.

9:27 a.m. One of the captains tells the units not to approach the house. No fire, ambulance, state police or other emergency authorities have yet been contacted.

9:44 a.m. Another of the captains, Robert Vignola, puts out a radio transmission indicating the perimeter is still being set up -- and that no one is to even call the house until that perimeter is ready.

9:54 a.m. A police radio dispatch indicates someone -- Petit, the victim father, as it turns out -- was calling out for help in the invaded home's back yard. Petit, who would be the sole survivor of the invasion, had broken free from the basement, and -- bleeding profusely from blows to the head, and with his ankles still bound -- had rolled his body across two yards to summon help.

It was at this moment, Vignola testified in New Haven Superior Court, that Hayes and his co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, 29, peeled out of the driveway, driving Hawke-Petit's SUV. Inside, fire began to sweep through the house -- fueled, prosecutors say, by gasoline sprayed through the living room by the two men.

Only after the SUV crashed into a police cruiser one block away, and a plume of smoke began to rise from the rear of the home, did Capt. Vignola call the fire department, according to his testimony.

As fire trucks arrived, so did Lt. Jay Markella -- he'd have been there earlier, he told jurors, but his pager wasn't working. Meanwhile, upstairs, the rising torrent of choking smoke claimed the lives of the two girls.

Asked, during cross examination by public defender Thomas Ullman, why so little was apparently done, Vignola noted that there were no external signs of violence at the home, and that there had been initial "confusion" over what was even going on.

"But the bank manager had said (to police) that Mrs. Petit was petrified?" asked the defense lawyer.

"That's correct," the captain conceded. But police were following state protocol, he insisted.

"It's been our training in Connecticut since 2001," he said. "We were building on information we had. There was no violence. The information from the start was very confusing. I was establishing a rescue team," he insisted.

"I had no idea if there was any act of violence. If there had been any indication of violence, I would have been the first one through the door."

"Not excusing what happened, the fact was, you were too late, correct?" the defense lawyer asked.

Prosecutors' objection to that question was sustained by the judge.

"Michaela was lying on the bed -- her hands were bound with, like string or rope, and they were over her head," the police lieutenant testified of finding the younger girl's body. The cop demonstrated with his hands, holding them as if bound together, fist to fist. As the cop held his fists to his face, as if cowering, the father began to rock and sob in his front-row seat, the only emotion the stolid, grieving widower has displayed during the trial.

Testimony in the heartbreaking case continues tomorrow.

The more I read about this story the more madder I get.  I blame the police.  They could have saved this family.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/09/16/Detective-testifies-in-triple-murder-case/UPI-38861284636997/
Detective testifies in triple murder case
Published: Sept. 16, 2010 at 7:36 AM
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A detective says he would have been "the first one in the door," had he known violence had occurred in a hostage incident that left three dead in Connecticut.

Cheshire Detective Capt. Robert Vignola was the lead officer at the scene of the triple-homicide; he said he followed protocol when he arrived, and began setting up a perimeter around the home, the Waterbury Republican-American reported Thursday.

Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two children were killed on July 23, 2007. But, they were still alive when Vignola arrived on the scene, the jury in the trial of defendant Steven Hayes was told.

Hayes and co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky allegedly strangled Hawke-Petit; daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, died of smoke inhalation.
If we had any information that there was any violence, I'd be the first one in the door," Vignola testified Wednesday at Hayes's trial. "I had absolutely no idea."

Police caught Hayes and Komisarjevsky as they fled the home, which the two allegedly set on fire with the two girls still alive.

Their rescue may have been hindered because police were unsure if another suspect remained in the home; firefighters initially didn't enter the residence for that reason, the newspaper said.

The husband and father of the victims, Dr. William A. Petit, was the only survivor of the home invasion.

Connecticut jurors get horrific glimpse of Petit teen's charred bed

By LAURA ITALIANO Post Correspondent
Last Updated: 5:55 AM, September 17, 2010
Posted: 3:52 AM, September 17, 2010


http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/tied_down_and_set_on_fire_KCG7y9EgojqMbSa4C4tCWL

(http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2010/09/17/news/photos_stories/cropped/burned_bed--300x150.jpg)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Crime photos of tragic Hayley Petit's flame-blackened bed -- restraints still tied to its carved wood finials -- were entered into evidence yesterday in the horrific Connecticut home-invasion murder trial.

With its burned comforter and charred, exposed bedsprings, the pictures are evidence of unfathomable evil: that Hayley, 17, and her sister, Michaela, 11, were literally ignited alive in their beds.

So horrific have these and other evidence pictures been that even the monster standing trial has found them literally sickening.

It's been three years since defendant Steven Hayes, 47, and his accomplice, Joshua Komisarjevsky, 29, allegedly unleashed a nightmare of kidnapping, rape, murder and arson after breaking into the Petit family home north of New Haven on a Monday morning in July.

Yesterday, the lawyer for Hayes, who is being tried first in New Haven Superior Court, announced his client had suffered "seizure-like symptoms" and had "urinated all over himself" during a sleepless night in jail the night before.

"I believe it is attributed to what occurred yesterday afternoon," the lawyer, Thomas Ullmann, told the trial judge.

The afternoon's testimony had included descriptions by cops and firefighters of finding the bodies of the two girls and their strangled mother, Jennifer Hawke-Petit.

Court ended early due to the lawyer's "concerns" for his client's health. Prosecutors may release Hayes' never-before-revealed confession when testimony continues Monday.

"This is Michaela's bed," State Trooper Karen Gabianelli, the crime scene's evidence officer, told jurors before court was called off, referring to one picture in which a wide swath of charcoal black extended from the foot of the bed and down across the carpet.

A wooden Louisville Slugger bat -- which Komisarjevsky allegedly swiped from the garage and used to club the father in the head -- leaned against the little girl's dresser.

"I'm going to refer to this as the bottom of the bed," Gabianelli told jurors, using a laser pointer on a photo projected on screen. "I'm going to say that based on the position we found her in. Her feet were toward this end of the bed."

One bedroom down, Hayley would manage to escape the flames at her feet. Photos show tied, melted lengths of pantyhose at the posts on one end of her bed, and cotton rope with burned ends tied at the other end.

The older girl died, though, on the landing just outside her bedroom doorway, overcome by fire and smoke. The flames around her had been so hot, her sleep shorts had fused to the landing carpet, the trooper testified. The tatters of her clothing now sit on the prosecution table, in the kind of metal evidence cans reserved for items contaminated by fire accelerants.

Lawyers for Hayes are trying to avoid Connecticut's death penalty by claiming he is somehow less guilty than the break-in's alleged mastermind, Komisarjevsky.

It was Komisarjevsky who allegedly chose the victims, targeting the mother and two girls after spying them the night before in a supermarket parking lot, where they bought groceries for what would be the family's last meal. It was Komisarjevsky, a veteran break-in artist, who allegedly planned the attack, clubbed the father and raped the younger girl.

But prosecutors say it was Hayes who drove the mother to her local bank, waiting outside in her SUV as she withdrew $15,000 in ransom money. Returning to the home, Hayes strangled and raped the mother in the living room, prosecutors say, and joined in the thorough and unforgivable arson.

Crime-scene photos introduced in evidence today suggest the mother, too, had been tied at one point to her bed. A silk scarf -- "57 inches long," the trooper noted -- was knotted to one of the bedposts. The couple's bedroom had been methodically ransacked, other photos showed.

"Throughout the entire bedroom, almost all the drawers were either removed or ajar," the trooper told jurors.

Jewelry boxes sat in a row on the smoke-stained comforter, as if inventoried. Other items appeared untouched -- including books stacked in a nightstand, among them "The Encyclopedia of Christian Worship."

The guilt phase of the trial is expected to take another three weeks. If Hayes is convicted, a second trial will follow in which the same jury decides whether he should be put to death.

laura.italiano@nypost.com

snipped from above:
Yesterday, the lawyer for Hayes, who is being tried first in New Haven Superior Court, announced his client had suffered "seizure-like symptoms" and had "urinated all over himself" during a sleepless night in jail the night before.

Well cry me a river . . . what . . . we're supposed to feel sorry for this POS.  Never!!!

I agree.

http://insession.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/20/petit-slayings-trial-postponed-two-days-judge-is-hospitalized/

September 20, 2010
Petit slayings trial postponed two days; Judge is hospitalized
Posted: 01:52 PM ET

New Haven, Connecticut – The Petit slayings trial in Connecticut has been postponed for two days. The Judge presiding over the trial, Jon Blue, has been hospitalized. Moments after the defendant, Steven Hayes, was escorted into the courtroom this morning, Judge Roland Fasano took the bench and made an announcement.

"As you're all probably aware, Judge Blue is in the hospital... he's just undergoing some observation and testing.  He's feeling well, and will be ready to go on Wednesday," said Judge Fasano.

The judge also noted that the Hayes trial jurors did arrive at the courthouse as usual but were sent home; they will return in two days.

This is the third time the trial has been delayed. The defendant, Steven Hayes experienced a seizure last Thursday, leading to a mid-day adjournment. Months back, the start of the trial was postponed after Hayes tried to kill himself.

Steven Hayes and co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky are charged with capital murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, burglary and arson for the killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, Hayley Petit and Michaela Petit in 2007. Hawke-Petit was strangled, while her daughters; 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela died of smoke inhalation when their captors set their home on fire.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any more sickening I read this.  I can't read about this case any more because it is disturbing to me.

I hope both these low lives die of a horrible painful death for what they did.  And if we think that this first trial is bad I have a feeling the next one will be worse  ::MonkeyMad::

Fire marshal testimony reveals horrifying traces of Petit-family slaying

By LAURA ITALIANO Post Correspondent
Last Updated: 10:12 AM, September 25, 2010
Posted: 2:23 AM, September 25, 2010


NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Gasoline had been splashed in great, looping arcs across the doomed girls' beds and bodies before being ignited, according to some of the most harrowing testimony yet in the Connecticut home-invasion murder trial.

The testimony, by a state fire marshal, sent the aunt of the young victims, Hayley Petit, 17, and her 11-year-old sister Michaela, fleeing from the courtroom in tears.

"The pour pattern of the ignitable liquid went across Michaela's body," marshal Paul Makuc told jurors yesterday, using a laser pointer to trace the liquid's charred trail across a crime scene photo.
Pointing later to a photo of Hayley's bed, he showed jurors how there, too, death came with a monstrous flick of the plastic bottle of gas in her killer's hand.

"You'll note the heavy burn damage extends across the top of the mattress," the marshal told jurors, again demonstrating with a photo and a pointer.

"It leads to the total consumption of the bedding material, and in fact, the top of the mattress."

Investigators believe the flames on Hayley's bed were so intense, they burned through the restraints at her wrists and ankles. Hayley was on fire as she fled her burning bed, and collapsed and died of smoke inhalation just outside her bedroom doorway, investigators have said.

The girls had already been tied to their beds for more than six hours before the gasoline hit, and the fire was set, prosecutors say.

Their mother, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, already lay raped and strangled -- the work, prosecutors say, of crack-addicted career con Steven Hayes, now on trial for the triple murder. Only the father, Dr. William Petit -- beaten in the head nearly to death with a baseball bat -- survived, escaping to summon help just moments before his house burst into flames.

Co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky, 29, whom Hayes blames for setting the fire, is to face trial next year. Yesterday, Komisarjevsky's defense lawyer left the Petit family furious when he insisted in a statement to trial reporters that evidence shows the younger daughter had not been raped by his client.

"We are deeply sympathetic of the sadness of the Petit family and we expect this is just a very small solace," the lawyer said of his no-rape claim -- which flies in the face of DNA evidence.

"We are completely outraged today," said another of the girls' aunts -- Petit's sister, Hannah.

"We don't want his sympathy. We don't need his sympathy," she said, bitterly.

laura.italiano@nypost.com

This attorney is dumber than a rock (no offense rocks, you serve a wonderful purpose).  If he thinks for one split second such statements will render any sympathy, he needs to go hit his own head with a rock.
 :smt021

http://www.myrecordjournal.com/latestnews/article_24bf65a4-cb15-11df-a861-001cc4c002e0.html
Witness: Petit home fire started in family room
By: | Posted: Tuesday, September 28, 2010 11:17 am | 0 comments

NEW HAVEN -- A detective from the state fire marshal's office who examined the badly burned home of William Petit and his family on July 23, 2007 testified Tuesday that the fire was set in the family room.

 The witness is testifying at the trial of Steven Hayes, one of two men charged in the rape and murder of Petit's wife and two daughters. The daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11 perished in the fire. Prosecutors said Hayes strangeled the girl's mother Jennifer Hawke-Petit in the family room.

Jurors were shown pictures of articles in the home damaged beyond recognition and where  police found Mrs. Petit's badly burned body. The witness said the fire was set by a match and accelerants were used throughout the house, up the stairs, in the bedrooms and on the bodies of the Petit daughters.

The trial is now continuing at New Haven Superior Court. The state is expected to wrap up its case today and the defense could also rest.

Follow live Tweets of the trial's coverage on this website or on Twitter at Record_Journal.

http://www.theday.com/article/20100928/OP01/309289955
Resist calls for death penalty
Published 09/28/2010 12:00 AMUpdated 09/28/2010 02:03 AM
Gruesome details of the Petit family home-invasion, triple-murder case now being played out in a New Haven courtroom have horrified the country, thanks to front-page coverage in national newspapers, lead-story treatment on television and radio networks and sensational reporting in tabloids and news magazines.

Not surprisingly, the case also has prompted renewed demands for Connecticut authorities to exact a sentence it has been reluctant to impose over the years: the death penalty.

Since a 1976 U.S. Supreme Court decision that reinstated executions, Connecticut has put to death only one person, serial killer Michael Ross, in 2005. His death by lethal injection came 45 years after Joseph "Mad Dog" Taborsky was sent to the electric chair following his conviction for several brutal robberies and murders.

This newspaper understands these calls for "justice," especially considering that the Petit family has joined in such emotional appeals. On Sunday, more than 2,000 motorcyclists, led by a procession of state and local policemen, participated in the inaugural Petit Family Foundation's Ride for Justice.

According to news accounts of the event, many riders, when questioned, said one of their goals was to attract support for the death penalty.
Dr. William Petit, the only survivor of the 2007 home invasion that claimed the life of his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and daughters, Hayley and Michaela, also has publicly advocated capital punishment. He has been attending the first of two trials of the men accused in the brutal crimes.

Steven J. Hayes, on trial now, and Joshua Komisarjevsky, expected to be tried next year, face multiple capital felony counts in the deaths of Mrs. Hawke-Petit and her daughters. Mrs. Hawke-Petit and Michaela were sexually assaulted before they were killed.

If Mr. Hayes is convicted, a second penalty phase will be held to determine whether he should get the death penalty. Prosecutors have already said that they intend to argue several aggravating factors, including that the crimes were committed in a "heinous, cruel or depraved manner."

Even so, we nonetheless urge the state not only to resist enforcing its death-penalty laws, but to abolish them from the books as well.

Capital punishment is barbaric, and there's no evidence it serves as a deterrent of capital crimes. It also precludes any opportunity to review a case with the introduction of new, exculpatory evidence, as has occurred numerous times in other parts of the country in recent years.
Supporters of the death penalty often claim the alternative - lifetime incarceration - is expensive, but in fact it costs more money to execute prisoners because of the numerous mandatory legal appeals that must first be exhausted even when an inmate no longer wants to fight execution, as was the case with Mr. Ross.

A report by the national Death Penalty Information Center bears this out, noting, for instance, that each death penalty case in Texas costs taxpayers about $2.3 million. That is about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years.

Of course, this state will never be, nor should it ever be, confused with Texas, which has put 1,214 prisoners to death since 1819. If Connecticut is known as the Constitution State, Texas should be called the Execution State.

Still, Connecticut, which has put to death 127 people since 1639, has had its share of morally questionable executions.

It put to death the youngest person in America, Hannah Ocuish, a mentally +++++++ Pequot Indian girl who was hanged in 1786 after killing the young daughter of a prominent white family following an argument over a basket of strawberries.
Most people associate Salem, Mass., with witch trials, but Achsah Young of Windsor, the first person executed for witchcraft in the 13 Colonies, was hanged in 1647 in Hartford.

The fate of Connecticut's death penalty law will rest with the legislature and next governor. The assembly has favored abolishing the law. Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley wants it to stay on the books, while Democrat Dan Malloy wants it repealed.

We agree: Capital punishment should end in Connecticut.

Sister,I agree.This case makes me physically ill.
No one should have to suffer like this.I pray for Mr.Petit's continued strength.

Just when you think it couldn't get any worse. I can't wait until this guy is dead.  He doesn't deserve to take another breath.


Defendant boasted about role in Conn. home invasion

By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 4:56 PM, September 28, 2010
Posted: 9:13 AM, September 28, 2010

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/conn_home_invasion_trial_resumes_G81YyGvJRLnes5NBYM4TcJ

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The monster on trial for the horrific Connecticut home invasion murders blabbed and boasted to his next door cell mate -- admitting he killed the family's mom and that he helped pour the gasoline that, ignited, slaughtered her two daughters.

But right before he murdered tragic Jennifer Hawke-Petit, the fiend, Steven Hayes, claimed he had a chilling moment of doubt, according to a guard who testified today about overhearing Hayes' jailhouse braggings one year after the massacre.

"He said he didn't know if he could do it," Connecticut corrections officer Jeremiah Krob told jurors in the trial's last prosecution testimony.

"Then they saw police cruisers outside," the officer testified. "He said that at that point he killed Mrs. Petit."

Krob told jurors he'd been assigned to suicide-watch duty outside Haye's solitary confinement cell in Northern Correctional Institute when he heard the jarring admissions.

It was one year after the July, 2007 morning when Hayes and co-defendant Joshua Komiarjevsky allegedly murdered the mom and her daughters -- Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11. The family's father, Dr. William Petit -- clubbed nearly to death -- had narrowly escaped, but too late to summon help.

Locked in his tiny cell in the super-max prison, Hayes had a conversation with the accused murderer next door, one Vernon Cowan, the officer testified. Meanwhile, the officer listened, taking notes.

Oddly -- given the pile of murder and kidnapping charges against him, Hayes shared with his jailhouse buddy his concern over being charged with arson, the officer testified.

"He believed he'd only poured gasoline down the stairs of the house. But he had not lit the match. Therefore, he believed he could not be charged with arson," Krob told jurors.

Hayes mentioned Michaela, and spoke of knowing Komisarjevsky had raped the little girl. "He said Komisarjevsky had poured gasoline on the younger Petit girl" Michaela, the officer added.

Then, "Inmate Hayes mentioned to inmate Cowan that Komisarjevsky had taken cell phone pictures of the younger Petit girl," the officer testified. "He was trying to email them from his cell phone to his friends."

Jurors have heard of these sickening pornographic images -- but they have not heard that Komisarjevsky, the invasion's alleged mastermind, had tried to share them.

"Hayes mentioned to inmate Cowan that he had robbed the bank of $40, $50,000," the officer told jurors. Here, Hayes would have been exaggerating. Prosecutors say Hawke-Petit withdrew $15,000 at a nearby bank as Hayes waited for her in the parking lot.

The inmate next door then asked Hayes why Hayes didn't just drive off with the cash. "He said he didn't know, that he brought Mrs. Petit back to the Petit house and placed her in the den," the officer continued

Komisarjevsky was allegedly on the other side of the first floor, in the living room. Hayes told the inmate next door that he, Hayes, had paced back and forth between Komisarjevsky and the mother as Komisarjevsky kept urging him to kill the woman.

"Komisarjevsky had stated to Hayes that he had to kill her," the officer told jurors. "He[Hayes] said he didn't know if he could do it. He stated to Cowan that Komisarjevsky had told him he needed to kill her. He needed to get rid of her. And Hayes said he didn't know if he could do it.

"Then they saw police cruisers outside. He said that at that point, he killed Mrs. Petit. .. He never mentioned how he killed Mrs. Petit. He just mentioned that he killed Mrs. Petit."

In fact, the mother had been strangled, a coroner testified last week. Fractured cartilage in her neck survived even the inferno that engulfed and utterly charred her corpse.

Hayes showed a self-serving streak during his conversation -- insisting, despite forensic evidence against him, that he hadn't raped the mother He showed a paranoid streak as well, musing with his next-door inmate over whether Komisarjevsky and the father had conspired in some kind of insurance plot, according to the officer's testimony.

The defense is expected to begin presenting witnesses by day's end.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1009/28/ijvm.01.html
Issues with Jane Velez Mitchell 09/28/10
<snipped>
RUTH, INDIANA (via telephone): Yes. I was wondering, are these two guys are they career criminals?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, they are. Michael Christian, what is their history?

CHRISTIAN: They have long histories, particularly Steven Hayes. Now Steven Hayes was kind of a lower level guy. He had a long history of burglary but it all seems to be pretty much drug-related. He was the kind of guy who would apparently take a brick, smash out your car window, steal your purse, take the cash and buy drugs.

Komisarjevsky was more of a home invader, a burglar. He apparently likes to go, according to reports, break into people`s houses. Sometimes he would go in, in the middle of the night and maybe not even take anything. He said he liked the thrill of going in. He apparently has said that sometimes he would sit there and just listen to the sounds of the house or listen to the people sleeping or maybe move a chair five inches or swap pictures on the wall so in the morning you`d know somebody had been there but nothing was missing.

So he was a little higher level in the burglary department and Hayes was a little lower level.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, here`s my big issue tonight: equally evil. I mean, I think everybody agrees these guys are both completely evil, even though the guy currently on trial, Steven Hayes, is trying to point the finger at the other guy, Joshua Komisarjevsky and say, oh, you know, I just wanted -- baldy over there is trying to argue, I just wanted to rob and leave and go get a margarita. It was really the other guy.

I think it`s nonsense, Joanna Greenwald, because first of all, Steven Hayes, baldy, went to get gasoline at 7:00 in the morning right toward the beginning of all of this mayhem. So he had to know that they were going to burn the house down because that`s what they used, gasoline. So how on earth is he able to point to the other guy and say well, you know, he`s really the one who raped the 11-year-old first so, then he said I should even the score and rape the mother and I was pressured into doing it. What nonsense.

JOANNA GREENWALD, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, again, now I`ll answer and address it, what I meant is dealing with the defense that way, focusing on that point is that the defense was that he was just trying to, because it`s beyond a reasonable doubt, Jane -- they`re just trying to show, just for this specific defendant, that someone else had the motive.

Even if it`s all disgusting and even if it breaks everyone`s heart as a subject matter because it`s heartbreaking. The bottom line though is that by planting some seed of some motive, then that`s what they were trying to do by saying that the father had something to do with it and he tied it tightly and maybe the other guy let it looser. That`s why he did it.

They were trying to do a defense to plant a seed of reasonable doubt.


These monsters need to fry.Period.

At the end of the day Mrs. Petit by altering the bank clerk to call the police caught the people who murdered her family.  I am convinced that Hayes and Komisarjevsky were going to murder them no matter what.

It says according to reports that Komisarjevsky like to break into peoples homes just to sit and listen to people sleep.  He is FOS.  What reports are the referring to.

If we think this trial is bad wait until the next trial.

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/testimony-ends-in-connecticut-home-invasion-murder-trial-of-steven-hayes/19653745

Testimony Ends in Conn. Home Invasion Murder Trial
Updated: 3 hours 39 minutes ago
(Sept. 29) -- The testimony got so awful that after the worst of it, the judge told jurors they could hug each other.

Testimony in the murder trial of Steven Hayes ended Tuesday with both sides resting. Hayes, 47, and Joshua Komisarjevsky, 30, are charged with murder, sexual assault and other charges in the 2007 home invasion that left a mother and her two daughters dead in Cheshire, Conn. The father was the lone survivor.

The judge was to hear motions this afternoon, and closing arguments are to begin Friday. The jury, which began hearing the case Sept. 13, is expected to get the case Monday
Hayes and Komisarjevsky are accused of beating Dr. William Petit and killing his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and their daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, on July 30, 2007. The victims were tied up in different rooms of their home in the affluent town.

Prosecutors say Hawke-Petit was strangled and her daughters died of smoke inhalation after the men set the house on fire, The Associated Press reported. Petit, who was bound and tied to a basement post, was beaten with a baseball bat, AP said. He freed himself and got to a neighbor's house.
During the trial, Petit hung his head at times while grim photos of the crime scene were showed to the jury. Photos showed rope used to tie the victims up, torn and burned clothing and ransacked rooms, AP said.

Some jurors and members of the Petit family broke down at the sight of the photos of the three victims on Sept. 15, CBS News reported. The judge recognized the difficulty of the day and cut it short and told the jurors it was to OK to hug each other, according to CBS.

A day earlier, the judge dismissed a juror who found the testimony too difficult to hear, CBS said.

Prosecutors said Hayes made Hawke-Petit take money out of the bank before she was killed. In the trial's first testimony, bank teller Kristin Makhzangi explained how Hawke-Petit told her she needed money because her family members were being held as hostages, according to WFSB-TV.
"Her hands were a little shaky, but she was not overly anxious," Makhzangi said, according to the station. "She was focusing on our conversation."

Petit also testified about how, after being beaten, he was drifting in and out of consciousness in the basement. He said he may have yelled something.
(http://o.aolcdn.com/photo-hub/news_gallery/6/8/688140/1285780073047.JPEG)
Don't worry. It's all going to be over in a couple of minutes," he said a voice responded, according to The New York Times.  Petit also remembered hearing an intruder demand the location of a safe, which the family didn't have. "If you give us what we want, we won't hurt you," he heard someone say, The Times reported.

The trial was delayed several times because of illness.

Testimony ended early on Sept. 16, a day after the horrifying photos were shown, after Hayes' lawyer said his client had "seizure-like symptoms" at night that led him to urinate "all over himself," the Hartford Courant reported.

The trial was delayed again when Judge Jon Blue was hospitalized. Jurors who went to court on Sept. 20 were told the trial would resume the following Wednesday, according to reports. The illness was not disclosed.
Filed under: Nation, Crime, Top Stories

I am not an eye-for-an-eye person.  Sometimes there are circumstances which need to be considered.  This case is not an exception.  Personally, I think they should tie both of these POS to a bed and then set it on fire.  Just before they are consumed in flames, put the fire out, and start again the next day, then the day after that . . . so they won't know which day they will finally be burned to death.
Dr. Petit has a fortitude beyond my understanding, but not beyond my admiration.  I really think I would just shoot them.
The reason the death penalty is not a deterrent is because it takes decades for it to be carried.  Most folks can't remember what they did last week, let alone the horrors that happened to a person/s years later.
When there is no doubt of the POS -- let justice be swift!

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20018192-504083.html
September 30, 2010 3:29 PM
Connecticut Home Invasion: Inside the Trial of Steven Hayes for the Petit Family Murders

Well said Sister.  ::MonkeyCool::

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20018426-504083.html
October 4, 2010 1:17 PM
Connecticut Home Invasion: Jury Begins Deliberating in Petit Family Murder Trial

http://middletownpress.com/articles/2010/10/04/news/doc4caa16e8f2f44794973216.txt

Hayes jury set to begin deliberations
Published: Monday, October 04, 2010
By Randall Beach, New Haven Register

Click to enlarge

Dr. William Petit Jr. prepares to enter Superior Court Monday morning. Brad Horrigan | New Haven Register.

NEW HAVEN — The jury in the Steven J. Hayes Cheshire triple homicide trial will begin deliberations this afternoon after hearing detailed legal instructions this morning from the judge.

Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue spent about 90 minutes listing the 17 counts against Hayes and the elements of each charge the state must prove.

The 17 charges include six counts of capital felony. If the jurors convict Hayes on one or more of these charges, they will hear a penalty phase of the trial to consider whether he should be sentenced to death.

The capital felony charges are for the murder of multiple victims — Jennifer Hawke Petit and her daughters, Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17 — as well as murdering someone under age 16, murder during the kidnapping of the three female victims, and murdering Hawke Petit during a sexual assault.

The other charges are three counts of murder; four counts of first-degree kidnapping, including restraining Dr. William Petit Jr., who survived the attack: first-degree sexual assault of Hawke Petit; third-degree burglary; first-degree arson, and second-degree assault of Petit.
After Blue finished his instructions, he sent home the two alternate jurors, telling them they would still be needed if a regular juror could not continue, or if the 12 convict Hayes on any of the capital felony counts.

The 12 jurors are expected to begin deliberations shortly after 2 p.m. today, following Blue’s slight clarification of his instructions.

I have followed this case and this trial and I have been unable to post......the hate in my heart for these 2 is so great it is frightening to me....I can only hope when some bleeding hearts start spouting about the death penalty being cruel and unusual punishment someone will force them to read what these monsters did to this family......I would gladly slit their throats..after I castrated them and burned their eyes and tongue out with a hot poker, and cut them up piece by piece....how Dr. Petit and his family have lived through this trial with their sanity intact is beyond me....God Bless them all.

                         (http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j120/Bearlyhere/Monkey%20Emoticons/angel2-crying.gif)

http://www.countytimes.com/articles/2010/10/05/news/doc4cab2bd04dc61446555586.txt
Jurors Ask Questions About Evidence in Hayes Case (Web Exclusive)
Published: Tuesday, October 05, 2010



By RANDALL BEACH
New Haven Register

NEW HAVEN — The 12 jurors in the Steven J. Hayes Cheshire triple-homicide trial at last began their deliberations Monday afternoon, but when two hours of discussion did not yield quick verdicts on the 17 counts, they were sent home and told to resume this morning.

During the afternoon, the seven women and five men asked Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue several questions about the evidence, two of them concerning the first-degree arson charge.

The jurors began their day absorbing about 90 minutes of detailed legal instructions from Judge Blue on the elements of the 17 counts. Because prosecutors and defense attorneys had to examine more than 200 pieces of evidence before they could be seen by the jury, the deliberations did not begin until 2:12 p.m.

The jurors spent about two hours pondering the case.

Expectations rose in the tense and crowded courtroom at 4:20 p.m. when the jury foreman knocked from within on the deliberation room door — a possible signal that verdicts had been reached.

But it turned out the jurors had two questions: “Define the starting of a fire” and, “Is the pouring of gasoline considered starting (a fire)?”

Judge Blue reminded the jurors he had told them earlier, “to start means to commence” and “the mere striking of a match can be the starting of a fire.” Judge Blue said the answer to the second question was: “No.”

The jurors were obviously considering the charge of first-degree arson. A prison corrections officer testified he overheard Hayes say he poured gasoline in the Petit home, but did not light a match.

Mr. Hayes, 47, of Winsted is charged with six capital felonies in the July 2007 strangling of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and the smoke inhalation deaths of her daughters, Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17. If convicted on any of those counts, he could face the death penalty. Jurors would consider that in a penalty phase of the trial.

Co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky, 30, of Cheshire is scheduled for trial next year.

Although fewer members of the public tried to get into the small courtroom Monday, about 25 members of the media continue to show up daily. They begin lining up outside the courthouse at about 6 a.m. in order to get a seat.
Dr. William Petit Jr., the only survivor of the home invasion, sat as usual in the front row. Hayes, in a blue striped shirt and gray pants, sat quietly between his two attorneys.

Standing as he read the legal instructions and occasionally sipping from a plastic water bottle, Judge Blue told jurors Hayes is presumed innocent on each count until they find unanimously that prosecutors proved the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

The capital felony charges are for the murder of multiple victims as well as murdering someone under the age of 16, murder during the kidnapping of the three females and murdering Hawke-Petit during a sexual assault.

The other charges are three counts of murder; four counts of first-degree kidnapping, including restraining Dr. Petit; the first-degree sexual assault of Hawke-Petit; third-degree burglary; first-degree arson; and the second-degree assault of Dr. Petit with a baseball bat.

After reading aloud the details of each charge, Judge Blue explained the elements of each of them. Prosecutors must have proved every element of a charge, in the opinion of the jurors, for them to find Mr. Hayes guilty of that charge.
For example, in counts two and three, the murders of Michaela and Hayley, prosecutors must have proved Mr. Hayes specifically intended to cause their deaths and that his actions did cause their deaths.

Nudge Blue told jurors that if they do not convict Hayes on those two counts, they should then consider the lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter.

He also told them if they do not convict Hayes on the three capital felony counts for the deaths during kidnappings, they should consider a lesser charge of felony murder. The elements of felony murder include proving Mr. Hayes or Mr. Komisarjevsky intended the kidnapping and carried it out and that these actions caused each of the deaths.

As for the first-degree arson charge, Judge Blue said jurors must find Hayes started the fire, and intended to damage or destroy the Petit house.

After Judge Blue finished his instructions, he sent home the two alternates. He told them they would still be needed if any of the 12 regular jurors cannot continue deliberating, or if the 12 convict Mr. Hayes on any of the capital felony counts.
The jurors’ first question came at 2:32 p.m. They asked for a transcript of state police Det. Anthony Buglione’s conversation with Hayes the day of the home invasion, when, Detective Buglione testified, Mr. Hayes described many details of the crimes.

Judge Blue told jurors the transcript is not available, but that the court reporter could read back Detective Buglione’s testimony. The jury declined the offer.

After Judge Blue answered the jury’s questions about the arson charge, he asked the jury foreman at about 4:30 p.m. if verdicts were imminent. When the foreman said they were not, Blue sent them home.

Dr. Petit had no comment for reporters as he left the courthouse, other than “No thanks” and “See you tomorrow.”

VERDICT IS IN!    ::MonkeyGavel:: All gathering in the court room right now - go to Insessions, Foxnews or probably HLN    I say guilty on at least 15 of 17 counts, if not all

GUILTY count one and two....and counting

GUILTY  ::MonkeyGavel:: Counts 1 thru 11    There will be a DP phase within 2 weeks  6 more counts to read

Count 16 NOT guilty   (arson charge) he didnt START the fire so far Count 1-15 GUILTY   1 not guilty count 15 and now Count 17 GUILTY

So I was off by only one from the Caylee Anthony thread  16 GUILTY, 1 NOT GUILTY

Next penalty phase, no doubt DP will be recommended, justice served for the Petit family  ::MonkeyJustice::

Death penalty phase will begin October 18th, Monday

http://thedartmouth.com/2010/10/05/news/hayes
Hayes convicted in Petit trial
By The Dartmouth Staff
Hayes convicted in Petit trial
By The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Web Update
PrintWrite the EditorShare .Steven Hayes was convicted of the murders of Hayley Petit and her mother and sister in court on Tuesday, making Hayes eligible for the death penalty, the Associated Press reported. The conviction comes at the end of three weeks of trial, with the jury deliberating for less than one full day, The New York Times reported.

Petit would have matriculated with the Class of 2011, but was murdered when Hayes invaded her home in Cheshire, Conn. in July 2007.

Hayes has been convicted of 16 of the 17 crimes that he was charged with — including rape, murder and kidnapping — and six of these crimes make him eligible for the death penalty, according to The Times. He was acquitted of arson.

The prosecution referred to a police report in which Hayes said his life “sucked and that he had no money, no car and not enough to eat,” according to CNN.

The same jury that convicted Hayes will now begin the penalty phase to determine whether Hayes will receive the death penalty, which, according to The Times, could last a month.

The other alleged murderer, Joshua Komisarjevsky, will be tried separately.
Hayes and Komisarjevsky allegedly invaded the Petits’ Cheshire, Conn., home around 3 a.m. on July 23, 2007. At 9 a.m., the accused forced Hayley’s mother, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, to go to the bank and withdraw a large sum of money. She then alerted a bank employee that her family was being held captive.

When police arrived at the house, they found the Petit residence on fire. The suspects attempted to flee the scene, but crashed their getaway vehicle into two police cars, which had been positioned as a roadblock.

William Petit had been badly beaten, but managed to escape his home with severe head wounds and crawl to a neighbor’s house, where he sought help. Autopsies of Hawke-Petit and her daughters showed that Hawke-Petit was strangled and her daughters died of smoke inhalation.

Hayley Petit had been admitted to the College as an early decision applicant and a women’s crew recruit. She was active in high school activities and started Hayley’s Hope, a fundraising organization that raised money for multiple sclerosis research. Hawke-Petit was diagnosed with the disease in 1999, and both Hayley and her sister Michaela were active in finding a cure.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/nyregion/06cheshire.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Triple Murder Case Yields Convictions on 16 of 17 CountsBy WILLIAM GLABERSON
Published: October 5, 2010
NEW HAVEN — A former parolee with a long history as a petty criminal was convicted of capital crimes on Tuesday for his part in a brutal nighttime home invasion in Cheshire, Conn., three years ago that left a mother and her two daughters dead. The jury deliberated less than one full day.

The defendant, Steven J. Hayes, who, the testimony showed, described his eager anticipation of the crime with an “LOL” — laughing out loud — text message hours before taking part in murder, rape, kidnapping and arson at the home of the Petit family on Sorghum Mill Drive, was convicted of 16 of 17 crimes in all; he was acquitted of arson.

Of those, six are crimes that make him eligible for the death penalty. The same jury that sat during the three-week trial is now to begin a penalty phase to determine whether Mr. Hayes, 47, is to be sentenced to death. The trial is to continue on Oct. 18 with the penalty phase, which could last a month.

“There is some relief but my family is still gone,” Dr. William A. Petit Jr., whose wife and two daughters were killed that night, said after the verdict. “It doesn’t bring them back. It doesn’t bring back the home that we had.”

The Cheshire case has played a central part in a debate in Connecticut about whether to repeal the capital punishment law.
The testimony showed that Mr. Hayes and a friend he had made at a Connecticut halfway house for parolees, Joshua Komisarjevsky, entered the Petit house in the middle of a summer night, beat and restrained Dr. Petit and wreaked havoc, including the rape and strangulation of the mother, Jennifer Hawke-Petit.

The two daughters, Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17, died of smoke inhalation in a fire set by the intruders.

Dr. Petit survived, and he testified at the trial. He has called for the execution of Mr. Hayes and Mr. Komisarjevsky, who is likely to be tried next year.

After the verdict had been delivered and the jurors had left the courtroom, Dr. Petit fought back tears as he huddled with the chief prosecutor, Michael Dearington.

trim, thanks for the media updates...

Monster home invader Steven Hayes found guilty in Connecticut murders

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/hayes_found_guilty_in_conn_home_Rk3vPTyEemXSEm9VOJWbrN

By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 2:02 PM, October 5, 2010
Posted: 12:44 PM, October 5, 2010

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Next step: Will he get the needle?

Monster home invader Steven Hayes has been convicted of capital murder in connection with the brutal 2007 slaughters of a Connecticut nurse and her two daughters.

The conviction, which brought family members, including the father who survived the attacks, to tears, means the same jury must now suffer through weeks more of harrowing evidence and render a second verdict on whether Hayes deserves to be put to death.

For now, the jury has agreed that Hayes, a 47-year-old crack-addicted career burglar, raped and strangled the nurse, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, as she lay bound at the wrists and ankles on the living room floor of her home north of New Haven.

Hayes was also found guilty of joining with partner-in-terror Joshua Komisarjevsky, 29, in the hideous deaths of the daughters, Hayley, 17 and Michaela, 11.

The girls had been bound to their beds, doused with gasoline, and literally ignited alive. Both died of smoke inhalation after suffering unimaginable cruelty.

Michaela, according to DNA evidence, had been raped by Komisarjevsky, who is to stand trial next year. Forensic evidence showed Hayley collapsed, while still on fire, in the landing outside her bedroom after the flames burned through the restraints holding her to her bed.

Only Dr. William Petit survived the senseless, random attack that killed his wife and two girls. Clubbed nearly to death and still bound at the ankles, Petit broke free moments before his house erupted in flames, rolling himself across two back yards to summon help.

In a news conference outside the courthouse, Petit said the verdict could not bring back his family.

"Good will overcome evil," he said.

Asked how he was able to sit through the trial, Petit said, "I'm sure you would do the same for your families if your families were destroyed by evil. ... Do I really want to do it? Do I look forward to it? I do it for my family."

Hayes has confessed to raping and strangling the mom, though claiming it was at Komisarjevsky's insistence, to "square things up" after Komisarjevsky raped the little girl.

Jurors had appeared to struggle with the question of just how responsible, legally, Hayes was for the girls deaths. Hayes had told a fellow inmate that he helped pour the gas, but only along a stairway.

"Define start of fire," jurors asked yesterday, in a note to the judge. "Is the pouring of gasoline considered starting?" The judge answered no -- the fire starts when it is actually lit.

Still, prosecutors said, it was enough that Hayes had been caught on surveillance tape purchasing gasoline, was soaked to his socks in gas when he and Komisarjevsky were captured outside the house, and had been overheard admitting to a fellow inmate

Then there's the fact that he did nothing to stop the fiery carnage -- even if he didn't strike the match. The two were acting together throughout the attack, prosecutors said.

"Ask yourselves, feeling that liquid being poured over their bodies, smelling the unmistakable smell of gasoline, is it reasonable to assume they were screaming for help?" prosecutor Gary Nicholson had said of the two girls in dramatic closing arguments.

"Hayley and Michaela Petit knew their deaths were near ... What did the defendant do while they were screaming for their lives?" the prosecutor asked. "Did he lift a finger to help them?"

Prosecutors believe Komisarjevsky, a fellow coke-head and career burglar who'd known Hayes from rehab, was the one to target the family, having spotted the mother and daughters the day before in a supermarket parking lot.

Komisarjevsky has admitted breaking in to the home through an unlocked cellar door on a predawn Monday morning in July. He has admitted repeatedly clubbing the father in the head with a baseball bat from the family's basement.

Together, prosecutors say, the pair tied up the entire family. Just after 9 a.m., after some six hours, Hayes drove the mother to a nearby bank, where she withdrew $15,000 in cash ransom and calmly alerted the teller to the attack.

No effort was made to chase Hayes and the mom as they drove away, though the bank is only a couple-minutes drive from the police station and the teller was describing the car as it left the bank.

It took cops 40 minutes to leap into action -- once they saw the two men fleeing the home, where they'd been waiting after establishing a perimeter.

Dr. William Petit, the father and husband who lost his wife and children after they were brutally murdered in Conn., give his take on convictions.  

http://www.nypost.com/video?vxSiteId=a89dc16f-1771-485a-8c76-3ebbf3072361&vxChannel=PostUsFeed&vxClipId=1458_1065794&vxBitrate=300

My heart goes out to this family.  There are no words to express my grief, sorrow, or horror at the events that transpired in what was supposed to be their sanctuary, their home.

 ::MonkeyTears:: ::MonkeyTears:: ::MonkeyTears:: ::MonkeyTears::

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/06/earlyshow/main6931716.shtml
Death Penalty for Conn. Home Invasion Killer?
Expert: In Penalty Trial, Steven Hayes Likely to Speak on Own Behalf; Petit Family Expected to Speak for Dead Mom, Daughters
October 6, 2010

(http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/images/2010/09/13/image6861118g.jpg)
This undated inmate file photo released in February 2010 by the Connecticut Department of Correction shows Steven Hayes,convicted of severely beating Dr. William Petit, Jr., and killing his wife and two daughters during a home invasion in Cheshire, Conn., July 23, 2007.  (AP Photo)

(CBS)   In Connecticut, a guilty verdict has come in the first of two trials in what's been described as one of the most horrific crimes in recent history.

CBS News National Correspondent Jeff Glor reported from New Haven, Conn., that even though Steven Hayes has been found guilty of all capital charges related to his role in the murder of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, it's still up to the jury to decide if will receive the death penalty or not.

Dr. William Petit, the lone survivor of a horrific home invasion, said outside the courthouse Tuesday, "There is some relief, but my family is still gone."

As Petit closed the door on one phase of this case, he prepared himself for what comes next, Glor said. In 12 days, jurors will begin deciding if Hayes will face the death penalty, and Petit will sit through more grueling testimony about the killings of his wife and two daughters. He was asked how he could push on when both defendants agreed to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison, sparing any trials.

Petit answered, "You probably would do the same thing if your family was destroyed by evil."

Beth Karas, former prosecutor and correspondent for CNN's "In Session" told CBS News, "It's mainly going to be the defense putting on evidence of why he should live and there is no limit on what they can put on. The question for the jury will be does what the defense put on outweigh the heinousness of these acts."

The guilt phase of Hayes' trial took nine days, though jurors took only four and a half hours deliberating to find him guilty on 16 counts. Petit was asked if Hayes still matters to him.

Petit said, "What matters to me most is my family and my memories of my family. I don't know over the last couple of weeks, I just kept trying to tell myself that good will overcome evil."

Glor reported Hayes, then 44, and Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, broke into the Petit home in suburban Connecticut in July 2007 and beat William Petit with a baseball bat, forcing Jennifer Hawke-Petit to withdraw $15,000 from a bank before strangling and raping her back at home.

The couple's daughter, 11-year old Michaela Petit was also raped. All three murder victims, including 17-year-old Hayley Petit, were doused with gasoline before the house was set on fire.

Karas said, "To pour gasoline on them. To light the house on fire. To strangle and rape the mother who begged for her life. ... It's evil incarnate, is all you can say."

Glor added the penalty phase for Hayes begins in two weeks and is expected to last about a week. As for the trial for his co-defendant, Komisarjevsky, that won't begin until next year.

CBS News Legal Analyst Jack Ford, who has defended five death penalty cases, said the penalty phase of the case is "a little different" than most cases.

He explained, "What you get in these cases are two separate trials under the umbrella of one. We know now the first trial focuses on whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. The jury has said guilty to a number of counts, including ones that make him eligible for the death penalty. What they they're going to do now, is an entirely separate second trial. There will be opening statements by the prosecution and the defense. The prosecution will present evidence here. The defense can, if they want to -- you've got to assume there will some evidence here from the defense -- then closing arguments again by both sides, the judge gives instructions to the jury, and ultimately the jury deliberates, and comes back with a verdict, a second separate trial within the whole case."

"Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez said it's the same judge and the same jury in the second trial.

But will the horrific evidence and testimony be reiterated in this trial?

Ford said, "That's always a tough question as the prosecutor. What are you going to present here? I've seen cases where the prosecution has simply stood up and said to the jury, 'You've heard everything already. There's nothing more he can tell you about, so rely on that information.' Sometimes they will say, 'Rely on what you've heard so far, but we also want to provide you with victim impact statements.' Let the father talk about them to what this has done to him and the family members. Not every murder conviction results in a death penalty. There has to be what they call murder plus. Here among other things they are talking about heinous and cruel and vicious manner in which these murders took place. The prosecution may bring more witnesses in. I've got to believe you're going to hear something from the family members."

Rodriguez remarked, "I'm sure. They could have settled this long ago and agreed to the settlement where the defendant went to prison for life but wanted to go for the death penalty, so I'm sure they'll want to speak up."

What about the defense -- will Hayes be on the stand?

Ford said, "That's a tough question. In the cases I tried, I did put the defendant on the stand to essentially say what happened, why I'm so terribly sorry and basically asking to save their lives. You will probably get some testimony about who he is, what his background is, if he had a troubled past. I would suspect, he didn't of it beforehand, I would suspect -- a lot of times lawyers will keep the defendant off the stand even here -- if their defense has been, I didn't do this, you have the wrong person here. They didn't really have that defense. He admitted to what he did here. I would suspect you may well hear him on the stand saying something to these jurors."

As far as I'm concerned.....FRY HIM!!!! ::MonkeyMad::

Agreed -- literally, let him burn as those precious children did!!!

I agree Bearly.

I agree.

I think the next trial is going to be worse.  I don't know how that could be possible but it's going to be worse.

I agree...fry them! a long and painful death..
this is about the worst case ever..the fear and pain that this family suffered is just beyond comprehension...

shout out to Cappy...good to see you posting...xxxx

San, I agree.  I don't know I have that kind of fortitude within me.  I know I would want to be there for my family, but dear Lord, how much can this man take?  my deepest thoughts to Dr. Petit and the Hawke families.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8300-504083_162-504083.html
October 7, 2010 4:48 PM
Petit Family Murders: Alleged Mastermind's Ex-Girlfriend Says, "I Could Have Probably Prevented It"
NEW YORK (CBS)  The ex-girlfriend of the alleged mastermind of a deadly Connecticut home invasion says, under the right circumstances, "I could have probably prevented it."

In an interview for "Inside Edition," Caroline Mesel says accused killer Joshua Komisarjevsky hatched the 2007 robbery scheme that ended with the murder of three members of the Petit family, to get money to bring her back to Connecticut from Arkansas.

Read full post…
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8300-504083_162-504083.html#ixzz11m0n9riN

Monster: It'll cost to kill me

By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 6:38 AM, October 9, 2010
Posted: 2:13 AM, October 9, 2010


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/monster_it_ll_cost_to_kill_me_Bee9VUOcLnvV6W99FoTFEM#ixzz11swoDyWf

Don't kill me -- it's too expensive!

The monster convicted in the heinous murder of a Connecticut doctor's family plans to argue at his trial's upcoming death-penalty phase that it would be cheaper to keep him alive than to give him the needle.

"The cost of imposing and carrying out a death sentence far exceeds the cost of a sentence of life without the possibility of release," lawyers for Steven Hayes argued in papers filed in New Haven Superior Court yesterday.

Hayes hopes to call an expert criminologist to the stand to make his prison-is-cheaper argument before jurors, who will reconvene Oct. 18 to hear evidence on whether he should be executed under Connecticut's death-penalty law.

Prosecutors are opposing the testimony, arguing cost is irrelevant.

Hayes was convicted Tuesday of the murders of pediatric nurse Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11.

He and co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky, who is to stand trial next year, broke into an unlocked cellar door of the Petit family's four-bedroom Colonial three summers ago, after Komisarjevsky allegedly spotted the wife and daughters in a supermarket parking lot.

Only the father, endocrinologist Dr. William Petit, survived the attacks, in which Hayes raped and strangled the wife and joined in setting the daughters on fire as they lay tied to their beds, doused in gasoline.

laura.italiano@nypost.com

it would not be more expensive to put him to death if they did it right away instead of appeals and all of that crap that prolongs his execution....Kill him tomorrow for all I care..save all of us a lot of money...POS anyways...

I think it is darn neighborly of them to be concerned about cost.  What to do?  I know, just get him to waive all appeals and go directly to the needle bed.  How's that for saving money?

If the waiving of appeals does not work I am willing to kick in a few bucks to make sure he gets the needle.

That's a great idea, but he77 I am willing to chip in so he won't have to worry about expenses or put him in general population, that might take care of his worry ASAP ::MonkeyWink::

http://www.newbritainherald.com/articles/2010/10/09/news/doc4cb1001a9c3c2580924080.txt
Life or death; the punishment question
Saturday, October 9, 2010 10:08 PM EDT
By Lisa Backus
Staff Writer
PLAINVILLE — Amid racks of her tasty colossal chocolate cranberry cookies and fluffy coconut macaroons dipped in chocolate, shop owner Isabel Abrantes can say for certain that despite her faith there are some crimes that require the ultimate punishment.

“They were animals, worse than animals,” she said of the two men likely facing the death penalty in the murders of three members of the Petit family. “In this case, definitely yes, what they did was inhumane. An 11-year-old? An 11-year-old? Now, c’mon, I just don’t understand how a human being does that.”

Patrons of Bolo, Abrantes’ trendy café and bakery, which serves up baked goods in Plainville’s center, were united one day last week in their outrage over the crimes committed by the two men who brutally beat a well-known doctor with local roots and killed his family.

But like most of the state, they are split on how Steven Hayes, found guilty this week of 16 counts including six capital felonies and Joshua Komisarjevsky who faces trial next year, should be punished
I don’t really feel the death penalty is warranted but I like the alternative where you send someone to prison for the rest of their life. I want them to suffer every day of their life for what those two sons of bitches did to Dr. Petit,” said Bristol resident Harold Johndrow, a café regular who was finishing up a plate of eggs over easy. “I mean a cell that’s absolutely barren, no frills, spending the rest of their lives suffering.”

It is a phenomenon that has seeped into the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races and is expected to be debated again in the next legislative session in the Connecticut General Assembly. Which isn’t surprising, according to one scholar, considering Connecticut’s mixed emotions when it comes to dealing with crime.

“Connecticut is pretty unusual,” said Central Connecticut State University Criminology professor Stephen Cox. “We want to talk like we’re tough on crime but when it comes to actually doing it, we won’t.”

Prosecutors in Hayes’ trial, which concluded last week, offered graphic descriptions of the pair’s atrocities including evidence that Komisarjevsky sexually assaulted 11-year-old Michaela Petit and then took pictures of her private areas that Hayes said he attempted to send to friends through his cell phone.

Jennifer Hawke-Petit was raped and strangled by Hayes. Hayley, 17, and Michaela were tied to their beds as gasoline was poured on and around their bodies and their Cheshire home set ablaze. Dr. Petit was savagely beaten and tied in the basement. When he crawled, still bound, to a neighbor’s house seeking help, he was largely unrecognizable. As the sole survivor of the attack, he has become an outspoken proponent of the death penalty.

“For certain murders and other crimes there is no other penalty that will serve justice other than the death penalty. It transcends national borders, races, and cultures,” Petit wrote in a letter published in The Cheshire Herald shortly after the legislature voted in favor of repealing the state’s death penalty law last year. “The issue here is justice, not revenge, nor many of the other arguments that the anti-death penalty abolitionists use as inappropriate arguments to take the focus away from the critical issue. I have found all of their arguments to be intellectually and philosophically dishonest and off point. Their main concerns appear to be the protection of criminals and saving money.”

“Justice and what is right and moral never appear to be part of their arguments,” Petit continued. “When a family member is murdered it destroys a portion of our society — all the potential of those taken away in a cruel fashion is obliterated. Those murdered can never grow and contribute to society. Those who knew them can never hold them, spend time with them, and see what they would add to their family life and society in general.”

Polls conducted over the past 10 years have steadily shown roughly 60 percent of citizens favor the death penalty. At the same time, Connecticut has put only one man to death in the past 50 years and he had to beg for a decade to see his sentence carried out, said death penalty opponents including state Judiciary Committee co-chairman Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, and Ben Jones, executive director of the Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty.

“In this state we have a very ambivalent view of the death penalty,” said Jones, whose group does fundraising and stages “educational” programs on capital punishment throughout the state. “Some people want it on the books, but we lack the will to carry it out.”

The anger over the Cheshire home invasion and killings prompted state legislators last year to repeal the death penalty “prospectively” paving the way for Hayes and Komisarjevsky to receive a capital sentence but barring any future death penalty prosecutions.

Cox contends the legislature’s agreement to allow the two to receive the death penalty but not allow it in the future is another example of how the state wants to appear conservative and yet liberal at the same time.

“That’s the politically popular thing to do,” he said. “But in the back end, we don’t follow through. Everyone said executing Michael Ross (in 2005) was the right thing to do the day before we did it. But then after we realized we just killed someone, everyone took a step back and said, what did we just do? We were horrified.”

The legislature’s repeal was quickly vetoed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who cited Dr. Petit in her veto message. “These are the crimes forever embedded in our minds, haunting us long after they have been committed,” Rell said. “They cause us to lose our innocence relative to the world around us. The death penalty is, and ought to be, reserved for those who have committed crimes that are revolting to our humanity and civilized society.”

Candidates for U.S. Senate, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and World Wrestling owner Linda McMahon, both said they favor the death penalty during televised debates this week. Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley also supports the death penalty.

His Democratic challenger Dan Malloy said if elected he would press again for the same “prospective” repeal the legislature passed last year — but he made clear that if Hayes and Komisarjevsky were sentenced to death he would see the sentence carried out.

Lawlor contends the state’s death penalty law is unworkable and can’t be fixed. Defendants have one actual appeal but unlimited opportunities to bring their case back before state and federal courts through habeas proceedings.

“As a practical matter, no one is going to be executed in Connecticut,” Lawlor said.

He concedes however that there is a tension between what he feels the state can accomplish verses what Hayes and Komisarjevsky deserve.

“They get the prize, this is the worst crime possible. They deserve to be tied up, sexually assaulted and set on fire,” he said. “But the question is should we do that?”

The Catholic Church says no.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford opposes the death penalty on the grounds there is no evidence that it acts as a deterrent, it doesn’t provide fair treatment in regards to race, gender and economic status and “it dehumanizes society by desensitizing violence,” said Deacon Robert Pallotti.

“Most importantly,” he said. “It doesn’t follow the traditional trajectory of forgiveness. Part of it is that God is sovereign of life, human beings are not.”

The penalty phase of Hayes’ prosecution will start next week. The same jury that convicted him on all counts except first-degree arson will have to consider aggravating and mitigating circumstances before rendering a sentence. The testimony is likely to be even more shocking than the evidence presented in the trial, Lawlor said.

Although the crimes took place in Cheshire, Plainville residents feel a special connection to the Petit family which still has ties to the town. Dr. Petit was a prominent physician at the Hospital of Central Connecticut. He graduated from Plainville High School. His father, William Sr. was the chairman of the Plainville Chamber of Commerce when the murders occurred.

“Yes, I agree with the death penalty. Dr. Petit was my doctor,” said one woman who declined to be identified as she handed pastries to Abrantis to ring up. “He was great with my mother, he sent me a card when she passed away.”

Bristol resident Bill Munson was a bit more pointed as he sipped his coffee and munched on a donut. “They should just put these guys to death if found guilty,” he said. “Otherwise it’s just lawyers making money.”

Uncertain future

Of the 10 men on Connecticut’s death row, one has been there for more than two decades. Another, Daniel Webb, will hit the 20-year mark next year. According to a report compiled by the state Office of Legislative Research, Webb’s attorneys have sought an appeal and Webb has been the subject of at least two habeas proceedings.

“It is difficult to predict when Webb’s case may end,” the 2009 report said. “If the Superior Court does not grant Webb’s state habeas petition, he can appeal the court’s ruling through the Connecticut courts and, if unsuccessful, appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. If Webb is unsuccessful on these appeals, he can then file a federal habeas corpus petition in federal district court. That petition can be appealed through the federal courts to the U.S. Supreme Court. Additional state or federal habeas petitions may be possible depending on the circumstances. If all these petitions fail, the state can carry out the death penalty.”

However, the report pointed out, if Webb is successful in one of his petitions, a court could overturn his conviction or death sentence, require a new trial with a new sentence, and the appeals process could start all over again.

There is no end in sight for Webb or Robert Brenton, convicted in 1989 of stabbing his wife and 16-year-old son to death, said State Representative Michael Lawlor who co-chairs the Judiciary Committee. Nine of the death row inmates are involved in a suit claiming racial and geographical disparity in applying the death penalty which has yet to be heard by the State Supreme Court.

Island, I forgot about the cost-saving general population -- yeah! that's the ticket!

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/us_news/northeast/new-haven-connecticut-dr-william-petit-will-not-testify-during-setencing-of-steven-hayes
Petit won't testify at Hayes sentencing
Says law on victim impact statements unclear

Updated: Monday, 11 Oct 2010, 7:23 AM EDT
Published : Monday, 11 Oct 2010, 7:17 AM EDT
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WPRI) - The man whose family was murdered during a 2007 home invasion says he will not testify at the killer's sentencing.
According to CNN, Dr. William Petit said in a statement Friday that while he would like to testify at Steven Hayes' sentencing, Connecticut's law on victim impact statements was too vague. He is concerned his testimony could be used by Hayes as grounds for an appeal.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Hayes. A jury convicted him last Tuesday of capital murder in the deaths of Petit's wife Jennifer, and his daughers Hayley and Michaela.

The penalty phase of Steven Hayes' trial is scheduled to begin October 18. Hayes alleged accomplice, Joshua Komisarjevsky, will be tried seperately.
video at link

Dr. Petit has so much poise, grace and class... ::MonkeyAngel::

Petit killer's execution-cost argument to$$ed

AP
Last Updated: 9:43 AM, October 15, 2010
Posted: 2:12 AM, October 15, 2010

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/killer_ploy_to_ed_asHZjKXHquu1tuYwC29mJJ#ixzz12R3EoEM0

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A man convicted of killing a woman and her two daughters during a home invasion in 2007 cannot bring up the cost of his execution when jurors weigh whether to impose the death penalty.

New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue yesterday rejected requests from Steven Hayes' lawyer to include the cost as a mitigating factor.

Cost a mitigating factor . . . where did the lawyer come up with this idea!  I bet bozo from Florida called him . . . sounds like something he would say.  Maybe they went to the same night school together.
 :2brickwall:

Defense calls brutal Conn. home invader 'likable'

By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 2:01 PM, October 18, 2010
Posted: 11:17 AM, October 18, 2010

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/defense_calls_brutal_conn_home_invader_LqJUKUhV4gaf44t4um55HO#ixzz12lPFgOCW

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Brutal home invasion murderer Steven Hayes could be "likable," his lawyer told jurors today.

"He could be a hard worker, he could express concern for family and friends, and he could be a likable person," his lawyer, Patrick Culligan, told a jury today.

The odd assertion -- given the heinousness of the crimes at hand -- came in opening statements to the penalty phase of Hayes' trial for the strangulation murder of nurse Jennifer Hawke-Petit and the murder-by-fire of her daughters Hayley, 17 and Michaela, 11.

The same Superior Court jury that convicted Hayes earlier this month in the 2007 attacks in a wealthy suburb north of New Haven begins today hearing evidence on whether he'll now be sent to the death chamber.

As part of its fight for Hayes to be sentenced instead to life without parole, the defense promises it will call at least a half-dozen witnesses today to paint a prettier, more sympathetic picture of the monster.

They'll later call three shrinks and witnesses from the department of corrections to describe Hayes' cocaine addiction and post-crime remorse, Culligan promised. Jurors are required to weigh such mitigating factors in deciding whether Hayes lives or dies.

"Mr. Hayes suffered a very painful illegal drug addiction very early in life that essentially controlled his life and his choices," Culligan told jurors.

Lead prosecutor Michael Dearington made a far shorter opening statement, informing the jury that his side will rely almost entirely on the trial's preceding testimony in proving that Hayes' crimes were heinous, depraved and cruel.

New prosecution testimony will center almost solely on details of Haye's three-decade criminal history, Dearington said.

The trial's penalty phase testimony is expected to span the next two weeks, said Superior Court Judge Jon Blue.

In other arguments today, the judge rejected defense arguments that Hawke-Petit's murder doesn't fit the legal definitions of depraved, heinous and cruel because it would have only taken eight to 15 seconds for her to lose consciousness while being strangled.

That might have been the case had Hayes merely snuck up from behind his victim out of nowhere, the judge noted.

"But here the context is somebody held for several hours, and who had been sexually assaulted, and who feared for the fate of her

children," the judge said.

"Don't we have really, extraordinary evidence of mental anguish?"

Aw, poor little massacre fiend

By LAURA ITALIANO, Post Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:39 AM, October 19, 2010
Posted: 1:57 AM, October 19, 2010

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/aw_poor_little_massacre_fiend_T6kbaiU1rbdqDww0Eda5dN#ixzz12ndWRvXR

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Poor, misunderstood Steven Hayes.

The home-invasion murderer -- convicted earlier this month of raping and strangling a Connecticut nurse and burning her two daughters alive -- is a really nice guy, his lawyers insisted yesterday as they tried to convince jurors Hayes should be spared the death penalty.

"Likable." "Hardworking." "Gentle." "Fragile." "Funny."

These were just a few of the sympathetic, sense-defying superlatives used to describe Hayes by a social worker, an ex-boss and other acquaintances, all of whom took the stand to say they were shocked -- shocked! -- to hear he'd raped, then choked the life out of a bound and helpless Jennifer Hawke-Petit before helping set fire to Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, as they lay tied to their beds.

A social worker described Hayes as "fragile," desperate to put his life back together -- the kind of guy who broke into tears while sharing about his crack addiction during counseling sessions.

A retired court sheriff recalled to jurors having "chuckled" with Hayes over his teenage crush on her daughter -- and how in later years, Hayes was "always very remorseful" when nabbed for a total of seven burglaries, most of them car break-ins.

"He was a real klutz of a criminal," the ex-sheriff, D'Arcy Lobetree, told jurors with a smile.

For five weeks in 2006 -- a year before the murders -- Hayes plated desserts and mixed the marinades at a West New Haven restaurant owned by Christiane Gehami. "He got along with everyone," she remembered on the witness stand. "Yeah, he was funny."

Gehami had far harsher words for Hayes' partner in terror, Joshua Komisarjevsky, who stands trial as Hayes' accomplice next year. Hayes had brought Komisarjevsky to Gehami's restaurant, Arugula, one day to help with some kitchen construction.

"I thought I was looking at the devil," she told jurors of Komisarjevsky, whom Hayes blamed as the attack's mastermind.

"My skin crawled. My hair stood on end . . . That was my reaction. [He had] dead eyes. Completely dead eyes."

Much of yesterday's testimony had a scraped-barrel-bottom feel to it, particularly a rental agent's remembrance that Hayes was "polite" three months before the killings, when she told him his criminal record barred him from leasing an apartment in her complex.

And many of yesterday's witnesses used epic, heroic terms to describe Hayes' desperate struggle to escape his crack cocaine addiction -- although none in such flowery language as Hayes himself.

Defense lawyers will hope jurors' sympathy for Hayes' drug battle will help keep the state's needle out of his arm.

"Drugs are not my main problem -- I am my main problem," Hayes wrote in a drug-program self-evaluation read aloud in court yesterday.

"I am on a spiritual journey," he wrote. "I'm just beginning to know the new me, the real me."

Almost a year later to the day, Hayes would break into the four-bedroom colonial of the Petit family in Cheshire, a leafy town 14 miles north of New Haven, and loose upon the family a nightmare of rape and fire -- with Komisarjevsky allegedly leading the way.

Only the father, Dr. William Petit, would manage to break free from his restraints. As he ran to summon help, his house erupted in flames.

Defense testimony is expected to span two weeks, and today will include excerpts from Komisarjevsky's prison diaries -- part of Hayes' strategy to shift blame onto his former co-defendant.

laura.italiano@nypost.com

snipped from above:

"He could be a hard worker, he could express concern for family and friends, and he could be a likable person," his lawyer, Patrick Culligan, told a jury today.

Wonder if his lawyer would find him so likable if his daughters and wife had been raped and murdered and he had been beaten almost to death????
this makes me sick.
what is taking the jury so long to give this guy the death penalty??? don't understand this at all!

and I agree that he has dead eyes...I thought that the first time that I saw him...evil ...

Defense for Conn. horror slayer use partner's jail journals in attempt to mitigate Hayes' responsibility

By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 3:11 PM, October 19, 2010
Posted: 2:18 PM, October 19, 2010


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/defense_mititgate_responsibility_R7lplo5rwVLypu8mLvg8CK#ixzz12qsYCLmC

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The other guy is worse, home invasion monster Steven Hayes is arguing on day two of proceedings to determine if he is put to death.

Hoping their client will look good by comparison -- and thereby dodge the needle -- lawyers for the convicted murderer of a Connecticut nurse and her two daughters are spending much of today inflicting on jurors the egomaniacal prison journals of Haye's alleged accomplice, Joshua Komisarjevsky.

In much of the writings, Komisarjevsky describes his career as a burglar in ways that defy believability. He details such extreme antics as crawling through storm drains, scaling and rappelling down buildings and even purportedly diving and snorkeling to reach his "targets."

"It's common knowledge I can pretty much get into any building I wanted," Komisarjevsky claims in the journals -- which a clerk is reading aloud into the court record.

"Hell, if I knew a pilot I would have sky dived into some of my objectives," boasts the burglar, who has some two-dozen break-ins on his rap sheet, but claims to have committed many hundreds more.

"It's extremely high risk, and extremely brazen, but hey, my life is defined by risk," he brags of sneaking into homes --even when the occupants are still home and still awake -- with his dark clothes, night vision goggles and a double-edged diving knife strapped to his forearm.

The journals are expected to delve into the crime itself -- the 2007 home invasion murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17 and Michaela, 11. Hayes was convicted earlier this month of raping and strangling the mom and of joining with Komisarjevsky in setting the girls on fire as they lay tied to their beds.

I agree Sister, these Men who committed every despicable act " within hours" upon 4 Human beings - Deserve NOTHING

Not one tear, not one breath of air - directly to the table/chair - do not pass go, They do not require a Jury of Peers - Because " Human Vomit Like Them" do not have Peers ~ not in a humane society...  They stand alone. They Should DIE Alone ~ in chambers of brick walls and silence. The last sound for them to hear - their own heart beating as it dwindles to BUH BYE .. then they can be with their Savior .. who that may be? Idk. Dependent on ?? Idk. Either way its their own fate - choices are available in life, I don't know if choices are made for " certain beings" in the after life..
Not my job ..

Twisted taunts of wicked killer

By LAURA ITALIANO Post Correspondent
Last Updated: 4:35 AM, October 20, 2010
Posted: 3:31 AM, October 20, 2010

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/twisted_taunts_of_wicked_killer_X0bYYGUJnR9GYZnSfoP1OI#ixzz12tO1vihB

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- He derides his victims as "mesmerized rabbits." He boasts of his "rapturous control" of the youngest daughter.

And most gallingly -- because this one victim has survived to hear it -- he taunts Dr. William Petit for not fighting back while getting clubbed nearly to death.

"Mr. Petit is a coward," home-invasion suspect Joshua Komisarjevsky gloats in a confiscated prison diary read aloud for the first time in court yesterday, as part of convicted accomplice Steven Hayes' bid to shift blame and avoid the death penalty.

"He ran away when he felt his own life was threatened," Komisarjevsky, 29, wrote, "and left his wife and children to die at the hands of madmen."

Petit -- who barely survived Komisarjevsky's brutal baseball-bat attack as he slept on his sunroom couch three years ago -- sat stone-faced in New Haven Superior Court as the monster's taunts rained down on him, read aloud by a court clerk at the behest of Hayes' lawyers.

But after court, Petit -- a noted endocrinologist who lost his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, to the tortures of rape and fire in the July 2007 attack -- was livid.

"I really don't want to dignify the ravings of a sociopath who appears to be a pathological liar as well," Petit said, seeming to struggle to contain his rage.

"My testimony stands as truthful testimony," he said, referring to his own account to jurors during the guilt phase of Hayes' trial last month, in which Petit described losing seven pints of blood and having to literally roll his body across two back yards to summon help moments before his home went up in flames.

The diaries shoved the spotlight away, at least for one day, from Hayes, 47, who is hoping to avoid the needle by showing Komisarjevsky masterminded the attacks while he -- a crack-addled patsy -- was merely a "follower."

The writings, inked in four composition books with black-and-white marbled covers, were confiscated a year after the attacks from Komisarjevsky's jail cell, where he awaits his own death-penalty trial sometime next year.

In turns sniveling and exultant, Komisarjevsky calls the attacks, "The awakening of my shaddow [sic], repressed within, reaching its zenith that morning with the rapturous control of Michaela."

Prosecutors say Michaela died tied to her bed, still in her pajamas, having been raped by Komisarjevsky. The two men doused Michaela and Hayley -- also tied to her bed -- with gasoline before lighting them on fire in an inhuman effort to cover their tracks, prosecutors say.

In his scrawlings, Komisarjevsky toggles sickeningly between self-worship and self-pity, between begging his victims' forgiveness and taunting them for their fear and powerlessness.

"Michaela, angel of my nightmares," he writes in a poem titled "Reflections of the Damned."

"My pain to yours does not compare/How could I have turned my back, walking out that door/Knowing your fear and sorrow," he writes.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/
Home Invasion Trial: Diary of Accused Killer
Joshua Komisarjevsky's disturbing diaries and letters are read aloud in court.
10/20/2010

Video at link

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/20/earlyshow/main6974702.shtml
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Oct. 20, 2010
Home Invasion Murderer: Cohort the Mastermind
Steven Hayes' Lawyers Use Writings of Alleged Accomplice in Effort to Keep Hayes from Getting Death Penalty


It is hard to even read about this case.  ::MonkeyNoNo::
These monsters come in at #3 on my short list for the death penalty.
#1 Vandersloot
#2 Anthony
#3 Hayes/Komisarjevsky

Dr. Petite has it right.


These diaries will be part of Komisarjevsky's defense.  They will say he is not right in his mind and should not be punished because he was mentally ill.  Komisarjevsky always knew he was guilty so there was no getting away from that fact.  So what does he do?  He writes a diary in jail filled with a bunch of BS so when read people will say he is out of his mind.

I don't believe for one second all the BS robberies he claimed to have made.  He is full of sh*t in plain english.

He doesn't want the death penalty because he is a coward.

This is what we will also hear in the next trial.  His lawyer will say he has changed and that he wants to see his own daughter grow up.

He doesn't deserve the right to see his daughter grow up.  He didn't give the Petite family that option.

Give them both the needle.

I told everyone this next trial is going to be worse than the Hayes trial and it is right on track after reading this BS.

Trimm, I so agree!

San, you are so right!!! these men are evil, just plain evil!

Conn. horror killer tried to commit suicide more than a dozen times

By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 3:28 PM, October 20, 2010
Posted: 12:49 PM, October 20, 2010

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/jury_continues_hearing_evidence_b0O6o0MBchUTk3IMZFBORP#ixzz12vltbQWM

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- He's only good at killing other people.

Home invasion monster Steven Hayes failed at more than a dozen suicide attempts -- including by guzzling commissary Ibuprofen and tying a sock around his neck -- since getting locked up for murdering a Connecticut nurse and her two daughters, according to psych testimony today in the death penalty phase of his trial.

He even told defense shrinks he "fantasized" about suicide by toilet.

"That was to put his head in the toilet and do a backflip," said Dr. Paul Thomas Amble, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Yale. "But he didn't think he'd be successful at it, and he might end up paralyzed."

Hayes' most recent purported suicide plot was to take the stand this week and intentionally portray a remorseless monster, so as to guarantee the jury would put him to death. Any thoughts of that have been foiled by his own lawyers, who aren't calling him as a witness.

"He wanted essentially to encourage the jury to vote for the death penalty, perhaps by taking the stand and looking like he had no remorse," the doctor said.

"His desire was to actually seek the death penalty," the doctor said, referencing what Hayes told him and his colleagues during a jail interview seven months ago.

But when asked on cross examination whether Hayes might actually only be pretending to want death in a bid for juror sympathy, the doctor agreed that's possible, particularly since Hayes has at times also expressed an inclination to live.

"Do I think [suicide] is actually what he wants? I don't know," the doctor said. "I'm not sitting here saying that I can exactly divine what he wants from his thoughts."

Hayes was convicted earlier this month of raping and strangling Connecticut nurse Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and helping to burn alive her daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, during a horrific home invasion robbery in the family's home just north of New Haven three years ago.

The New Haven Superior Court capital murder trial moved this week into the penalty phase, in which jurors hear defense testimony on how Hayes, 47, is a drug-addled patsy who only followed what the crime's mastermind, Joshua Komisarjevsky, 29, told him to do.

Komisarjevsky's creepy jail diaries were released yesterday. In them, he gallingly criticizes the attack's sole survivor, Dr. William Petit, for being a "coward" and not fighting back while getting clubbed awake from a deep sleep with a baseball bat. Komisarjevsky faces his own capital murder trial next year.

In addition to his suicide attempts, Hayes has suffered nightmares, feelings of isolation and anxiety, and a loss of appetite that whittled his formerly 200-pound body down to 135 pounds, the Yale shrink told jurors.

Still, Hayes' decision not to eat might count among his more sane inclinations. Consider: the hair ball.

"He pulled a hair ball from his food and he thought they were contaminating his food," the shrink told jurors. "So he didn't want to eat it."

Defense psychiatric testimony will continue today, then fill most of next week, with closing arguments possibly Friday. Deliberations on whether Hayes should get the needle or life without parole would then begin the following Monday.

http://www.ctnow.com/news/connecticut/hc-josh-rants-1023-20101023,0,6669652.story
'My Private Horror Show': Joshua Komisarjevsky's Journal Part Confession, Part Analysis Of 'Demons'
By DAVE ALTIMARI, daltimar@courant.com
 
9:12 p.m. EDT, October 23, 2010
The few passages from accused triple murderer Joshua Komisarjevsky's journal that were read into the court record this week were intended to draw attention away from his accomplice, Steven Hayes, who will be sentenced soon by a jury — possibly to death.

Those passages, in which Komisarjevsky's calls the sole survivor of the murders a "coward" and describes the power he had over an 11-year-old girl he tied to the bed and masturbated on, made the already unfathomable crimes even more macabre.

Equally disturbing are the rest of the more than 50 pages of Komisarjevsky's writings admitted as evidence for jurors to read. In small, single-spaced, handwritten prose, the world according to Komisarjevsky is part diary of a madman, part confession, part how-to burglary guide and, finally, part self analysis based in part on his recollection of being raped as a little boy.
There was something else from the journal that Hayes' legal team did not read in open court: an elaboration of Komisarjevsky's initial statement to police that Hayes was the one who racheted up the violence inside the Petit family's Cheshire home in July 2007.

"When Steave took the life of Mrs. Petit he brought both of us to a whole different level," Komisarjevsky wrote. "This was no longer just a simple robbery."

Komisarjevsky, who misspells Hayes name throughout his journals, writes that he regrets not killing Hayes himself. He claims that if he had, the three Petit women — Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters — would have lived.

"I beat a man with a bat, emotionally scarred a girl, and frozen in my own indecision about whether or not to take Steave out did nothing to stop Mrs. Petit's murder, and ultimately that of Michaela and Hayley as well,'' Komisarjevsky wrote.

"I ran that police blockade at full speed hurling myself at death — I was subsequently cheated of my retribution toward Steave and my own escape through death's imbrace everlasting,'' Komisarjevsky said.
In his initial 75-page statement to police, Komisarjevsky said he was upstairs and went to a railing when he heard noises and then saw Hayes on top of Hawke-Petit, strangling her to death. He said that Hayes then turned to him and said: "… there could be no witnesses."

Komisarjevsky told police Hayes then got the gas cans and started pouring gasoline on Hawke-Petit and then up the stairs to the girls' bedrooms.

Komisarjevsky never told police or revealed in his journals who lit the match. Hayes' attorneys have not said who ignited the gasoline either. But they have gone out of their way to paint Komisarjevsky as the ringleader, and the person who escalated the violence by telling Hayes he had raped Michaela and that Hayes needed to do the same to Hawke-Petit to "make it square."

The person who lit the match may not matter to the jury that will decide whether Hayes gets the death penalty, just as the attempt to paint Komisarjevsky as the ringleader may backfire.

"A jury could well conclude that among the gradations of evil there is a class of folks warranting death, and, while Mr. Komisarjevsky may be at the head of the class, Mr. Hayes remains an honor student,'' Bethany attorney Norm Pattis wrote in his legal blog.
What is clear is that Hayes had at least three occasions to walk away from 300 Sorghum Mill Road before anyone was killed.

Shortly after they broke into the home, beat Dr. William Petit Jr. with the baseball bat and tied everyone else to their beds, Hayes and Komisarjevsky left the house to move their truck away from the Petit home to a condominium complex about a mile away. Police believe they were out of the house for close to an hour.

A few hours later, Hayes drove off to fill up gas cans and taking the time to return to his own truck in the Stop & Shop parking lot to put some of the Petit girls' things in the front seat. Hayes got lost trying to return to the house and had to call Komisarjevsky for directions.

Hayes' third opportunity to leave came when he took Hawke-Petit to the bank and she withdrew $15,000 cash. The bank was in the same parking lot as his truck.

That Judge Jon Blue allowed Komisarjevsky's journals to be entered as evidence doesn't surprise seasoned defense attorneys. While the journals clearly would have been inadmissible as evidence at a regular trial, the death penalty phase of a trial has different boundaries.

"The death penalty lowers the threshold of what a judge will allow in as evidence and that's the only way this stuff comes into evidence,'' said New Haven attorney William F. Dow. "The worst thing a judge can do is give an issue to the defense that can lead to a retrial."

Dow called Komisarjevsky's writings "chilling" and speculated that the decision by Hayes' attorney to introduce them was a gamble, perhaps because the defense didn't have much else to work with.
"Usually in these cases they find that maybe Hayes' mother killed his pet rabbit when he was 6 and he never got over it or he had a horrible childhood, but there apparently isn't anything like that here," Dow said.

Komisarjevsky's childhood is likely to be raised. He was raped when he was 6 by a foster child his parents had taken in. The records of that case have long been sealed, but Komisarjevsky refers to it several times in his writings. He recalls being 9 years old, standing in a grocery store line with his mother, when a woman looked at him and told him "he had the face of an angel child and the eyes of an old soul."

"Month upon month my private horror show went unnoticed at an impressionable age of childhood innocence six years young,'' Komisarjevsky wrote. "When other children were experiencing the world's magic and life's simple games, I was baptized in humanity's inhumanity.''

Komisarjevsky wrote that he never "healed" from the sexual assaults and that a rage built up inside him that was unleashed when he attacked Petit with the baseball bat.

"What I was not prepared for was the combination of my demons getting the better of me juxtaposed with my failure to accurately account for the temperament(al) disposition of my codefendant under high pressure,'' he wrote.

"Not much pleases me more than a well executed strategy to achieve an objective and if things went to hell and you had to slug it out so be it. It's a time to summon a dark relish for mayhem,'' Komisarjevsky wrote. "It was that depth of darkness I was not prepared for once unleashed and dedicated to the task at hand. It's one thing to rob or suppress other traffickers and dealers and quite another to rob an innocent family."
Komisarjevsky acknowledged that the original plans to get in and out of the Petit house quickly changed when he beat Petit with the baseball bat while Hayes stood outside a window watching.

"Steave knocked on the window to my right pulling me back to the moment where time had meaning and was of the essence. Too much noise had been made and an unknown number of people were unaccounted for,'' he wrote.

Komisarjevsky said he interrogated Petit, determining that he had a wife and two daughters, what rooms they were in, that the house alarm was disarmed and that there was no remote emergency button in the master bedroom.

In his testimony during the guilt phase of Hayes' trial, Petit recalled the pain of getting smashed unexpectedly in the head with the bat and of blood pouring down his face before he lost consciousness. He did not remember talking to either of his attackers.

Komisarjevsky claims he may have saved Petit's life "by applying a makeshift pressure dressing to his wounds."

"I wonder why I even bothered,'' he wrote.

There has been no evidence that either Komisarjevsky or Hayes tried to help Petit, only that they took him downstairs and tied him to a pole.

While the two criminals point at each other as the catalyst for unleashing the violence that killed the three Petit women, they agree on one point: Both seemed resigned to death.

Hayes has tried to kill himself at least twice, while Komisarjevsky refers many times to his "anticipated death sentence that will be a state sanctioned murder of mercy."
"I'm not proud of the outcome of July 23, 2007. No one was supposed to lose their lives, however, I'm not surprised by the end result of human depravity,'' Komisarjevsky wrote. "The knowledge gained came at a heavy cost — my shadow now has a name — repression. My self destruction was almost absolute."

Prison officials testify at Conn. horror home invasion trial

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last Updated: 2:52 PM, October 25, 2010
Posted: 2:43 PM, October 25, 2010

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/prison_officials_testify_at_conn_Q0UxXgVevAuFY4wJ3u1qUN#ixzz13Pi1W800

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A retired Connecticut prison official has testified a man convicted of a 2007 deadly home invasion threatened to kill a prison officer in March, saying he had nothing to lose.

Frederick Levesque testified Monday as a New Haven jury is considering if Steven Hayes should get the death penalty. Hayes pleaded guilty to threatening the officer and was punished by 20 days' loss of recreation and visitor rights.

Levesque also said Hayes would have limited contact with the general prison population if he gets a life sentence.

Retired state prisons commissioner Theresa Lantz testified earlier Hayes was kept on 24-hour observation because of concerns he could harm himself. His co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, was not.

Hayes was convicted earlier this month of killing a woman and her daughters in Cheshire.

There was never any doubt in my mind that they planned to kill this family from the get go.

You don't buy gas just for the fun of it.  From the above article.

---

Conn.-horror killer said he raped woman post-strangling: doctor

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last Updated: 3:49 PM, October 28, 2010
Posted: 9:21 AM, October 28, 2010


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/testimony_continues_in_conn_home_4770mT77B2HwmBB429UGIK#ixzz13hGhoT6k

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A man convicted of killing a woman and her two daughters in a 2007 home invasion told a psychiatrist he was shocked by his co-defendant's violence, but later found himself in a rage, strangling and then raping the woman, the doctor testified Thursday.

Dr. Eric Goldsmith took the stand for a second day as defense attorneys try to convince a New Haven Superior Court jury that Steven Hayes should be sentenced to life in prison, not given the death penalty. The same jury convicted Hayes earlier this month of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 17-year-old Hayley Petit and 11-year-old Michaela Petit, in their Cheshire home.

The defense claims Hayes, a paroled burglar and drug addict with no history of violent crimes, was led to murder by Joshua Komisarjevsky, who awaits trial. Prosecutors say both men are equally responsible.

Goldsmith said Hayes told him he was concerned someone could get hurt and that Komisarjevsky even broke into a couple of houses to show Hayes they could do it without being caught.

The psychiatrist said Hayes told him he was "in a state of shock" when Komisarjevsky calmly beat Dr. William Petit bloody with a baseball bat after they broke into the Petit house.

Goldsmith said Hayes told him he took Hawke-Petit to a bank, forcing her to withdraw money while her family remained hostages at home. When they returned, Hayes said, Komisarjevsky falsely told him William Petit had died. Hayes said Komisarjevsky also told him he had left his DNA on one of the girls, and he had to kill them.

The psychiatrist said Hayes recounted that when he saw police cars arriving outside the house, he felt Hawke-Petit had betrayed him by tipping off police from the bank, and fell into a rage during which he strangled and then raped her.

Hayes said Komisarjevsky told him "fire destroys everything," including DNA evidence, but Hayes had expected they would take the family outside before torching the house, according to Goldsmith.

"He said, 'It is like I am transported from the earth to the moon. I'm just following Josh's lead," Goldsmith testified of Hayes' account.

Goldsmith said Hayes told him he poured gasoline and Komisarjevsky lit the match. Prosecutors say the girls, who were tied up, died of smoke inhalation. Their father, tied up in the basement, managed to crawl to a neighbor's house.

The defense has presented several witnesses who described the 47-year-old Hayes' guilt and remorse, including several suicide attempts after the home invasion. They have said he tried to overcome a childhood of abuse that led to drug addiction and burglaries for which he served 25 years in prison.

Goldsmith read from a suicide note Hayes wrote, saying, "Although I am not the monster Josh is, I am one nonetheless," adding, "I always had the ability to change, but cowards don't change, they become me." He said the note was signed with the word "suicide" spelled backward.

Goldsmith also testified that Hayes was in an extreme emotional state at the time of the crime and that impaired his ability to control his conduct. But he said his conclusions were not enough to offer a legal defense such as extreme emotional disturbance.

His testimony sparked an animated cross examination by a prosecutor, who said state law would prevent the death penalty in cases where a defendant was mentally impaired to the point they can't control their conduct. Goldsmith said he was not testifying Hayes could not conform his conduct to the law.

Juror in Conn. home invasion case dismissed after derogatory comment

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last Updated: 1:13 PM, October 29, 2010
Posted: 12:59 PM, October 29, 2010

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/juror_in_conn_home_invasion_case_DRe4Y08096yE8mneTEu8MP#ixzz13lwMUjBr

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The judge in the trial of a Connecticut man convicted in a deadly home invasion has dismissed a juror who was overheard making a derogatory comment to another juror.

The comment was heard by a clerk after testimony resumed on Friday with a psychiatrist on the stand for the defense.

The jury will decide whether Steven Hayes should get a death sentence or life in prison.

It was not immediately clear if the comment made by the female juror was directed at the witness or a defense attorney.

An alternate juror will be chosen to replace the dismissed panelist.

Hayes was convicted of killing a Cheshire woman and her two daughters in 2007.

A co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, faces trial next year.

Conn. horror killer tried to commit suicide more than a dozen times

Why stop him let him die.

That's what I say.

::MonkeyHang::

Brother To Steven Hayes: 'Show Me Your Soul Is Worth Saving'


http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-hayes-day8-1030-20101029,0,2870405.story

Elie Wiesel opposes death penalty in Connecticut home-invasion murders

By LAURA ITALIANO and BILL SANDERSON
With Post Wire Services
Last Updated: 7:32 AM, October 30, 2010
Posted: 1:47 AM, October 30, 2010


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/let_killers_live_1E9xNWt8V3wPo8yxhWG4QJ#ixzz13qcwbIUe

Two men accused of killing a woman and her daughters in a horrifying home invasion should be spared the death penalty, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel said in a speech at a Connecticut campus miles from where a jury is weighing one suspect's fate.

"Death is not the answer" was the refrain in Wiesel's talk, some of which seemed directed at Dr. William Petit, the sole survivor of the shocking 2007 crime in Cheshire, a leafy town 14 miles north of New Haven.

"Your wound is open," the writer and activist Wiesel said in his talk Tuesday at Wesleyan University. "You are mourning . . . but death is not the answer."

Petit was not in attendance.

A jury in New Haven is weighing a death sentence for one of the Petit family killers, Steven Hayes. He's been convicted of raping and strangling Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and helping burn alive her daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11.

The other suspect, Joshua Komisarjevsky, is awaiting trial and could also face a death sentence if convicted.

A better punishment for fiends like Komisarjevsky, 29, and Hayes, 47, would be a life of hard labor, said Wiesel, whose parents and sister died in Nazi death camps.

"I know the pain of those who survive," Wiesel said.

Meanwhile, a woman was kicked off the jury in Hayes' case yesterday after a court clerk heard her telling a neighboring juror that someone from the defense camp -- it wasn't clear if the reference was to a lawyer or a testifying defense psychiatrist -- was "bullsh--," the Hartford Courant reported.

Defense testimony aimed at sparing Hayes from the death penalty continues Monday.

I will respectfully disagree with Elie Wiesel.  Death is the answer when we are dealing with monsters like this because they will never know what it is to do hard labor.  These two murderers will play the system to the hilt and get everything they need.  They will be treated better than the homeless.  They will have a bed and meals every day.

I understand her point.  But we have become so soft, there is no such thing as hard labor for criminals.  I agree with you San.

 ::rhino::  yep

Death penalty closings start in Conn. home invade case; delibs set for tomorrow

By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 12:35 PM, November 4, 2010
Posted: 9:45 AM, November 4, 2010

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/closing_arguments_planned_in_conn_NSYlEIJT5QopYN9Rnl4ALO#ixzz14Kxzv1a8

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- It's the remorseful drug-addled loser defense.

Closing arguments began this morning on whether home invasion monster Steven Hayes will be put to death for the murders of a Connecticut nurse and her two daughters.

Hayes, a 47-year-old career burglar, is arguing that he deserves a break -- a sentence of life without parole -- because he's truly sorry for having raped and strangled the mother, crimes he's blaming on his history of crack abuse and child abuse.

He's also claiming that his yet-tried co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, was the real mastermind of the crime, and was solely responsible for setting the daughters on fire as they lay tied to their beds.

Not so, prosecutor Gary Nicholson, told jurors, speaking just after 10 this morning about the family's 7-hour ordeal of robbery, kidnapping, rape and murder, culminating nearly two months of testimony in New Haven Superior Court.

"Make no mistake about it," Nicholson said. "The violence, the destruction, and the deaths that the members of the Petit family were put through was a joint effort," he said, referring to pediatric nurse Jennifer Hawke-Petit and daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11.

"He could have left anytime he wanted," the prosecutor said of Hayes.

All three deaths were depraved, heinous and cruel -- thereby meeting the legal standard for the death penalty, the prosecutor said.

"In her last moments on this earth, as the defendant's hands were around her neck, choking the life out of her, what was on Mrs. Petit's mind?" he asked.

"She was thinking about her family... her daughters ... What were the defendants going to do to them?"

As for the girls, who were literally burned alive, "The girls had gas poured right on them," the prosecutor told jurors.

"I've already said it once, I'm going to say it again. Those girls knew they were about to suffer a horrible, painful death. Were they screaming? Were they begging for their lives? Use your common sense. Of course they were."

"If ever there was a case compelling the ultimate penalty, it is this case," he added.

Hayes' brother, Matthew, of Seattle, is sitting in the audience -- the first family member to come to court in his support.

Matthew, who soon after the slaughters told authorities "The family of this monster will have to live with this forever," and "Steven is alone," is sitting two rows behind his brother.

Closings by both sides are expected to last the morning. This afternoon, the judge will instruct jurors on the law governing their death penalty deliberations, which will begin Friday morning.

hopefully his brother is there to watch him get the death penalty that he so deserves and not in support of him...

Some jurors in home invade have sympathy for monster: Note

By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 5:13 PM, November 5, 2010
Posted: 11:18 AM, November 5, 2010

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/home_invade_monster_life_now_in_zIL4IiJWCovhuXEYyyiZdP#ixzz14T5zqwz0

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Life-or-death deliberations hit an early snag in the home invasion case, with jurors sending out an afternoon note indicating they are split on whether Steven Hayes dodges the needle because he's "impaired."

Jurors, some looking exhausted, left for the day without reaching a verdict. They return tomorrow morning to begin deliberating again.

Members of the Petit hugged as they left the courthouse.

It's unclear from the note how wide, or how intractable, the split may be, or in which direction jurors are leaning -- more toward the death penalty or toward life without parole. But the note does indicate that at least some of the jurors are feeling, for now, a potentially life-saving sympathy for the 47-year-old crackhead murderer.

Jurors are deciding if Hayes, a career burglar, should be sent to the death chamber for raping and strangling pediatric nurse Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and helping to literally burn alive her daughters, Hayley, 17 and Michaela, 11, who had been tied to their beds and doused with gasoline.

Jurors have been instructed to work their way through a complicated series of yes-and-no votes in weighing aggravating and mitigating factors for each of six death-penalty-eligible murder charges.

In the afternoon note, sent out after just three hours of deliberations, jurors asked whether they needed to be unanimous in cutting Hayes a life-saving break on the basis of his being mentally impaired, impaired in his ability to live a law-abiding life, or unable to foresee that his actions would result in death.

The judge answered "yes--" meaning all 12 of them must agree that either he gets the break or not, a decision they must repeat for all 6 of the death penalty charges Hayes faces.

If all 12 agree he was impaired or couldn't foresee his actions would lead to death, there can be no death penalty on at least that particular charge.

Still, jurors used a very pro-life hypothetical in asking for guidance -- telling the judge that, "for example," he should "assume" that either 9 or 10 of them want Hayes to live because they've found him impaired or unaware his actions would lead to any particular death.

Jurors have been told they'll work every day until a verdict -- including tomorrow and Sunday if necessary.

How can these jurors have sympathy for this monster.   ::MonkeyNoNo::

Impaired, of course he is impaired.  No one not impaired would do what he did.  Did he know the difference between right and wrong . . . absolutely!!!  Come on people, do what is right and not what may feel better.

I agree.  He knew the difference between right and wrong.  This was a premeditated murder.  Once they bought the gasoline they planned to murder this family from the get go.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/execution_deadlock_fKrAF1c6P00F2YeMvBcWyM
Slay jury deadlock

By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 7:19 AM, November 6, 2010
Posted: 1:21 AM, November 6, 2010
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Call it sympathy for the devil.

Jurors in the home-invasion murders of a Connecticut nurse and her two daughters must return for a second day of death-penalty deliberations today, because an unknown number of them are determined to spare the life of monster Stephen Hayes.

The looming possible deadlock left Hayes smiling broadly. Meanwhile, the attack's sole survivor, Dr. William Petit, and his supporters left court solemnly, after exchanging grim hugs in the hallway of New Haven Superior Court, where Hayes has been on trial for two months.

Jurors are deciding if Hayes gets lethal injection or life without parole for raping and strangling Petit's wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and for helping to burn alive the couple's daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11.

Jurors have been told they'll work today and tomorrow if needed.



Fry him.  ::MonkeyNoNo::

Family murder jury still out, but clapping heard

By DOUG MONTERO
Last Updated: 1:36 PM, November 6, 2010
Posted: 1:35 PM, November 6, 2010

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/family_murder_jury_still_out_but_BzJhttDp0avE8j31RQUhsJ#ixzz14WfMkYBz

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Day Two of death penalty deliberations in the home invasion murder of a nurse and her two daughters is continuing into the afternoon today, but with one sign of hope for a resolution -- the sound of applause from the jury room.

Panel members had looked exhausted upon leaving court yesterday, apparently mired in disagreement over whether to spare the life of monster strangler, rapist and arsonist Steven Hayes because his shrinks say he is mentally "impaired."

Ordered back today for weekend deliberations on whether Hayes lives or dies, jurors asked for and sat through a brief read back from prosecutors' cross examination last week of Hayes' main defense psychiatrist.

Once they back into the deliberations room, the muffled sound of group applause could be heard.

Jurors are deciding if Hayes gets lethal injection of life without parole for raping and strangling pediatric nurse Jennifer Hawke-Petit and helping to literally burn alive her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, who had been tied to their beds and doused with gasoline.

The same jury now weighing mitigating and aggravating factors in determining his ultimate fate also sat through nearly two months of testimony about the heinousness of the crimes before agreeing Oct. 5 to convict him of six death-penalty-eligible murder charges.

I hope the jurors weren't swayed this monsters shrink.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/national/story.aspx?storyid=155060&catid=81
urors seek clarification on mitigating factors in home invasion case
 Daniel Trotter     43 mins ago   11/07/10
New Haven, Connecticut (CNN) -- Jurors in Connecticut will resume deliberations Sunday to determine whether to sentence a man convicted of killing two sisters and their mother in a brutal 2007 home invasion to death.

Jurors recessed Saturday without deciding the sentence of Steven Hayes, who was convicted in the killings. He faces life in prison or death.

Judge Jon Blue ordered the five men and seven women on the jury to resume at 10 a.m. Sunday. Total deliberation time in the sentencing phase of the trial now stands at around 11 hours.

Earlier Saturday, the jury sent a note requesting a read-back of some of the testimony of Dr. Eric Goldsmith, a psychiatrist who had said Hayes was impaired at the time of the crimes and experienced extreme rage. Goldsmith was a witness for the defense.

On Friday, the jury asked Blue for clarification of the statute regarding mitigating factors -- evidence presented that would provide a reason for a sentence less than death. "How do we fill out the form?" the jurors asked.
Blue instructed the panel members that they could not go into the second phase -- determining whether the prosecution has proven the aggravating factors -- until they were unanimous about whether there were mitigating factors.

Hayes' lawyer has told jurors his client would suffer more if given a life sentence.

"Life in prison without the possibility of release is the harshest penalty," Tom Ullmann said. "It is a fate worse than death."

Ullmann asked his 47-year-old client to stand in front of the jury. He put his hand on Hayes' shoulder and said to the jurors, "He isn't a rabid dog that needs to be put to death. He has lost 80 pounds. He will never have a private bath. He goes to the bathroom in public. He will never eat a dinner that he makes, but one that they provide. He has a rec cage for an hour a day. Like an animal at the zoo."

As he stood, Hayes -- who did not testify during the trial -- looked at the floor.

"If you want to end his misery, put him to death. ... If you want him to suffer and carry that burden forever, the guilt, shame and humiliation, sentence him to life without the possibility of release," his lawyer said.

Prosecuting attorney Michael Dearington persuaded jurors to order Hayes be executed for his role in the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her daughters, Hayley Petit, 17, and Michaela Petit, 11.

"We cannot tie Steven Hayes to a bed, pour gasoline on him and set him on fire," Dearington said, referring to the killings. "But under our laws, we do have the death penalty."

He added that the Petit family had been "destroyed because Steven Hayes wanted money."

A psychiatrist testified in October that Hayes had told him he would rather be executed.
The high school dropout said he had a long history of substance abuse, the psychiatrist said.

But Dearington said that should not be an excuse for the murders.

"Drugs don't necessarily lead to violent crimes," he said.

Hayes was convicted last month of 16 of the 17 charges against him, including nine counts of murder and capital murder, and four counts of kidnapping.

Prosecutors allege that Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky invaded the Petit home in Cheshire, Connecticut; beat Dr. William Petit; raped and strangled his wife, sexually molested one of their daughters; set the house afire; and tried to flee.

The girls died of smoke inhalation. Their father escaped to a neighbor's home.

Komisarjevsky will be tried separately.

In Session's Sunny Hostin and Nancy Leung contributed to this story.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=12074176
Jury in Conn. Home Invasion Case Back for 3rd Day
Jury to deliberate for 3rd day on punishment for Conn. man convicted of home invasion killings
The Associated Press
Post a Comment
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN Associated Press
NEW HAVEN, Conn. November 7, 2010 (AP)
A Connecticut jury will begin a third day of deliberations on whether a man convicted in a deadly home invasion should be executed.

The New Haven jury considering the punishment for Steven Hayes resumes its work Sunday morning.

Hayes was convicted last month of killing a Cheshire woman and her two daughters in 2007.

His attorney has argued that Hayes is so isolated and anguished by the crime that life in prison would be worse than death.

But prosecutors say the death penalty is justice for a crime so heinous. They say Hayes and his co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky (koh-mih-sar-JEV'-skee), were on a "power trip" when they tormented the family for seven hours before they killed them.

Komisarjevsky is awaiting trial.

WTF?  ::MonkeyMad::

 ::MonkeyNoNo:: ::MonkeyNoNo::
 ::MonkeyHang::
Cookie does not understand the dilemma of this jury.... ::MonkeyHang:: ::MonkeyHang::

in other words, fry the POS!

Hayes Jury Reaches Verdict
Jury Deliberating Since Friday

POSTED: 10:03 am EST November 8, 2010
UPDATED: 11:24 am EST November 8, 2010


NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The jury for convicted killer Steven Hayes has decided whether he should receive life in prison or death for his role in the 2007 Cheshire home invasion.

The jury has been deliberating since Friday.

Hayes was convicted last month of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, during a home invasion in 2007.

Prosecutors said the death penalty is justice for a crime so heinous. They said Hayes and his co-defendant, Joshua Komisarkevsky, were on a "power trip" when they tormented the family for seven hours before killing them.

Hayes' lawyers argued that he should be spared the death penalty because his mental capacity was significantly impaired.

Dr. William Petit was the sole survivor.

http://www.wfsb.com/news/25670219/detail.html?treets=hart&tml=hart_break&ts=T&tmi=hart_break_1_10250111082010

 ::MonkeyGavel::    ::rhino::    ::MonkeyDance::

 ::MonkeyGavel:: Finally!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/hc-hayes-verdict-death-penalty-20101108,0,6499615.story
Hayes Sentenced To Death In Cheshire Murders
Jury Finds For Death On All Six Possible Death-Penalty Counts
By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com

11:06 a.m. CST, November 8, 2010
A Superior Court jury today sentenced Steven Hayes to death for the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela, during a seven-hour home invasion, robbery and arson at their Cheshire home in July 2007.

Hayes stood by as the jury of seven women and five men sentenced him to death row.

The jury sentenced Hayes to death on all six possible death-penalty counts: killing Hawke-Petit and Michaela and Hayley in the course of a single action; killing a child under the age of 16; killing Hawke-Petit in the course of a kidnapping; killing Hayley in the course of a kidnapping; killing Michaela in the course of a kidnapping; and killing Hawke-Petit in the course of a sexual assault.

As the verdicts were read, Dr. William Petit Jr. became emotional, his eyes filling with tears as the victim's advocate grabbed his hand. At one point, upon hearing the names of his wife and daughters as the clerk read the verdicts a second time, Petit closed his eyes.

Nearby, Petit's mother, his sister and several other relatives also cried, some dropping their heads as the court clerk read through the verdicts.
Several jurors cried and comforted one another with touches on hands or arms. Some looked over at the Petit family as the verdicts were read.

Hayes, 47, of Winsted, was convicted Oct. 5 of breaking into the Petit home, beating Petit, tying up and torturing the family as Hayes and another man ransacked the home for cash and valuables and tortured the family for seven hours. Testimony during Hayes' trial showed that at one point in the break-in, Hayes forced Hawke-Petit to go to the bank to withdraw money. During that time, according to testimony, the other defendant in the case, Joshua Komisarjevsky, sexually assaulted Michaela Petit, 11.

When Hawke-Petit and Hayes returned from the bank, Hayes raped and strangled Hawke-Petit. The house was doused with gasoline and set on fire as the intruders fled, testimony showed. Hayley, 17, and Michaela died of smoke inhalation.

Komisarjevsky, 30, of Cheshire, is scheduled to go to trial next year. He also faces the death penalty if convicted of the killings.

After the evidence phase of the trial, the jury convicted him on six capital felony charges which meant Hayes automatically faced a death penalty hearing in which jurors would decide whether Hayes should be sentenced to death by lethal injection or life in prison without the possibility of release.
During the penalty phase, Hayes lawyers portrayed him as a drug-addicted follower and a bumbling petty thief, raised in an abusive, troubled houeshold who uncharacteristically was persuaded by Komisarjevsky to go along with the plan to invade the Petit's home. Komisarjevsky played a major role in Hayes' defense. They told jurors Komisarjevsky was an evil schemer and longtime burglar who masterminded the attack on the Petit family.

To bolster their claims, the defense had excerpts of Komisarjevsky's prison journals read to jurors that included chilling details of the crime and long bragging passages of his alleged work as a serial burglar.

They also used the testimony of an expert witness who interviewed Hayes over several hours. He said Hayes told him that Komisarjevsky told Hayes he had killed the Petit family after Hayes had returned from the bank with Hawke-Petit. The expert said Hayes became enraged and as a result, raped and strangled Hawke-Petit.

The expert said that this extreme emotional reaction was the type that a jury considering the death penalty could view as a mitigating factor.

The defense argued that Hayes was so determined to kill himself, Hayes planned to feign no remorse in front of the jury at his trial so jurors would vote for execution.
During closing arguments, New Haven Public Defender Thomas J. Ullmann urged jurors to spare Hayes' life and give him life in prison where he could think for the rest of his life about the murders - thoughts, Ullmann said, that already plague a suicidal Hayes with guilt and nightmares.

"If you want to end Steven Hayes' torment, you should kill him. If you want to end his misery, you should execute him. If you want to end his despair, you should sentence him to death," Ullmann said to the jury.

But prosecutors rejected the defense arguments, saying the Hayes' account of the crime as told to the expert differed from what Hayes told police shortly after his arrest. They painted a much different portrait of Hayes: that of a self-aware, manipulative inmate shrewd to how his self-professed suicide attempts - and the prison system's reporting of them - could affect whether he received life in prison without the possibility of release or death.

Prosecutors used the words of Hayes' younger brother Matthew to counter testimony that home-invasion crime was an aberration in Hayes otherwise troubled but basically nonviolent life.

Matthew Hayes portrayed his brother as a conniving, sadistic, violent thief who saw Matthew take countless beatings from his brutal father for Steven Hayes' misdeeds. At one point, Steven Hayes held a gun to Matthew's head, according to the statement, which was given to state police after the home invasion.
Examples of Hayes' sadistic behavior toward his brother included hooking Matthew to the garage door by his belt and raising the door up and down, and holding Matthew's hand to a red-hot burner. Matthew said his brother's life of crime was not a result of bad parenting or poor childhood. He said Hayes never learned to take responsibility for his actions.

"Steven is what Steven is because he's a coward," Matthew Hayes wrote.

Jurors can impose the death penalty in 35 states throughout the country. In Connecticut, where nine inmates sit on death row, executions are rare.

The last person to be executed in Connecticut was serial killer Michael Ross in 2005. The execution occurred only after Ross waged a legal fight to end his appeals and to have the sentence imposed. Before Ross, the last execution in Connecticut was in 1960, when the state electrocuted Joseph "Mad Dog" Taborsky for a robbery spree that resulted in six murders.

 ::MonkeyGavel:: 

http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-hayes-verdict-death-penalty-20101108,0,548522,print.story

Courant.com
Hayes Sentenced To Death In Cheshire Murders
Jury Finds For Death On All Six Possible Death-Penalty CountsBy ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com

12:06 PM EST, November 8, 2010


A Superior Court jury today sentenced Steven Hayes to death for the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela, during a seven-hour home invasion, robbery and arson at their Cheshire home in July 2007.

Hayes stood by as the jury of seven women and five men sentenced him to death row.

The jury sentenced Hayes to death on all six possible death-penalty counts: killing Hawke-Petit and Michaela and Hayley in the course of a single action; killing a child under the age of 16; killing Hawke-Petit in the course of a kidnapping; killing Hayley in the course of a kidnapping; killing Michaela in the course of a kidnapping; and killing Hawke-Petit in the course of a sexual assault.

As the verdicts were read, Dr. William Petit Jr. became emotional, his eyes filling with tears as the victim's advocate grabbed his hand. At one point, upon hearing the names of his wife and daughters as the clerk read the verdicts a second time, Petit closed his eyes.

Nearby, Petit's mother, his sister and several other relatives also cried, some dropping their heads as the court clerk read through the verdicts.

Several jurors cried and comforted one another with touches on hands or arms. Some looked over at the Petit family as the verdicts were read.

Hayes, 47, of Winsted, was convicted Oct. 5 of breaking into the Petit home, beating Petit, tying up and torturing the family as Hayes and another man ransacked the home for cash and valuables and tortured the family for seven hours. Testimony during Hayes' trial showed that at one point in the break-in, Hayes forced Hawke-Petit to go to the bank to withdraw money. During that time, according to testimony, the other defendant in the case, Joshua Komisarjevsky, sexually assaulted Michaela Petit, 11.

When Hawke-Petit and Hayes returned from the bank, Hayes raped and strangled Hawke-Petit. The house was doused with gasoline and set on fire as the intruders fled, testimony showed. Hayley, 17, and Michaela died of smoke inhalation.

Komisarjevsky, 30, of Cheshire, is scheduled to go to trial next year. He also faces the death penalty if convicted of the killings.

After the evidence phase of the trial, the jury convicted him on six capital felony charges which meant Hayes automatically faced a death penalty hearing in which jurors would decide whether Hayes should be sentenced to death by lethal injection or life in prison without the possibility of release.

During the penalty phase, Hayes lawyers portrayed him as a drug-addicted follower and a bumbling petty thief, raised in an abusive, troubled houeshold who uncharacteristically was persuaded by Komisarjevsky to go along with the plan to invade the Petit's home. Komisarjevsky played a major role in Hayes' defense. They told jurors Komisarjevsky was an evil schemer and longtime burglar who masterminded the attack on the Petit family.

To bolster their claims, the defense had excerpts of Komisarjevsky's prison journals read to jurors that included chilling details of the crime and long bragging passages of his alleged work as a serial burglar.

They also used the testimony of an expert witness who interviewed Hayes over several hours. He said Hayes told him that Komisarjevsky told Hayes he had killed the Petit family after Hayes had returned from the bank with Hawke-Petit. The expert said Hayes became enraged and as a result, raped and strangled Hawke-Petit.

The expert said that this extreme emotional reaction was the type that a jury considering the death penalty could view as a mitigating factor.

The defense argued that Hayes was so determined to kill himself, Hayes planned to feign no remorse in front of the jury at his trial so jurors would vote for execution.

During closing arguments, New Haven Public Defender Thomas J. Ullmann urged jurors to spare Hayes' life and give him life in prison where he could think for the rest of his life about the murders - thoughts, Ullmann said, that already plague a suicidal Hayes with guilt and nightmares.

"If you want to end Steven Hayes' torment, you should kill him. If you want to end his misery, you should execute him. If you want to end his despair, you should sentence him to death," Ullmann said to the jury.

But prosecutors rejected the defense arguments, saying the Hayes' account of the crime as told to the expert differed from what Hayes told police shortly after his arrest. They painted a much different portrait of Hayes: that of a self-aware, manipulative inmate shrewd to how his self-professed suicide attempts - and the prison system's reporting of them - could affect whether he received life in prison without the possibility of release or death.

Prosecutors used the words of Hayes' younger brother Matthew to counter testimony that home-invasion crime was an aberration in Hayes otherwise troubled but basically nonviolent life.

Matthew Hayes portrayed his brother as a conniving, sadistic, violent thief who saw Matthew take countless beatings from his brutal father for Steven Hayes' misdeeds. At one point, Steven Hayes held a gun to Matthew's head, according to the statement, which was given to state police after the home invasion.

Examples of Hayes' sadistic behavior toward his brother included hooking Matthew to the garage door by his belt and raising the door up and down, and holding Matthew's hand to a red-hot burner. Matthew said his brother's life of crime was not a result of bad parenting or poor childhood. He said Hayes never learned to take responsibility for his actions.

"Steven is what Steven is because he's a coward," Matthew Hayes wrote.

Jurors can impose the death penalty in 35 states throughout the country. In Connecticut, where nine inmates sit on death row, executions are rare.

The last person to be executed in Connecticut was serial killer Michael Ross in 2005. The execution occurred only after Ross waged a legal fight to end his appeals and to have the sentence imposed. Before Ross, the last execution in Connecticut was in 1960, when the state electrocuted Joseph "Mad Dog" Taborsky for a robbery spree that resulted in six murders.



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And the jury showing compassion and mercy agreed to put his suffering to an end. ::monkeywine2::

 ::MonkeyGavel::

Exactly.

http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/11/08/1801518/jury-sentences-man-to-death-for.html
Monday, Nov. 08, 2010
Jury sentences man to death for Conn. home-invasion slayings
By ALAINE GRIFFIN AND JOSH KOVNER - The Hartford Courant
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A Superior Court jury Monday sentenced Steven Hayes to death for the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela, at their Cheshire, Conn., home in July 2007.

Outside the courthouse after the verdict, Hawke-Petit's father, the Rev. Richard Hawke, said, "There are some people who do not deserve to live in God's world."

Dr. William Petit Jr., who survived the brutal attack on his family, said, "This is a verdict for justice." But, he said, as the verdict was read, "I was really thinking of the tremendous loss ... I was sad for the loss we have all suffered ...

Probably many of you have kids," Petit said, pausing to choke back tears. His voice breaking, he said, "Michaela was an 11-year-old little girl. She was tortured and killed in her own bedroom, surrounded by her stuffed animals."

Petit also talked about his daughter Hayley's bright future and her strength and the many children that his wife, Jennifer, helped.

Petit thanked the jury for doing its job, and said, "I appreciate the fact that there was seven women on the jury. This was a case of sexual predation ... I liked to see women stand up for other women."

Hawke-Petit was raped during the attack, and Michaela was sexually assaulted, according to testimony.

"Crimes like this have to be pursued and prosecuted vigorously," he said. "The easy way out is to plead things out." He described how New Haven state's attorney Michael Dearington came to his house and said, "If any case deserves the death penalty, it's this one. If I don't go for it, there's no reason to have it on the books."

Petit said he agreed. "In a civilized society, people need to be responsible for their actions," he said.

He criticized those who accused the media and family members of creating an atmosphere of blood lust. "That is the kettle calling the pot black," he said.

Asked if he thought there would be closure now, Petit said, "There's never closure. There's a hole ... with jagged edges ... that may smooth out with time, but the hole in your heart and the hole in your soul" remains.

"This isn't about revenge," Petit said. "Vengeance belongs to the Lord. This is about justice."

Inside the courtroom, Hayes looked straight ahead - as he has throughout the entire trial - as the jury of seven women and five men, after deliberating for 17 hours, sentenced Hayes to death on all six possible death-penalty counts. He will be formally sentenced Dec. 2.

Once the sentencing date was set, Judge Jon C. Blue looked over at Hayes.

"The defendant may be taken down," Blue said.

New Haven public defender Thomas J. Ullmann shook Hayes' hand and patted his arm before a judicial marshal led him out of the room.

"He's thrilled," Ullmann said of Hayes. "He's very happy with the verdict," Ullmann said to reporters outside the courthouse.

Ullmann declined to say why he thought Hayes was thrilled and he refused to discuss what he talked about with Hayes. But he said he saw Hayes smile as the verdict was read.

"That's what he wanted," he said, adding that Hayes wanted to commit "suicide by state" with an execution.

"He's tried to kill himself before," Ullmann said. "The jury gave him what he wants."

As the verdicts were read in the solemn courtroom, Petit became emotional, his eyes filling with tears as the victim's advocate grabbed his hand. At one point, upon hearing the names of his wife and daughters, Petit closed his eyes.

Nearby, Petit's mother, his sister and several other relatives also cried, some dropping their heads as the court clerk read through the verdicts. There was no elation on that side of the gallery.

Several jurors also cried and comforted one another with touches on hands or arms. Some looked over at the Petit family as the verdicts were read.

The jury sentenced Hayes to death on six counts: killing Hawke-Petit and Michaela and Hayley in the course of a single action; killing a child under the age of 16; killing Hawke-Petit in the course of a kidnapping; killing Hayley in the course of a kidnapping; killing Michaela in the course of a kidnapping; and killing Hawke-Petit in the course of a sexual assault.

Dearington said shortly after the verdict he was relived the case was over. "The judge was incredible, the jury was incredible. The case was fairly tried by both sides." But, in a nod to the upcoming trial of the second defendant in the case, Joshua Komisarjevsky, he said: "It's not over yet."

Hayes, 47, of Winsted, Conn., was convicted Oct. 5 of breaking into the Petit home, beating Petit, tying up and torturing the family as Hayes and another man ransacked the home for cash and valuables and tortured the family for seven hours. Testimony during Hayes' trial showed that at one point in the break-in, Hayes forced Hawke-Petit to go to the bank to withdraw money. During that time, according to testimony, Komisarjevsky sexually assaulted Michaela Petit, 11.

When Hawke-Petit and Hayes returned from the bank, Hayes raped and strangled Hawke-Petit. The house was doused with gasoline and set on fire as the intruders fled, testimony showed. Hayley, 17, and Michaela died of smoke inhalation.

Joshua Komisarjevsky I hope you changed your underwear tonight.  The torture you are going through tonight knowing that your partner in crime got death must be driving you crazy.

You will not be able to see your child grow up as it should be.  That child doesn't need to grow up knowing she has a monster father like you.  A father who would be leaching off her for the rest of her life.  She will break free and clear once you get your death sentence.  And yes Joshua she will forget about you because you were a nothing.

San, so well said!
I know there has been some criticism of the jury taking so long . . . but I think it shows how seriously they considered the death penalty.  I applaud the judge and the jury and the State and the attorneys for doing a job well done . . . and as it should be, justice has prevailed.

It's worth listening to what these two jurors had to say.  They had a tough time during this trial.  They had to view the pictures and all the other evidence.  They did a great job.

Jurors: Serving in deadly home invasion case was life-changing

By the CNN Wire Staff
November 9, 2010 6:57 p.m. EST

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/11/09/connecticut.home.invasion.jurors/index.html?hpt=T2

http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=crime/2010/11/09/hayes.jurors.death.penalty.hln

(CNN) -- Jurors who convicted a man of three murders in a 2007 Connecticut home invasion and recommended he be put to death for his crimes said Tuesday that serving on the case changed their lives -- and took an emotional and sometimes physical toll.

"This has strengthened my faith," Paula Calzetta told In Session on the truTV network. "We all came together. It was amazing, how it worked out, and we came to the right decision. I know that this is, for me, God's plan, and I think I'm honored to be a part of that."

Jurors recommended Monday that Steven Hayes, 47, should die for his role in the 2007 invasion of a home in Cheshire, Connecticut, that left Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, dead along with her daughters, 17-year-old Hayley Petit and 11-year-old Michaela Petit. They earlier convicted Hayes on a list of charges, including murder, capital murder and kidnapping.

Prosecutors alleged Hayes and co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky invaded the home of Dr. William Petit on July 23, 2007, beat and tied up Petit, raped and strangled Hawke-Petit, molested one of their daughters and set the house on fire before attempting to flee. The two daughters, who had been tied to their beds, died of smoke inhalation.

Hayes also 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. Komisarjevsky is to be tried separately later.

Cindy Hawke-Renn, Hawke-Petit's sister, said Tuesday she does not believe closure can ever exist in a case like this.

"I think justice has been served, but I don't know that there truly is anything just, when something like this happens," she said.

The brutality of the case sent shock waves through Connecticut and beyond. Calzetta and juror Maico Cardona said they were haunted by pictures they viewed -- especially pictures of the Petit daughters.

"I have a 10-year-old daughter at home," Cardona said. "... Michaela was the one factor, for me, that I could not get over." He said he was plagued by a recurring nightmare in which an 11-year-old girl was "screaming for my help, and I'm not able to help her."

"That is burned in my memory, those pictures of those girls," Calzetta said.

She said during the trial, "I thought I was doing really well. And we gave our guilty verdict, and I went home and just collapsed. I was sick for a week and a half." She said she focused on taking care of herself during the penalty phase. "It takes a toll on your body you don't even realize," she said.

Both jurors said it was hard not being able to talk about the case with their families or even each other during the trial. And they said they were struck by the fact that Hayes remained stoic and showed no remorse.

"He's an empty shell ... hollow eyes and an empty shell," Calzetta said. But she said she was able to view Hayes more as a human being after his defense attorneys moved him closer to the jury. "That really affected me," she said. "I had never seen him that close."

Both said the jury took the case and their responsibility very seriously. But both maintained that Hayes should never again walk free.

Cardona said it was important to him that Hayes receive the death penalty because "I knew that he would be in a cell by himself, secluded ... that's what he hated." If jurors had recommended Hayes be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, "he would have been in general population," Cardona said. "That's what he liked. That's what he was used to."

A third juror, Diane Keim, said: "If he had life in prison, that would be going home for him."

Hayes has been in and out of the criminal justice system since he was 17 years old for a laundry-list of offenses.

Cardona said he had difficulty viewing Hayes as a person and not just a perpetrator, but maintained that everyone deserves a fair trial -- and that Hayes got one.

Those outside the jury room wondered why jurors took their time to decide on the death penalty, Calzetta and Cardona said -- their verdict came on the fourth day of deliberation. But "we wanted to make sure everybody was comfortable with the decision," Cardona said.

"This is a huge deal," Calzetta said. "Everybody needed their own time."

"I have a very spiritual background, and I thought that this would be the only opportunity for this man to ever make peace with his Supreme Being, if he even has one," or to accept responsibility, Calzetta said. She felt the death penalty was necessary for Hayes to accept responsibility or experience remorse.

Keim said the jurors had some trouble sorting out the paperwork and procedures, but likewise stressed the significance of their decision.

"All 12 of us tried to keep our emotions in check because we knew that we had to make a decision here on a man's life. And it was very very difficult for us," she said.

Both Calzetta and Cardona said they did not buy the defense's claim that Hayes was merely a follower and KomisarjevskyCalzetta said. "He's a man, and he made his choices. Unfortunately, they were the wrong ones. ... He needs to be accountable." the ringleader of the crime, saying that Hayes had plenty of opportunities to make different choices, to stop or to leave, and did not. "Calling him a follower is just too easy,"

Cardona said he did not believe testimony that Komisarjevsky triggered Hayes' rage by telling him, when he returned from the bank with Hawke-Petit, that the girls were dead. A police officer who interviewed Hayes just after his arrest testified that Hayes told him he saw Michaela upon his return and saw that she had changed clothes, Cardona pointed out.

Asked about whether they were overcome by emotion at times, Calzetta said, "Oh, several times. I don't think any of us expected it when it did overcome us."

Looking at the bank video of Hawke-Petit was particularly hard, she said, as jurors knew the woman was being brave and doing what she felt she had to do to save her family. "She had no idea what she was walking into," Calzetta said. "No one could have known. And all three of those girls were, I think, very brave in their final moments. They didn't deserve this."

"It was a very emotional case and a very emotional two months," Cardona said.

But he praised the other jurors for following the letter of the law and conducting civilized deliberations. "There was never a shouting match," he said. "There was never insults."

Both Calzetta and Cardona said they felt privileged to have served alongside the others. "We worked extremely hard," Cardona said.

Jurors also praised the Petit family, saying they spoke to William Petit and others after the trial. "It was so wonderful to hug these people," Calzetta said, "and they treated us like family, and we feel almost like family because we've seen such intimate things of their life and lived some things with them, and they are the most wonderful people that I think I've come across in a long time."

Cardona said he was struck by the Petit family telling jurors they were sorry the panel had to go through such an experience. "This family is so dignified, gracious, classy," he said. William Petit "held his head high throughout this entire case," he said. "... He was an inspiration to all of us."

The Petit family had said they were praying for the jurors. "It's amazing to me that in the midst of their horror and grief they are so generous to think about praying for us, there in the midst of this horror. It's heartwarming," Calzetta said. "... I can't even put it to words."

Calzetta said she plans to attend Komisarjevsky's trial because she wants to support the Petit family.

Jurors acknowledged that it is likely their lives will never be the same. Cardona said he thought he would be all right because he's seen movies and television, but he found it's different when something actually took place.

"You want to feel safe in your home," he said, but "... there's more people like this out there."

Writings reveal mind of next man to be tried in Connecticut killings

By Ashley Fantz, CNN
November 12, 2010 1:02 p.m. EST

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/11/12/connecticut.murders/index.html?hpt=C2

This story is based on interviews by "Anderson Cooper 360" reporter Randi Kaye. Her special report, "Pure Evil: The Killings in Connecticut," will air at 10 p.m. ET Saturday, November 13, and 10:30 p.m. ET Sunday, November 14.

(CNN) -- The accused murderer's life wasn't supposed to turn out like this.

He had everything most people want -- money, opportunity, education, a respected family name. He claimed his IQ fell in the genius range.

But Joshua Komisarjevsky also had something sinister inside him. He called it "a terrible feeling." Whatever it was exactly, an innocent family would suffer unspeakably for it. A husband, a wife and their daughters, 17 and 11. The Petits of Connecticut -- that family.

Though their names might not be well known, after months of media coverage, their nightmare is. On July 23, 2007, men wearing ski masks attacked the family as they slept in their suburban Cheshire home. The father, a physician, was beaten with a bat and tied to a pole in his basement. His wife was raped and strangled. The girls were tortured for nearly seven hours, one sexually assaulted, then killed when the attackers set the house on fire.

The doctor survived and later mustered the strength and courage to testify against one of the attackers in court.

The horror that happened at 300 Sorghum Mill Drive was so savage, jurors wept repeatedly during the September trial of Steven Hayes. They later said the experience changed their lives. Hayes, a 47-year-old career criminal, who one juror described as an "empty shell," was convicted of murder, rape and kidnapping.

Last week, he was sentenced to die.

During the trial, Hayes' lawyers tried to shift attention to his accused accomplice, Komisarjevsky, who is expected to be tried on similar charges, including arson, in January.

Hayes was a follower, they insisted. Komisarjevsky was the smarter guy, the manipulator, the orchestrator of a home invasion so brutal that it reinvigorated the death penalty in one of only two New England states that still have it. (New Hampshire is the other).

Komisarjevsky's journals and letters show a man of keen intelligence who "takes responsibility for masterminding [the Petit attack]," said Brian McDonald, an author who Komisarjevsky wrote to frequently from jail. "He takes credit for orchestrating what went on in that house."

Much of the writing, however, is rambling self-analysis about how the accused killer's own alleged childhood rape stoked his "menacing mind."

Komisarjevsky has pleaded not guilty. There is a gag order issued in the case. No one, including lawyers, is allowed to comment.

Jailers have confiscated some of Komisarjevsky's writings, said Beth Karas, a former prosecutor who covered the Petit case for "In Session" on TruTV. It's possible they could be presented as evidence in his trial. Beyond the heinous details of the crime, the writings provoke more questions, more reason to ask: What evil are people capable of?

"In my 24 years in the criminal justice system, this is one of the few cases that gave me a nightmare," Karas said.

Karas said she wonders why she is exceptionally bothered. Crime is always terrible; murders happen every day. Around the same time that jurors heard testimony in the Petit case, a Memphis, Tennessee, man was convicted of murdering a whole family, including two children. That case drew a fraction of the media attention the Connecticut trial did.

Does what happened to the Petit family remind us of the randomness of violence, the unfairness of it?

Is it that we see ourselves, the good we try to be, in the doctor and his wife, a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis who raised money to fight the disease? Do we see our kids in their teenager on her way to Dartmouth, in their 11-year-old who couldn't take her eyes off the Food Network?

Is our sense of safety betrayed by the setting of the crime? Cheshire is a leafy New England village of 28,000 people, known more for its bucolic country roads than for its crime rate.

Violence can happen anywhere. Criminals live everywhere.

Consider the accused murderer. He grew up in Cheshire.

A menacing mind

About two miles away from the Petit home, Joshua Komisarjevsky was raised on a 65-acre estate called "The Barn." It belonged to his adoptive grandfather, writer Joseph Chamberlain, and Chamberlain's wife, a Russian ballerina.

As a boy, Komisarjevsky delighted in exploring the grounds of the Barn, tracking the animals, perfecting the art of moving in silence.

His was a family of power and prestige, but it wasn't his biologically. Ben and Jude Komisarjevsky, who also lived at "The Barn," had adopted him a few days after he was born to a 16-year-old, said McDonald, who has written a book based on Komisarjevsky's letters to him, journals and interviews with those who know him.

The details of Komisarjevsky's early life are laid out in those writings, and in McDonald's book.

Ben and Jude, who was a grade-school librarian, were "fervent Christians," McDonald said. The couple enrolled their son in the Christian Service Brigade, a kind of Boy Scouts, according to McDonald. The boy went to Christian camps and church soccer games.

"Yet early on in his life, 12, 13 ... there was this evil side of him that had to be nurtured, or explored," said McDonald.

Komisarjevsky began breaking into houses. He told McDonald that he broke into hundreds by the time he was 16. Sometimes, he did it "just to hear people breathing," McDonald said. Occasionally, to mess with people's minds, he'd rearrange photographs and leave without detection.

"I knew there was something different about me," Komisarjevsky wrote of his adolescence.

He usually wore latex gloves during his break-ins; at least once he donned night-vision gear, McDonald said. He bragged that burglarizing taught him how to build a house "from laying the foundation to hanging the last door."

At one point, Komisarjevsky joined the Army, went AWOL, started doing drugs -- speed-balling heroin and coke -- and got a thumb-wagging from a judge. "There was this wild, fiendish side to him," McDonald said.

In letters to McDonald, Komisarjevsky blamed one central experience in his youth for causing his "restless inner torment," an alleged rape by a male foster child who his family took in.

"This child, raped of his innocence, guilty of silence, dripping in sin, learned at an early age the art of repression," wrote Komisarjevsky, referring to himself. "This terrible feeling grew. In time it became a conscious, raw tingling that jangled my nerve and made me want to jump out of my skin. 'Rebuke the devil -- and pray,' I was told.

"Growing up, kids are propped up with lies and promises made with good intentions. Life is good, humanity is kind, God is loving. But I know. I knew full well that life was a battle. Humanity is cruel. And that God is all-knowing, all-powerful and did nothing to protect this child."

Komisarjevsky told McDonald about his daughter. He described giving her a bath and reading her a bedtime story even as he planned to head out to terrorize another man's family.

A leader, a follower

Hayes and his partner eyed Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughter Michaela loading up their SUV at the Cheshire Stop & Shop, according to trial testimony, and followed them home to case the house.

Hayes seemed to be Komisarjevsky's opposite. "They were a classic Mutt and Jeff jailhouse team," McDonald said. Hayes was short, stout, bald, dimwitted. According to his lawyers, he was a follower. Komisarjevsky was taller, lean and handsome. He was the leader, said McDonald.

Raised in a tiny house in New Hampshire with parents he said were abusive, Hayes' criminal ambitions began in his teens and were mainly about one thing -- feeding his drug habit, said McDonald.

The pair hit it off while rooming for four months at a halfway house in Hartford, Connecticut, in 2007. Both were on parole for burglary and robbery.

A few days before the Petit attack, Komisarjevsky removed his ankle bracelet, Karas said.

After he put his daughter to bed on July 23, 2007, he got on his computer and had cybersex with his 16-year-old girlfriend.

The teen would later testify that he told her, "I'd rob a bank for you."

Sleep, then a nightmare

Dr. William Petit had enjoyed a nice dinner with his family and was dozing on his porch when the blows of a Louisville Slugger woke him. One, two, three, four. When the bashing stopped, he was tied to a post in his basement, according to trial testimony.

The men, wearing masks, grabbed Jennifer Hawke-Petit as she slept in the master bedroom next to 11-year-old Micheala. Hayley, a crew team athlete, was next.

For nearly seven hours, they were tortured and told they would live, but given reason to believe they would die. Komisarjevsky is accused of tying Micheala to her bed, stripping and photographing her, telling the child that the pictures would be used to blackmail her father, and then raping her. He has denied the rape, but DNA samples found on and inside the little girl match his, according to Karas.

Hayes' jury was reportedly spared having to see the photos, but a technology expert, shown the images on Komisarjevsky's cell phone, described them in detail on the stand.

When the hell of that night gave way to day, Hawke-Petit tried desperately to win over her captors. She even offered to cook them breakfast. She followed the attackers' orders and went to a bank to withdraw $15,000. A surveillance camera caught her speaking in a hush to a teller: "They're holding my family hostage," she said.

"Jennifer-Hawke Petit wanted to believe that these men who had been holding her and her children and husband hostage for about six hours at that point ... that they were not going to hurt them," said Karas. "That they were going to keep their word that they just wanted money."

Hoping it might save her family, she got in the car with Hayes. He took off his mask during the drive.

"Once the witnesses could identify them, the witnesses had to be destroyed," Karas said.

If the attackers wanted money, by then they had other plans, too. They had gasoline.

Hayes testified that he raped and strangled Hawke Petit, according to court records.

Then, the house went up in flames.

Petit reportedly testified: "I felt a major jolt of adrenaline. I thought 'It's now or never,' " after hearing one of the attackers say, "Don't worry, it's going to be over in a couple of minutes."

"I thought they were going to shoot all of us," the doctor said.

He wrangled free and crawled bloody into the morning sunlight. He screamed for help. A neighbor rushed to him. "Is there anyone in the house?" he asked frantically.

"The girls," Petit moaned.

"I'm good and bad"

Brian McDonald wanted to write a book about the most talked about crime in Connecticut. He wrote to everyone involved, including Petit and Hayes, all the lawyers. No one responded.

Then he got a letter, a single paragraph, in the mail. It was from Komisarjevsky.

"He was suspicious of my motives," said McDonald. "But he invited me to write back, which I did."

The correspondence between them lasted five months, the author said. Sometimes McDonald would receive three letters a week. They revealed a warped mind.

Komisarjevsky called Hayley "a fighter" because she constantly struggled to free herself and help her family, McDonald said.

The 11-year-old Michaela had "calm strength and poised emotion," Komisarjevsky wrote. He said Hawke-Petit's courage was "to be respected ... she met that end bravely."

Petit, he wrote, was "a coward."

"I was scared," McDonald said of the first time he met Komisarjevsky in prison.

When they picked up their two-way phones on each side of the Plexiglas partition, Komisarjevsky told the writer, "You can't be too careful in this place."

Komisarjevsky was "soft spoken ... polite ... like a nice Christian boy ... but I think he plays that," said McDonald. "He used that as a tool. He knows how he appears to people. He knows he comes across as this nice, Christian boy with soft mannerisms.

"He was going out of his way to be nice. It was very disarming."

Whatever he wants the world to think of him, Komisarjevsky is a manipulator, McDonald said, through and through.

"I'm not good or bad, Mr. McDonald," Komisarjevsky wrote. "There is no black or white answer. ... I'm both good and bad and everything in between."

Judge hears challenge to Conn. home invasion killer's death sentence

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last Updated: 2:25 PM, November 24, 2010
Posted: 2:24 PM, November 24, 2010

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/judge_hears_challenge_to_conn_death_EgLZe002eXStjjtPHxge1K#ixzz16FBRnAuk

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Attorneys for a man condemned to die for a deadly home invasion tried to convince a judge Wednesday that the jury was unduly swayed by emotion, but the judge said the jurors' reactions were natural given the crime's "unimaginable horror."

Judge Jon Blue heard arguments, but did not immediately rule, on a defense motion challenging the death verdict two weeks ago for Steven Hayes, who was convicted of killing a woman and her two daughters in the 2007 home invasion in Cheshire.

Hayes was convicted of sexually assaulting and strangling the mother, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, after forcing her to withdraw money from a bank. Investigators say Hayes and co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky tied the girls to their beds and poured gasoline on or around them before setting the house on fire, leaving them to die of smoke inhalation.

The girls' father and Hawke-Petit's husband, Dr. William Petit, was beaten with a baseball bat and tied up, but managed to escape to a neighbor's house to get assistance.

Tom Ullmann, Hayes' attorney, cited comments by a juror of having persistent nightmares during the trial, during which they heard gruesome testimony and saw photos of the victims, charred beds, rope, ripped clothing and ransacked rooms.

"It would be the rare human being to not have nightmares," Blue said. "The fact of the matter is your client left in his wake a scene of unimaginable horror. The defense is not entitled to a jury of robots."

Blue promised a ruling on the motion, which seeks a new trial or a life sentence, before Hayes' scheduled sentencing on Dec. 2. Blue did reject a defense motion challenging Hayes' assault conviction.

Some jurors met with Petit and his relatives after the verdict and some also appeared on television wearing pins for a family foundation in memory of the victims, Ullmann said.

The attorney called the meeting "somewhat unseemly," but Blue said he was not concerned. The judge repeatedly pressed Ullmann to cite court rulings to bolster his arguments, saying courts do not delve into the mental processes and reasoning of jurors.

"I think it's a unique situation," Ullmann said.

"Frankly, I just disagree," Blue responded.

Hayes appeared in court with a slight beard and shook Ullmann's hand.

Komisarjevsky faces trial next year.

Judge: Conn. home invasion death sentence is fair

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last Updated: 12:40 PM, November 26, 2010
Posted: 12:38 PM, November 26, 2010

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/judge_conn_home_invasion_death_sentence_2XsbVxTC9NKUlLOTL9ApII#ixzz16Ryk2YPY

HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut judge has decided that a jury was fair in deciding that Steven Hayes should be executed for a home invasion that left a woman and her two daughters dead.

Lawyers for Hayes had argued that the jury was swayed by emotion after hearing and seeing gruesome testimony. Jurors condemned Hayes to death on Nov. 8.

New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue on Friday denied defense lawyers' motion seeking a new trial, new penalty phase hearing or a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The judge says the jury wasn't "driven by passion and prejudice." Public defender Thomas Ullmann says he believes the same issues will come up on appeal.

Another defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, is set to go on trial next year for the killings in the town of Cheshire.

San, this case has restored some of my tattered feelings about our justice system.  I am so glad the judge has acknowledged the well-thought through decisions of the jurors.
I appreciate the updates.
When reading from the above, it reaffirmed to me what the anthonys are not:
Jurors also praised the Petit family, saying they spoke to William Petit and others after the trial. "It was so wonderful to hug these people," Calzetta said, "and they treated us like family, and we feel almost like family because we've seen such intimate things of their life and lived some things with them, and they are the most wonderful people that I think I've come across in a long time."
Cardona said he was struck by the Petit family telling jurors they were sorry the panel had to go through such an experience. "This family is so dignified, gracious, classy," he said. William Petit "held his head high throughout this entire case," he said. "... He was an inspiration to all of us."

Sister it has restored some feelings I had towards the justice system.  I was getting very nervous for a while that the jury would be sympathetic towards this monster.  This guy doesn't deserve to live.

The Petit family is a class act and they deserved justice for their family members.  No one should ever go through a crime like this and I also believe law enforcement failed this family.

We all need to pray for William Petit because this next trial is going to be worse.  Continued strength to him and his family.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/12/02/conn-home-invasion-killer-faces-death-sentence/
Conn. Home Invasion‎ Killer Faces Death Sentence
December 2, 2010

Convicted killer Steven Hayes will be formally sentenced today to Connecticut's death row for his part in the horrific 2007 Cheshire home invasion case that left a mother, and her two daughters dead.

Judge Jon C. Blue is expected to uphold the jury's Nov. 8 death sentence verdict after denying defense motions last week for a new trial, a new penalty phase hearing, and a request to sentence Hayes to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Judge Blue concluded the jury was fair in its decision that Hayes should be executed for his crimes. Hayes' defense team had argued that the jury was swayed by emotion after hearing and seeing the gruesome testimony and evidence that involved the rape and strangulation of the mother Jennifer Hawke-Petit and the torture of the two daughters who were left tied to their beds as their home was set on fire.

After the jury announced its verdict of death for Hayes last month, the lone survivor of the home invasion, Dr. William Petit gave a rare press conference outside the courthouse in New Haven.

Petit told reporters throughout the trial he wanted to hold his comments until after the penalty phase was over. "This is not about revenge, this is about justice, Dr. Petit said. "We need to have some rules in a civilized society. Fortunately, justice delayed wasn't justice denied.

Emotions are expected to run high inside the New Haven Superior Courthouse at the sentencing.

This is the day that the Hawke and Petit family members will be allowed to give "victim impact statements." Traditionally, these statements, which are allowed as part of the judicial legal process, give the victim or victims of a crime the chance to speak directly to the convicted in the courtroom. This, however, is not a conversation with the person sitting at the defense table. This is an opportunity for crime victims to address the court and explain how the crime has impacted them and their family, and often times, the words are spoken to the convicted.

Prosecutors confirm several family members are expected to give these statements, and Steven Hayes will also have the opportunity to speak under Connecticut state law before the judge formally imposes the death penalty, though his defense attorney has not said if he will, and that it will be a "day of decision."

Once sentencing is complete, Hayes will return to his cell at the Northern Correctional Institution in Somers, which is where death row is located. Prosecutors are expected to meet with Judge Blue next week to start discussing court dates for the next trial in this case for defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky.

Watching William Petit on Oprah.
It's so heartbreaking.

This should be very interesting.

http://blogs.courant.com/roger_catlin_tv_eye/2010/12/oprahs-connecticut-visit-to-dr.html
Oprah's Connecticut Visit to Dr. Petit
By
Roger Catlin
 on December 9, 2010 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)


Oprah Winfrey came to Connecticut for Thursday's show, for what she called "the exclusive first interview" with Dr. William Petit about the assault and murder of his wife and two daughters in 2007.

What was exclusive about to her it may have been that she was the first big celebrity interviewer who dropped in to get his comments. But the mourning doctor's voice has certainly not gone unheard in the incessant coverage locally of the crime, trial and sentencing.

Sitting in his parents' house (rather than, say, Harpo studios in Chicago before an audience) Dr. Petit answered her questions in a muted voice as she bore down on him like a psychiatrist -- a psychiatrist bent on knowing what exactly he was feeling at every point.

Her first question: "Tell us of the moment you were conscious of the fact that you had lost your entire family."
When he doesn't immediately answer, she sets the scene like a police investigator: "You're in the hospital, your family walks in... can you tell us what that was like?"

"I think I was still dazed and confused," he began.

 

Later, she said, a little callously, "Describe for us what this meant for you to lose your entire family?"

What is this insistence of TV interviewers to know how somebody felt at every moment? Is this the key piece of information, the holy grail, every TV interviewer must have? Can't we simply imagine what a man who has lost his family has felt? Are interviewers, in constantly asking these questions, merely poking at raw nerves in hopes of seeing some emotional response?

As quietly as she speaks and even handed Winfrey's tone, there is still a notion of exploitation in the whole exercise. Especially as exuberant commercials keep interrupting every five minutes and the host keeps teasing the next segment -- usually with one of her blunt questions.

There has been no shortage of Dr. Petit's statements made public over the years, in his remembrance at their funerals and in his impact at the sentencing. But since he didn't speak these personal things to Oprah, maybe they haven't counted.
So she persisted in what would seem outrageous questioning. In between the tense piano music, she had a query right out of Camus: "Why did you make the decision not to kill yourself?"

He didn't want to risk not seeing his family in the afterlife, he said.

Petit himself laughed when she asked: "Where are you with God now?"

But he tried to answer: "God and I had a little bit of a standoff. I've believed in God for a long time, but I was pretty angry with Him for a long time - or Her," he added, perhaps in acknowledment of her role among a female audience.

Winfrey said later in the interview she was hesitant to even bring up the word forgiveness. But it was enough of a way to bring up the topic.

"I don't think you can forgive ultimate evil," he said. "You can forgive someone who stole your car. You can forgive someone who slaps you in the face. You can forgive someone who insulted you. You can forgive someone who caused an accident. I think forgiving the essence of evil is not appropriate."

"I love that answer," she says.

Oprah tried to end on an up note, by mentioning his foundation for education programs in science and for people affected by violence.

"Does this make you feel alive again?" she asked.

"It makes me feel that there are a lot of good people in the world who reach out," he answered.

Dr. Petit obviously was not swayed by a celebrity in his answers.  My goodness, the grace of the Lord is on this man.  Reminds me so much of Morgan Harrington's parents. 
Dr. Petit may not want to be, but what a good example he is setting under the worse of circumstances.

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=JHMP

Galling trial move
Conn. 'killer' rips massacre dad

By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 6:43 AM, February 5, 2011
Posted: 1:10 AM, February 5, 2011


Lawyers for Connecticut home-invasion monster Joshua Komisarjevsky unleashed a barrage of blows at surviving victim Dr. William Petit, branding him a grandstanding griper, according to court documents.

The papers slammed "Dr. Petit's never-ending and purposefully publicized complaints about our system of justice," a reference to the doctor's public criticisms of the lengthy trial process.

In the 200 pages of pretrial motions filed yesterday, Komisarjevsky's team also demanded that Petit and all other witnesses in the case be sequestered, presumably in a hotel, throughout the capital-murder trial that begins next month and is likely to span most of this year.

<Snipped>

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/galling_trial_move_ig4GCuKtn7PcBXo0E3IluM#ixzz1D5o4R1w0


laura.italiano@nypost.com

Dr. Petit is a hero to his family, a very gracious and stoic man..
These attorneys trying show Dr. Petit in a bad light are going to be making a huge mistake imo...

http://www.myrecordjournal.com/talkaboutit/article_3c1a4b1c-30d0-11e0-8141-001cc4c002e0.html
Komisarjevsky attorneys motion for venue change
By: Lisa Backus, Record-Journal staff | Posted: Friday, February 4, 2011 9:24 pm
NEW HAVEN - Attorneys for the second defendant charged with the murders of three members of the Petit family in a 2007 Cheshire home invasion filed 11 motions Friday, including three seeking to disqualify the trial judge, change the venue, and bar the use of Twitter in the courtroom.

Attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky, 30, filed paperwork Friday seeking to disqualify New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon. C. Blue on the grounds he demonstrated "partialty, lack of objectivity and unsuitable temperament" during the trial of co-defendant Steven Hayes, who was sentenced to death in early December.

Komisarjevsky is accused of torturing and killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, during the home invasion in July 2007. Dr. William Petit was the sole survivor of the attack, managing to free himself before his home went up in flames with his family inside.
<snipped>
More here
http://www.myrecordjournal.com/talkaboutit/article_3c1a4b1c-30d0-11e0-8141-001cc4c002e0.html


There is no corner of hell hot enough for this piece of chit.Period.  ::MonkeyNoNo::

I agree Trimm..
who could defend this creature? not enough money in the world would make me defend him...

Agreed!

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=JHMP

For the husband of Jennifer Hawke-Petit
father of Hayley and Michaela

"Forgiving the essence of evil is not appropriate."

It ain't fair! Home-invasion horror suspect wants new judge

AP

Last Updated: 2:00 PM, February 13, 2011
Posted: 1:59 PM, February 13, 2011

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/it_ain_fair_home_invasion_horror_bHZtwlwq6RrFVltixLRaSL#ixzz1DtevpwdM

San, a new judge won't save this man!  Attorneys just making news and money IMO
 ::MonkeyHang::

Home Invasion Trial Location In Question

NEW HAVEN - A judge is hearing a request by the attorneys of a defendant charged with a deadly home invasion in Cheshire to move his trial from New Haven to Fairfield County.

http://www.wfsb.com/index.html

Profile: Joshua Komisarjevsky
Police: Similarities Link Burglary In Several Towns

POSTED: 1:27 pm EDT July 24, 2007
UPDATED: 5:34 pm EDT July 27, 2007

CHESHIRE, Conn. -- The younger of two men facing a number of charges in the deaths of a prominent doctor's family was adopted by a religious couple from whom he grew estranged, according to a relative.

On Monday, police arrested Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, of Cheshire, and Steve Hayes, 44, of Winsted in connection with the deaths of the wife and two daughters of Dr. William Petit Jr. State police first announced on Tuesday the charges filed against Komisarjevsky and added charges of capital felony murder on Thursday. The charges against Komisarjevsky include:

One count:
First-degree assault (of William Petit)
First-degree aggravated sexual assault
First-degree burglary
First-degree arson
First-degree conspiracy to commit arson
First-degree robbery
First-degree larceny
Two counts:
Risk of Injury to a Minor
Six counts: Capital Felony
Murder of two or more persons (Hawke-Petit, Hayley, Michaela) at the same time and in the course of a single transaction
Murder of a person under 16 (Michaela Petit)
Murder of a kidnapped person (Hawke-Petit)
Murder of a kidnapped person (Hayley)
Murder of a kidnapped person (Michaela)
Murder of a person during a first-degree sexual assault (Michaela)
Six counts: First-degree kidnapping
Kidnapping of Michaela
Kidnapping of Hayley
Kidnapping of Hawke-Petit (with intention to compel third person to pay or deliver money or property as ransom)
Kidnapping of Hawke-Petit (restrained the person and abducted with the intent to accomplish or advance the commission of a felony)
Kidnapping of Hawke-Petit (restrained the person abducted with intent to terrorize her or a third person)
Kidnapping of William Petit

SOURCE: Court documents obtained from New Haven Superior Court

Komisarjevsky remains held on $15 million bond after facing a judge on Tuesday. The cases for Komisarjevsky and Hayes have been transferred to a New Haven court. Both are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 7, at which time, they could possibly enter pleas.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.wfsb.com/news/13745324/detail.html
Edit to snip article.  Please post only link and PARTIAL article.  MB

I just wonder what made him do this?

What went on in his head to use violence, when he was a small time thief.
I just can't wrap my head around this.
This  went on just 20 miles from where I live..
What made him snap.

Home Invasion Defense Wants Prospective Jurors To See Pictures
Lawyers Say Photos Will Help Judge Juror Emotion

POSTED: 5:09 am EST February 24, 2011
UPDATED: 8:11 am EST February 24, 2011

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Attorneys for a Connecticut man charged with killing a mother and her two daughters in a home invasion want to show photos of the victims to prospective jurors.

Attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky say they need to show the photos to evaluate whether emotions would affect their ability to serve impartially and fairly on a jury.

A hearing on the request will be held Thursday morning in New Haven Superior Court.

Prosecutors have objected, saying it was unclear what photos would be shown during the trial and that courts routinely deny such requests.

 ::snipping2::
Jury selection starts March 14.

http://www.wfsb.com/news/26976700/detail.html

Edit to snip article.  Please post only link and partial article.  MuffyBee

Judge: Home invasion defense can't preview photos

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By: By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN | Posted: Thursday, February 24, 2011 1:31 pm | 8 comments

A judge says attorneys for a Connecticut man charged with killing a mother and her two daughters in a home invasion can't show photos of the victims to prospective jurors.

Judge Jon Blue said at a hearing Thursday it's inappropriate to show trial evidence to prospective jurors.

Attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky (koh-mih-sar-JEF'-skee) said the photos would help evaluate if emotions would affect jurors' ability to serve impartially.

Prosecutors have objected, saying it's unclear what photos will be shown during the trial and that courts routinely deny such requests.

Komisarjevsky is charged with killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters during a home invasion in 2007 in Cheshire.

Jury selection starts March 14. His co-defendant, Steven Hayes, was convicted and sentenced to death last year.

http://www.myrecordjournal.com

So just post half of the link?

Hi Blonde, 

Since Red has asked that we post only the link and partial articles, we've been snipping the articles.    If you look over some of the recent posts, in about the last month, you can see different examples.  If the article is really short, sometimes only the link and the title are posted.  As far as where to snip, it depends where the pertinent information is.  You can  ::snipping2::  out the parts that aren't as important or is most likely known information.  Klaas has even provided us with snippers   ::snipping2::  Some will go to the link provided and read it in entirety now that we can't post the whole article.  Think of it as copy and pasting the highlights of the story. I hope this helped. 

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=JHMP

For the husband of Jennifer Hawke-Petit
father of Hayley and Michaela

"Forgiving the essence of evil is not appropriate."

Judge: Cheshire Home Invasion Trial In New Haven
A Superior Court Judge Ruled Against Moving the Trial

POSTED: 1:00 pm EST February 28, 2011
UPDATED: 1:28 pm EST February 28, 2011

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky, charged in the 2007 Cheshire home-invasion killings, will be held in New Haven, a superior court judge ruled Monday.

 ::snipping2::
http://www.wfsb.com/news/27025573/detail.html

Dr. William Petit Seeks To Prevent Disclosure Of Autopsy Reports In Cases Of Child Murders; Public Hearing On Bill
HARTFORD -- Dr. William Petit Jr., the lone survivor of the 2007 Cheshire home invasion, testified Monday in favor of a bill that would permit parents to ask that authorities not release autopsy reports of slain children.

Petit said he came to a public hearing at the state Capitol complex to "protect the rights of crime victims." He said he was particularly concerned about autopsy information in cases of sexual assault and murder, and where a person had been disfigured.

Autopsy information on those subjects could be released to the court system but not to the public at large, Petit told members of the judiciary committee.


::snipping2::




http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2011/02/dr-william-petit-seeks-to-prev.html

Defense Attorney: Witnesses Wary Of Testifying In 2nd Cheshire Trial

NEW HAVEN — Defense attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky say the widespread publicity surrounding the trial of the first man charged in the 2007 Cheshire triple killings has caused some witnesses to think twice about testifying at their client's upcoming trial. ::snipping2::


http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-cheshire-home-invasion0303-20110302,0,6676516.story

Komisarjevsky lawyers to call up to 58 witnesses during trial

Published: Thursday, March 03, 2011
NEW HAVEN — Joshua Komisarjevsky’s attorneys disclosed Wednesday they might call a total of up to 58 witnesses in his upcoming trial, if he is found guilty on capital felony charges in the Cheshire triple homicide and a penalty phase is held.

Defense attorney Jeremiah Donovan told Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue during a pretrial hearing that the defense team plans to call about eight witnesses during the guilt/innocence phase. If a penalty phase were then held to determine whether he should be executed or spend the rest of his life in prison without possibility of release, the defense would call another 30-50 witnesses, Donovan said.

“Some of them have expressed a reluctance to testify,” Donovan added. “Many of them have seen what happened to witnesses in the Hayes case.” ::snipping2::

http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2011/03/03/news/doc4d6fcc2e1b1c2861768145.txt

well cry me a river . . . not!

Court Papers: Komisarjevsky Told Police That Hayes Set Deadly Fire
Part Of Cheshire Defendant's Statement To Police Released For 1st Time
By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com The Hartford Courant

8:55 p.m. EST, March 11, 2011
NEW HAVEN — Joshua Komisarjevsky told detectives that he never intended to kill a Cheshire mother and her two daughters during a July 2007 home invasion and pinned the blame on the man already sentenced to die for the crimes, according to court documents released Friday.

The court papers contained portions of Komisarjevsky's statement to police after his arrest. His statement had never before been made public.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-cheshire-home-invasion0312-20110311,0,5314307.story

Cheshire Home Invasion Suspect Offers To Plead Guilty
Defense Attorneys FilesA Conditional Plea

POSTED: 4:11 pm EST March 11, 2011
UPDATED: 6:03 pm EST March 11, 2011
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The defense for Joshua Komisarjevsky has filed a conditional plea in Superior Court asking to plead guilty to the 2007 deadly Cheshire home invasion in exchange for life in prison without the possibility of release.

Komisarjevsky faces the death penalty if convicted of the killings of Jenniifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.wfsb.com/news/27165854/detail.html

Conn. home invasion defendant read violent books
By: JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN (AP) | Posted: Monday, March 14, 2011 11:35 am | 8 comments

A man facing trial for a home invasion in which a mother was strangled and her two daughters were killed in a fire says his co-defendant read books in prison before the crime depicting violent murders and the burning of victims. ::snipping2::


http://www.myrecordjournal.com/ap_state_news/article_f5d33370-5f21-5560-bb7b-1d9fedc828cb.html

Komisarjevsky Jury Selection Begins Wednesday
Jury Selection Expected To Take Months

POSTED: 5:11 am EDT March 16, 2011
UPDATED: 8:25 am EDT March 16, 2011

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The trial is set to begin for a second Connecticut man accused of killing a mother and her two daughters in a brutal home invasion.

The trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky is scheduled to start Wednesday with jury selection in New Haven Superior Court. That process is expected to take months as prospective jurors are questioned by prosecutors and defense attorneys.

 ::snipping2::
http://www.wfsb.com/news/27210678/detail.html

No Jurors Selected In Home Invasion Trial

NEW HAVEN- The first day of jury selection in Joshua Komisarjevsky's trial comes up empty.

http://www.wfsb.com/local-video/index.html?grabnetworks_video_id=4589243

The POS may have gotten a haircut, but it doesn't change what he is . . . pure evil!

exactly!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=JHMP

For the husband of Jennifer Hawke-Petit
father of Hayley and Michaela

"Forgiving the essence of evil is not appropriate."

Judge Won't Allow Plea Deal for 2nd Cheshire Suspect
Case Has 3rd Juror
NEW HAVEN — A Superior Court judge Wednesday denied a motion to allow Joshua Komisarjevsky to plead guilty to the 2007 Cheshire home-invasion slayings in exchange for escaping the death penalty.

Defense lawyers had asked the court to allow the plea deal — a guilty plea in return for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release. But Judge Roland D. Fasano on Wednesday issued a ruling saying that, "even assuming the court had the power to do so," it was "not inclined" to grant the defense request. The motion was denied. ::snipping2::

http://www.courant.com/community/new-haven/hc-komisarjevsky-witnesses-0323-20110323,0,5979745.story

Anxiety Evident In Jury Selection For Cheshire Case

By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com The Hartford Courant

8:49 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2011
hc-komisarjevsky-jury-selection-20110423
NEW HAVEN ——

Inside a windowless courtroom on the sixth floor of the Superior Court, a panel of about 45 prospective jurors appeared agitated.

Some looked somber, others seemed angry. Some were in tears.

Hundreds of jurors have come to Courtroom 6A since March 16 to learn they could be deciding the fate of Joshua Komisarjevsky, one of the men accused in the brutal torture killings of a Cheshire private-school nurse and her two talented, civic-minded daughters.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-komisarjevsky-jury-selection-20110423,0,3749457.story

http://articles.courant.com/2011-08-22/community/hc-cheshire-home-invasion-0823-20110822_1_petit-joshua-komisarjevsky-hayes-trial
Judge OKs Petit's Presence During Komisarjevsky's Trial
Lone Survivor Of Cheshire Home Invasions Can Be Cross-Examined, Judge Says
August 22, 2011|By JOSH KOVNER, jkovner@courant.com, The Hartford Courant
Defense attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky lost their bid Monday to keep Dr. William Petit Jr., the lone survivor of the 2007 Cheshire home invasion killings, out of the courtroom during their client's upcoming trial.

Last month the defense filed papers asking Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue to bar Petit from Komisarjevsky's trial, arguing that he was not a "victim" but a "complaining witness" and that at the trial of Stephen Hayes, the first man tried in the slayings, Petit had "demonstrated a propensity to shape his testimony."

Defense attorney Todd Bussert argued Monday that Petit's testimony had been "materially affected" by hearing the testimony of other witnesses.

Bussert also said that the defense was concerned that Petit would comment on Komisarjevsky's lengthy tape-recorded confession, if he were permitted to hear it in court.

The judge agreed with New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington's argument that the defense would have ample opportunity to cross-examine Petit on any claimed inconsistencies in his testimony, including any variance from what Petit previously told police.
 ::snipping2::

The criminal always thinks that they deserve more consideration than the victims.  ::MonkeyMad::

Invasion suspect's attorneys say Komisarjevsky was sleep deprived when questioned by police

 Published: Thursday, August 25, 2011; Last Updated: Thu. Aug 25, 2011, 2:04am



 NEW HAVEN — Joshua Komisarjevsky’s attorneys claimed in a memorandum filed today he was so exhausted when he gave his statement to Cheshire police about the Petit family triple homicide that he was “sleep deprived,” which the attorneys noted is a technique used by the CIA in interrogating terrorist suspects.

 The argument was made in an effort to convince Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue that Komisarjevsky’s lengthy statement should not be shown to the jury when his trial begins Sept. 19.

 Blue is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the issue Friday. ::snipping2::

http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2011/08/25/news/doc4e55e78595f5a452601739.txt?viewmode=2

Komisarjevsky shifts blame to Hayes for deaths of home invasion victims

 Posted: Thursday, August 25, 2011 11:24 am


 NEW HAVEN - An ex-con awaiting trial on charges of killing a woman and her two daughters during a 2007 Cheshire home invasion told police after his arrest that he tied up the victims and molested the 11-year-old, but he blamed his co-defendant for turning a home robbery into a triple murder.

 In a chilling 2007 statement to police obtained this week by The Associated Press, Joshua Komisarjevsky calls the crime "home invading gone terribly wrong" and insists he never intended to kill the family. He claims his co-defendant, Steven Hayes, came up with the idea of killing the family because he was worried the pair would leave behind evidence. He says Hayes doused the house in gasoline and lit the match that engulfed the home in flames, which caused the girls' smoke inhalation deaths. ::snipping2::


http://www.myrecordjournal.com/cheshire/article_98da692a-cf2e-11e0-82d1-001cc4c002e0.html

Agreed.

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_for_co-defendant_in_conn._home_invasion_case_tries_scorched-earth_ap/
Criminal Justice
Lawyer for Co-Defendant in Conn. Home Invasion Case Tries ‘Scorched-Earth’ Approach
Posted Aug 30, 2011 11:49 AM CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

This is why I decided years ago not to become an attorney.
I am grateful to all attorneys who are ethical and honorable.

Is there a live feed for this trial?  I'm not sure I could stand to watch it, but I'm curious if there is a feed.  I feel so sorry for Dr. Petit.  I can't help but think that he should be given time alone in a room with these men. 

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=JHMP

For the husband of Jennifer Hawke-Petit
father of Hayley and Michaela

"Forgiving the essence of evil is not appropriate."

Judge Rejects Motion To Sequester Komisarjevsky Jury
Defense Lawyers Cited Intense Media Coverage In Upcoming Trial

Home  > News  > Connecticut News
Judge Rejects Motion To Sequester Komisarjevsky Jury
Defense Lawyers Cited Intense Media Coverage In Upcoming Trial

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By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com The Hartford Courant

2:43 p.m. EDT, September 12, 2011
NEW HAVEN—

A Superior Court judge today rejected a motion to sequester the jury seated for the trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky, which is scheduled to begin Monday.

Komisarjevsky, 30, of Cheshire, faces the death penalty if convicted of the slayings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, during a home invasion at their Cheshire home in July 2007. ::snipping2::


Komisarjevsky's attorneys had argued that the jury needed to be sequestered during the trial and penalty phase because "media coverage of this case is such that, no matter how well intentioned the jurors, it will be nearly impossible to avoid exposure to information that might deprive Mr. Komisarjevsky of his right to a fair trial with due process and an impartial jury." ::snipping2::

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-komisarjevsky-jury-0913-20110912,0,4451861.story

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. ::MonkeyShocked::

Thank you for the updates Blonde.

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 

17 murder counts?  Is that right?

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."

Is there a live feed for this trial?

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

Komisarjevsky Trial Starts Monday

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.   ::MonkeyNoNo::

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

Good morning Monkey's,

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

 ::MonkeyEek::





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

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::

Komisarjevsky trial
WTNH Sept.19,2011
http://www.youtube.com/v/xXVQmqhPyQI?version=3&amp;hl=en_US

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 (http://twitter.com/#!/WTNH)

Edit -fixed link.  MB

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

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::

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::

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

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.

 ::MonkeyNoNo::

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

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

 


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.

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.

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

http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL (http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL)
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit heard car leaving. We now know that was #Hayes driving Jennifer Hawke-Petit driving to bank. #Komis
34 seconds ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit heard wife on phone to his nurse, saying he was sick, wouldn't be coming in. #Komis
2 minutes ago

NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
At some point, Dr. Petit heard three loud thumps on floor. We now know that was likely his wife being raped and strangled. #Komis
1 minute ago Favorite Retweet Reply
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit: I never heard Hayley or Michaela's voice. Just Jennifer's and intruders. #Komis
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit also heard someone saying: if we get the money, no one will get hurt. #Komis
3 minutes ago http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL (http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL)


Prayers for Mr.Petit to stay strong. ::MonkeyAngel::

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

NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Photo of stairs Dr. Petit hopped up to escape basement. #Komis
46 seconds ago Favorite Retweet Reply
News8Now News 8 WTNH.com
by NotesFromHeL
Petit: I made a decision to get to Dave Simcik's house to get help. Simcik was a neighbor.
3 minutes ago
George Colli
GeorgeColli George Colli
by NotesFromHeL
Petit: wasn't sure what their intentions were... Thought I was against 2 guys with a gun and I had my feet bound. had to get to safety
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit now describing escaping from basement. #Komis
1 minute ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
That sound was likely gas used to burn home with three women in it. #Komis
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit noted a change in intruder's voice. Became more sinister. #Komis

http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL (http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL)
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
15 minute recess. Unlike #Hayes trial, defense expected to cross examine Dr. Petit. #Komis
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komisarjevsky looking up at photos. Recess called. Dr. Petit steps down. Back on stand after recess.
2 minutes ago

http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL (http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL)
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit recalls banging on neighbor's garage door, yelling his name. #Komis
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Prosecutor Dearington continues questioning Dr. Petit. #Komis
3 minutes ago
»
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit back on stand. Jury heading back into courtroom. #Komis
5 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Court back in session. #Komis
5 minutes ago

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

NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Jury back inside courtroom. #Komis
1 minute ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Judge overrules defense objections to photos of Dr. Petit's wounds. #Komis
2 minutes ago
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Photo of Dr. Petit's badly injured, bloodied head shown without jury in room. #Komis
1 minute ago Favorite Retweet Reply
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Jury asked to step out while lawyers discuss defense objection over photos. #Komis
1 minute ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Of all testimony, evidence,in #Hayes and now #Komis trials, Dr. Petit referring to wife, daughters as "the girls," among most heartbreaking.
4 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit recalls neighbor saying, "Sir, can I help you." Neighbor didn't recognize badly beaten Petit at first. #Komis
6 minutes ago

http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL (http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL)
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
More photos being shown of inside of charred home after it was set on fire, interior of family car. #Komis
1 minute ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit's wounds still fresh when he left hospital to attend funeral for wife and daughters. #Komis
4 minutes ago

http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL (http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL)
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dearington now showing jurors bat used to beat Dr. Petit. Again, an everyday item that took on a whole new meaning. #Komis
29 seconds ago Favorite Retweet Reply
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Photos of wallets, ID's, backpacks, sneakers. Once everyday items suddenly transformed into evidence. #Komis
30 seconds ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Recall writing column about some of these pictures and the everyday items they showed that took on a whole new meaning after crimes. #Komis
1 minute ago
alainegriffin Alaine Griffin
by NotesFromHeL
Dr. Petit is calm and composed on the witness stand just like he was at last year's trial. #Cheshire #Komisarjevsky
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Prosecutor Dearington holds up home-made mask, cap used during home invasion. #Komis
1 minute ago

http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL (http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL)
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Donovan suggests that Dr.'s testimony has been "altered" by sitting through trials. Dr. disagrees. #Komis
17 seconds ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Donovan asks Dr. Petit about earlier testimony about how he managed to escape home. #Komis
1 minute ago
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Donovan asks Dr. Petit to tell jurors how much he really remembers, how much he's putting together through evidence he's heard. #Komis
1 minute ago
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Donovan asking Dr. Petit about being present during past trial and all of this one so far. #Komis
1 minute ago Favorite Retweet Reply
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit says he told police at some point that his recollections were becoming more clouded. #Komis
1 minute ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Donovan asking Dr. Petit about interviews with police after home invasion. #Komis
2 minutes ago

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

NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dearington questioning Dr. about recollections. Dr. Says he believes he's been consistent about voices he heard in home. #Komis
1 minute ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Attorney Donovan done. Dearington back up. #Komis
3 minutes ago
News 8 WTNH.com
News8Now News 8 WTNH.com
by NotesFromHeL
It's clear defense strategy with Petit centers on retelling of his story...and what contradictions there may or may not be
6 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Attorney Donovan asks if Dr. tried to match up testimony with what heard, read. #Komis
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Attorney Donovan asks Dr. Petit which statements accurate: those made to police after crime or those made today? #Komis
36 seconds ago
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. Petit remains composed during cross examination by Attorney Donovan. #Komis
1 minute ago
nhrlive NHR Live
by NotesFromHeL
Donovan is clearly trying to show that Petit's recollections now may not have been what actually happened. #Komis
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Donovan gives Dr. Petit copy of police statement to refresh his memory of comments made at time. #Komis
2 minutes ago
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Again, #Hayes defense did not cross examine Dr. Petit. New trial. New lawyers. New approach. #Komis
27 seconds ago Favorite Retweet Reply
NHR Live
nhrlive NHR Live
by NotesFromHeL
Donovan comparing what Petit told police in interviews after the crime with what he has said more recently. #Komis
3 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Attorney Donovan continues to pepper Dr.with questions about his recollections. Questions becoming increasingly more pointed. #Komis
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Attorney Donovan continues to question Dr. Petit about his recollections. Dr. says he believes being truthful. #Komis
3 minutes ago

http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL (http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL)
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. William Petit leaves stand and takes seat in first row again, just steps from #Komisarjevsky's father.
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Dr. William Petit finished testifying in #Komisarjevsky trial. Next witness up.
3 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Attorney Donovan asks brief question about voices in home. Dr. Petit done with testimony. #Komis
4 minutes ago

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/20/justice/connecticut-home-invasion-trial/
Father of murdered family testifies at trial for 2nd suspect
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 2:22 PM EST, Tue September 20, 2011

New Haven, Connecticut (CNN) -- The lone survivor of a deadly home invasion wrapped up his testimony Tuesday afternoon after taking the stand against the second man charged with brutally killing his wife and two daughters.

With relatives packed shoulder to shoulder in the two rows closest to the jury, Dr. William Petit testified in detail the tragic events at his Cheshire, Connecticut, home on July 23, 2007, beginning with him being awakened by being hit by a bat.

After his hands and feet were tied and a cloth was thrown over his head, he said, he heard a voice say, "If he moves, shoot him." Some of the evidence presented in court Tuesday included a handgun and photos of the rope used to bind Petit. The jury also saw pictures of his bloody head injuries.

Petit told the court that while he was tied to a pole in the basement, he could hear "loud thuds" and "moaning," likely from his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit. Shortly before hearing his wife, Petit was told by one of the intruders, "Don't worry. It'll all be over in a few minutes." Petit said that's when he knew "I had to get out."

Petit managed to escape, but could not summon help in time to save his family.
 ::snipping2::

(http://174.143.237.14/images/uploads/petit_e_PC_150x144.gif)
Petit Foundation Pin
http://www.petitfamilyfoundation.org/about/about_jhm/logo/

http://komisarjevskytrial.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
The Prosecution and the Defense


Steady stream of tweets.   ::rhino::
http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL (http://twitter.com/#!/NotesFromHeL)

horrible what this family went through..every family's worst possible nightmare. we should feel safe in our own homes..

http://twitter.com/#!/DebFeyerickCNN (http://twitter.com/#!/DebFeyerickCNN)
DebFeyerickCNN Deborah Feyerick
#Chesire PO sees perps trying to escape. He grabs psgr door. It's locked. Psgr avoids eye-contact. Car zooms down #Petit driveway.
7 minutes ago
Deborah Feyerick
DebFeyerickCNN Deborah Feyerick
Photos show Dr. #Petit in hospital bleeding from head wounds. "I was released Friday (5 days later) to attend funerals," he testifies.
18 minutes ago

DebFeyerickCNN Deborah Feyerick
Dr. #Petit asks ofcr to remove rope & plastic ties from feet. Ofcr shouts, "Stay Down! You're still a witness."
21 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply
Deborah Feyerick
DebFeyerickCNN Deborah Feyerick
Dr. #Petit tells officer 4x "The Girls are still in the house!
24 minutes ago
Deborah Feyerick
DebFeyerickCNN Deborah Feyerick
#Petit neighbor is on phone w/911 when SWAT ofcr comes through bushes just as #Petit house goes up in flames. #Komisarjevsky listens.
27 minutes ago
Deborah Feyerick
DebFeyerickCNN Deborah Feyerick
After Dr. #Petit hops up cellar stairs, he rolls next door. Neighbor, "Can I help you sir?" Petit: "Dave, it's me, Bill! Call 911!"
31 minutes ago
Deborah Feyerick
DebFeyerickCNN Deborah Feyerick
Before testimony began, the father of victim Jennifer Hawke #Petit shook hands w/adopted Dad of #Komisarjevsky who said "God Bless You" 3x
1 hour ago

Trimmonthelake, I was reading this in the doc's office earlier..

http://www.knssradio.com/William-Petit-Says-He-Heard-His-Wife-Being-Raped--/10971218

 ::MonkeyEek::  The guy just nodded???????  What kind of man is the guy????  This gentleman reaches out to you and you just nod????  Your son killed his daughter and granddaughters after hours of torture and all he gets from you is a friggin nod?  No wonder your son is the way he is, you subhuman.   ::MonkeyMad::

http://abcnews.go.com/US/dr-william-petits-testimony-challenged-accused-murderer/story?id=14562196

Dr.William Petit Challenged By Lawyer for Man Accused of Killing His Family
 ::snipping2::
::snipping2::

The defense team (just like KC's team) are allowing themselves to be satan's tools.  I hope they realize the price to be paid for this. 

I hope Komisarjevsky's father only nodded because he was so ashamed of his son and his hideous crimes he  was left speechless.  Even though Komisarjevsky's father didn't commit the crimes, if he's any kind of human being at all, it would weigh on him heavily. 
I don't know because I wasn't there, but it's just another possible scenario.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/09/home-invasion-killings-man-recalls-the-day-he-lost-his-family.html
Dr. William Petit pressed, again, for details about home-invasion killings
September 20, 2011 |  2:09 pm
(http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef015435945963970c-600wi)
Dr. William Petit took the witness stand Tuesday to once again recall how two men burst into his Connecticut home in the middle of the night and how, when it was all over, his wife and two young daughters were dead.

Steven Hayes, 48, and Joshua Komisarjevsky, 31, were charged with the July 2007 deaths and tried separately. Komisarjevsky's trial is underway; he faces the death penalty if convicted. Hayes has already been convicted for his role in the killings and sentenced to death.

The men were on parole for burglary when they allegedly forced their way into the Petits' Cheshire home and overpowered the family.

Petit was beaten with a baseball bat. His wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, was forced to go to a bank and withdraw money before Hayes raped and strangled her, authorities say. The girls, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley, died of smoke inhalation; gasoline was used to set the house on fire in an apparent bid to destroy evidence.
 ::snipping2::

that was my first thoughts about his actions too Muffy...

I sure hope you're right.  But honestly, in all this time did the Komisarjevsky family not get in touch with the Petit family (even through an attorney) to offer their condolences?  It sure sounds like this was the first opportunity these two men had to address the situation. 

I have great respect for Rev. Hawke for what he did.  It speaks volumes to the kind of man he is.

http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2011/09/21/connecticut_and_region/doc4e79d127eaca7414378772.txt
Confession To Be Played In Home invasion
Sept. 21,2011

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Jurors-Could-Hear-Audio-Confession-130263143.html
Jurors Could Hear Audio Confession
Yesterday, jurors heard from the sole survivor.
By Amanda Raus
|  Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011  |  Updated 8:45 AM EDT
The jury deciding the fate of a man charged in a chilling triple murder is likely to hear the suspect’s audio confession on Wednesday.

Joshua Komisarjevsky is the second man to be tried for the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and her daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, on July 23, 2007.

In his confession, he explained his part in the brutal killings and sexual assault of Michaela Petit and even drew diagrams, according to police.

Komisarjevsky's defense team fought to get the confession thrown out and argued that their client was sleep deprived when he gave his confession and had been awake for more than 40 hours.

They also said he might not have been thinking clearly because he was injured in the car crash caused when he and co-defendant Steven Hayes tried to escape the crime scene.

Judge Jon Blue disagreed and decided this evidence could be shown to jurors.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc-op-cruz-public-defender-komisarjevsky-0921-20110921,0,6178410.story

Komisarjevsky's Attorney Is Not A Victim Here

Thanks KittyMom, it's a good article. I've snipped out a section I find to be important.  Bansley's strategy in attacking and degrading Dr. Petit while he was on the stand in an effort to defend his client may backfire on him.  JMHO

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc-op-cruz-public-defender-komisarjevsky-0921-20110921,0,6178410.story

 ::snipping2::
Having served as a prosecutor, I know that it is possible to zealously defend a client while treating others, including the victim, in a respectful and dignified manner. I have seen countless defense attorneys pursuing justice for their clients without attacking or degrading the victim. It's easy to adopt an us vs. them mentality, but it takes true grace to work to protect your client's rights while causing no harm to others, especially a crime victim. Those are the skills of a talented and exceptional attorney.
 ::snipping2::

Can follow tweets here.  ::HelloKitty::
http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)

Thanks!

YW!  ::HelloKitty::

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
alainegriffin Alaine Griffin
#Cheshire police captain undergoes cross examination at #Komisarjevsky trial. For updated story, go to courant.com.
4 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Captain: I've never been to a more horrific incident in my life.
5 minutes ago

Here is a good update so far today.
http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevsky-day3-0922-20110921,0,3741435,full.story
Police Audiotapes Played In Komisarjevsky Trial; Defense Grills Responding Captain
By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com The Hartford Courant

10:58 a.m. EDT, September 21, 2011
NEW HAVEN ——
Video at link.
Testimony in the trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky began Wednesday with the cross examination of a Cheshire police captain who responded to the Petit home the morning of the deadly home invasion.

Defense attorney Todd A. Bussert played police audiotapes of radio calls for jurors during his questioning of Capt. Robert Vignola. In one call, Vignola says excitedly, "I don't care how you do it, ascertain if we have people in the house alive."

The suspects had just rammed the Petit's vehicle into a police cruiser as they fled the burning Petit home. Police were attempting to take the suspects into custody. Komisarjevsky would later tell them there were people inside the home.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.ctnow.com/news/hc-komisarjevsky-day3-0922-20110921,0,5622128.story
Komisarjevsky Trial: Jurors See First Photograph Of Victim


Let's pray that the photos of the victims have more of an impact on this jury than the Pinellas County 17. 

::rhino::

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Judge tells jurors guilt/innocence phase will take about 3 weeks. #Komis
6 minutes ago

Steady stream of happenings in the courtroom.
I feel so bad for Mr. Petit.This must be like a nightmare.
http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)

NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
The last admission on #Komis audio statement was beyond brutal for family.
3 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Everyone seems stunned. #Komis
5 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Judge stops tape, says a juror is having a tough time with #Komis testimony.
5 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis: one thing led to another and I ended up performing oral sex on her.
6 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis: then went into KK's room to talk. Thought she was 14 or 15, he says. She was actually 11.
8 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis: Mrs. Petit untied, she and #Hayes left for bank, then he checked on Dr. petit and Hayley. Let her go to bathroom.
9 minutes ago
http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)

NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Jury has been dismissed, judge dealing with a few issues before ending third, brutal, day of #Komis trial.
1 minute ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis' tone did not change when he made that last admission about sexually assaulting 11 year old Michaela.
2 minutes ago http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)

Komisarjevsky's own words paint him for the monster he is. 
 ::MonkeyMad::

Kittmom,I agree.They both really are monsters.  ::rhino::

Here is the latest update.
http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevsky-day3-0922-20110921,0,3741435,full.story
Jurors Hear Komisarjevsky's Tape-Recorded Statement
'A home invasion gone terribly wrong,' defendant says in audiotape
By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com The Hartford Courant

4:01 p.m. EDT, September 21, 2011
 ::MonkeyNoNo::

Reading those tweets of what he described in his taped confession, I firmly believed that he intended to rape Michaela all along.  That poor little girl must've been so scared. 
 ::MonkeyTears::

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial

According to the tweets, even the reporters are shocked by the details coming out.  I think this is exactly what Komisarjevsky wanted.  He knows he's going away, he just wants to cause as much harm as he can on the way out.

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Family friend says she didn't think that family knew details of sexual assault. I really hope that's not true. #Komis
21 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Bottom line: #Komis said he performed oral sex on an 11 yr old girl while she was tied up. Enough said.
31 minutes ago
Alaine Griffin
alainegriffin Alaine Griffin
Tough to be in courtroom 6A today.
33 minutes ago

http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/william-petit-trial-news-6470590
September 21, 2011, 4:26 PM
William Petit and the Retelling
In the courtroom where a Connecticut doctor endured the wrenching trial of one of the two men accused of murdering his family, he is suffering through another trial. The same bad dream. Only nothing is ever the same.
By Ryan D'Agostino
(http://www.esquire.com/cm/esquire/images/bJ/esq-william-petit-2011-092111-lg.jpg)
MCT/Getty Images

A KIND OF AWFUL DREAD /// Unlike a year ago, the defense dared this time to cross-examine Petit. He didn't waver.

Read more: http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/william-petit-trial-news-6470590#ixzz1YcyGzKro

Read more: http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/william-petit-trial-news-6470590#ixzz1Ycxxzuzw

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
JBernsteinFoxCT Jennifer Bernstein
Joshua Komisarjevsky driven to court..arrived around 9 this morning
4 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
In New Haven for Day 4 of Joshua #Komis trial. Ended on horrific note yesterday. Starting same today with continuation of audio statement.
9 minutes ago

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Petit family tells reporters they had not heard #Komis recording. Had never heard what he did to Michaela.
4 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Courtroom gets a little quiet as eyes follow #Komis dad as he takes his seat in front row.
4 minutes ago

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Judge says bends over backwards to chose words carefully in court. #Komis
1 minute ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Motion denied. Judge says nothing improper about court's comments. #Komis
1 minute ago
»
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Donovan says Judge's observation that juror was having a hard time shouldn't have been made. #Komis
2 minutes ago
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Donovan discussing juror who got upset during audio statement yesterday, was seated closest to family yesterday. #Komis
2 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Judge tells family he made ruling on ok to wear pin. If new stuff comes up gives him more to handle. Says prob not in their interest. #Komis
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Judge says familycan wear the small pins, but if other pins, shirts start appearing may have to crack down. #Komis
3 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Shirt that sister is wearing bears words: Petit Family Foundation. She put sweater on over it. #Komis
4 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis tapes won't be released until after attorneys have time to prepare motions on release. So says Judge Blue.
6 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Judge discussing whether exhibits should be distributed to public. #Komis
7 minutes ago

Now that just isn't right.  The DA should've prepared the family for what was going to come out.  A courtroom is not the place I'd want to hear those details.  Bless their hearts.   ::MonkeyTears::

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis #Hayes came back from bank with money. Had in his hands. Money in bank envelopes, 4 or 5.
1 minute ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis: says he didn't have sex with her, " just oral sex" Took pictures of her with cell phone.
2 minutes ago
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis says he took pictures of Michaela for himself.
2 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis while sexually assualting Michaela, Hayes was still at bank. He didn't sexually assault Hayley.
2 minutes ago
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis talked to Hayes while he was at bank.
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis tied her up again after. She still hadn't seen his face. While he was sexually assaulting 11 yo Michaela, Hayes at bank with mother.
3 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis Michaela's feet were tied to bed.
3 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis: he asked her if she wantedbto take shower. She replied: "yes, please."
4 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis: Michaela's face was covered while he performed oral sex on her. he later ejaculated on her. He allowed her to take shower after.
4 minutes ago
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis "she still had her pillowcase on her head when I had oral sex with her. I ejaculated on her stomach. "
5 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis "my purpose wasn't to have actual sex with her just oral sex. I took pictures of her, yes."
5 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis tape: after minutes or so let her get dressed.Earlier, took pair of scissors and cut off her shirt and skirt.
6 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis says "I let her get dressed again and take shower. I had used pair of scissors and cut her shirt off. "
6 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Jury about to start hearing #Komis audio tape again. Statement to police from that afternoon. Jury has transcript to follow along.
8 minutes ago

I agree Kitymom,this must terribly painful for the family.  ::MonkeyNoNo::

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis: "I could see behind steve that (mrs petit) was on floor." "Pants down, face a deep deep purple, pool of blood."
45 seconds ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis:"I hear noise in basement and I yelled to Steve that father just took off."
1 minute ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis: Hayes went into family room, with Mrs. Petit.
2 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis say of beating Dr Petit and hearing the screaming "it was horrible."
3 minutes ago
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis said not worried about DNA because Michaela took shower. But Hayes kept insisting they had to kill family, he says.
2 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis says "I didn't want to kill anyone." says kept arguing with Hayes. That Hayes finally said "f#*^ it, I'll take care of" everyone.
3 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis: Hayes upset that Komisbused his name, also worried about DNA. If anyone worried about that, I should have been.
3 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis says Hayes said "I'll kill the 2 daughters you kill the mom."
3 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis says #Hayes was "up in arms" about possible DNA left.
4 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis says he told Hayes I'm not killing anyone. We have the money.

NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis: Hayes starts pouring gasoline, starts downstairs, then up the stairs. Komis says he follows upstairs ...emergency in court
55 seconds ago

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
Fixed link MB

Oh, crap!  I hope this doesn't mean that there will be a mistrial.

Oh snap,I wonder what happened?
Maybe they will let us know shortly.

NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
No idea what's going on yet. Walking down stairs with everyone else.
2 minutes ago http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)

Walk the dog while we wait........  ::dogwag::

Outside of court house.
(http://desmond.yfrog.com/Himg620/scaled.php?tn=0&server=620&filename=6mhty.jpg&xsize=640&ysize=640)
http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)

Reporters tweeting that everyone is going back inside.

NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas   http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
They are letting us back in. Mad rush to doors.
2 minutes ago

http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevsky-day3-0922-20110921,0,3741435,full.story
Courtroom Evacuated During Komisarjevsky Trial Thursday
Judge cuts short taped statement referring to oral sex with 11-year-old victim, saying, 'One of the jurors is having a tough time'
By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com The Hartford Courant

11:08 a.m. EDT, September 22, 2011
NEW HAVEN ——
UPDATE: The courthouse was evacuated after a fire alarm on Thursday morning. Everyone is now being let back in the building.

A judge's decision to abruptly end Wednesday's proceedings in the trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky was a signal of just how rough the evidence and testimony had been in the deadly Cheshire home invasion case.

Jurors viewed horrific crime-scene photos showing the bodies of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela, and listened to much of Komisarjevsky's chilling audiotaped statement about the events of July 23, 2007
 ::snipping2::

If someone pulled the fire alarm as a prank, I hope they spend the night in jail.

NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas  http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
Back inside courtroom 6A. Never a dull moment here. #Komis
9 minutes ago

This sadistic POS is enjoying every minute of this. He knows he is going down and is making the family pay over and over again aided and abetted by his attorney.

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/crime/komisarjevsky-trial-testimony-day-4
More of Komisarjevsky's 'confession' played
Courthouse evacuated for alarm
Updated: Thursday, 22 Sep 2011, 11:27 AM EDT
Published : Thursday, 22 Sep 2011, 7:48 AM EDT

New Haven, Conn. (WTNH/AP) - Jurors in the Joshua Komisarjevsky murder trial heard him speak in graphic detail about sexual assaults and the eventual burning of the Petit family home.

Komisarjevsky's words came from an audiotape statement he made to police after his arrest in the 2007 Cheshire home invasion.
 ::snipping2::

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis says girls were still alive, he closed their doors. "couldn't imagine them being burned alive." "I f***** up."  (I edited out the bad word)
1 minute ago
»
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
We've resumed listening to #Komis audio statement to police
1 minute ago
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Judge says fire alarm. Workers repairing masonry creates dust, sets off alarm. Not the first time it has happened.
3 minutes ago

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis: says he closed girls doors in hopes of buying them time. Didn't think to untie them.
1 minute ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#komis says on tape he told hayes "they were compliant the whole time,even the mother went out of her way." no need to kill
1 minute ago

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Sounds as though #Komis sniffling a few times on tape, but not sure...
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis says "I sure hope not" when asked if he hit officer with car.
3 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis says he didn't know if whole house on fire. Wasn't looking. Running.
4 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Almost as soon as got into van and drove, slammed into police cars. #Komis driving, #Hayes in passenger seat.
4 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis: Hayes was struggling to light matches as they were fleeing house. Lit match, kitchen erupted.
5 minutes ago
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis: just bas started up car, Hayes jumped into passenger side. Saw cops immediately, ended up hitting unmarked car.
1 minute ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
“@NotesFromHeL: #Komis: Hayes was going back upstairs with more gas. 4 containers of gas used to set house on fire.”
2 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis could people outside , sure an "army" of police was waiting
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis: third match ignites.
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis: I'm screaming for us to get out, race out door, get in car and start it up. Before Hayes races out, struggling to light matches.
3 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis left house, Hayes didn't follow so Komis went back in...saw him going upstairs, ke

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Officer on tape states that he was provided with food, bathroom, while questioned. Statement given of own free will. #Komis agrees.
1 minute ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis says he told police 2 of the girls were still alive.
2 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
One of the jurors not using transcript, just listening, others following along with many pages of transcript. #Komis
3 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
#Komis says he tells cops two girls still alive.
3 minutes ago

He knew that those girls were going to burn alive.  He knew that they'd had gas poured on them.  He knew exactly what he was doing.  And he knew when he made that 'confession' that pointing the finger at his partner would work to his benefit in a courtroom one day.  I just pray that the jury doesn't buy this bag of garbage. 
 ::MonkeyMad::

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)

NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Tape ends. #Komis
1 minute ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
To recap, #Komis admits to beating Dr. Petit, sexually assaulting Michaela. Denies rape, strangulation of Mrs. Petit, setting house on fire.
2 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Shows master bedroom where #Komis says women were...at first Michaela found sleeping that night with her mom.
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
On screen, diagram #Komis drew for cops to show location of where everyone in house were located when tied.
3 minutes ago
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis tape over. Police detective back on stand.
4 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis says "I f#^**^ up.
4 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Komis: "I f'd up. It wasn't supposed to be this way." Denies pouring gas, lighting match, killing. Admits to sexually assaulting Michaela.
4 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Police on tape : you're not saying you strangled anybody, lit the match but did assault the father and sexually assault daughter? Yes.
5 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis is following along with transcript.
6 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Officer on tape states that he was provided with food, bathroom, while questioned. Statement given of own free will. #Komis agrees.
6 minutes ago

::rhino::

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Cross now of lead detective "case officer" of this case. #Komis
1 minute ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Detective says he was there when dr petit's sister Johanna and Brother Glen identified bodies. #Komis
1 minute ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Prosecutors are going through evidence, showing what police say #Komis was wearing, shoes, socks, etc.
2 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Also showing latex gloves #Komis had on. Gloves also taken from evidence canister.
3 minutes ago

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Day 4 of Joshua #Komis trial ends. Resumes Monday at 10 am.
3 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Judge reminds court that he has to cut day short today due to other commitments. Court resumes 10 am Monday.
4 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Det says when seized computer there was a program running to delete items off computer. #Komis
5 minutes ago
Helen Ubinas
NotesFromHeL Helen Ubinas
Looking for websites and pornography. Nothing found; detective said items on it were deleted. #Komis
5 minutes ago

Interesting that computer was running a deletion program when LE searched Komis home.  Wonder what he had on that computer?  I've always wonder if he'd stalked the Petit family.

I agree..and he had to know the intent was to burn the house down..why else would they have had 4 containers of gasoline..did they bring it with them or get it from the garage?  If they brought it with them then I say the intent was always to burn down the house with the family inside.  Why else would one need 4 containers of gasoline.

Is their a transcript of his confessing .

http://www.theday.com/article/20110922/OP01/309229479

Simple kind act lights an otherwise dark trial


Rev. Hawke is truly a godly man. 

Interesting info about the home computer.  It tells me that either JK left his home knowing that he was going to do something that would lead LE to his door for an investigation OR someone in that home was trying to protect him by getting rid of whatever was on that computer.  I lean toward the first.

I have no words for what this family went through..just no words...saddest thing ever!  ::MonkeyTears:: ::MonkeyTears::

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/crime/komisarjevsky-trial-testimony-day-4
 ::snipping2::
Dr. William Petit and members of the Petit family remained in court listening to the testimony. Komisarjevsky's father was also in court Wednesday. He had no reaction to the audio tape.

The tapes, played as evidence, may not be released until next week, authorities said.
 ::snipping2::

It is horrifying.  ::MonkeyNoNo::

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2040562/Joshua-Komisarjevsky-trial-Triple-murderer-laughs-describes-sex-act-victim-11.html
'I don't why I didn't untie them': Connecticut home invasion 'triple murderer and child-rapist' describes last moments before family burned to death
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:49 PM on 22nd September 2011


 ::snipping2::
Komisarjevsky faces a possible death sentence, if convicted.

He said Dr. Petit let out 'this unearthly scream' and looked confused when hit with a bat

'I was standing behind him with this bat and not wanting to hit him,' Komisarjevsky said in the confession.

'I hit him in the head with the baseball bat. He let out this, this unearthly scream.

'I couldn't take his screaming. I had never hit anybody with anything,' he went on.

He laughs at a few points, such as when he’s describing Hayes going out to get gas and struggling to find a gas station.

Earlier in the day, jurors got their first look at graphic photos of the victims. Most of the panelists gazed downward.

Daughter Michaela's body was seen with the lower half of her body half off of the bed that her hands were tied to.

Komisarjevsky looked at the jurors as they viewed the photos.

One juror, a woman, stared back.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2040562/Joshua-Komisarjevsky-trial-Triple-murderer-laughs-describes-sex-act-victim-11.html#ixzz1Yjl0Mo4R

I wonder if the state will present the photos JK took of Michaela on his cell? 

Jurors hear entire Komisarjevsky account
 Posted: Sep 22, 2011 6:29 AM EDT Updated: Sep 22, 2011 5:38 PM EDT
 By WFSB Staff
 NEW HAVEN, CT (WFSB) -

 Jurors on Thursday heard the full 90-minute audio recorded account Joshua Komisarjevsky gave to police of the Cheshire home invasion.

 The account jurors listened to had Komisarjevsky describing what he said happened and what he was thinking while it was happening.

 The final moments inside the Petit family home seemed to be the most chaotic, according to the recording.

 Komisarjevsky talked about how Steven Hayes, who is already sentenced to death, wanted to kill the whole family and set the house on fire because he was worried about DNA.

 Komisarjevsky told a Cheshire Police detective how when Hayes returned from the bank with Jennifer Hawke Petit he had a half a dozen envelopes of money, but wouldn't tell Komisarjevsky exactly how much.

 At one point, Komisarjevsky said Hayes grabbed the bottles of gas he had filled up earlier in the morning.

 "I turn around he's pouring gas on kitchen floor and down hallway," Komisarjevsky is heard saying on the recording.

 Komisarjevsky said he followed Hayes upstairs and he saw him continue to pour the gas. Komisarjevsky said he kept thinking, "It's unreal, it's bizarre, I can't do that. I was relieved he had poured it down hallway and not in bedroom."

 He goes on to say,"I can't imagine anyone being burned alive."

 Then he tells the detective, "I didn't untie them, I should have."

Earlier in the statement, Komisarjevsky said he performed oral sex on the Petit's youngest daughter, 11-year-old, Michaela while she was still tied up and had a pillow case over her head.

 Komisarjevsky also said he cut off Michaela's shirt using scissors and at one point he performed a sex act on himself but did not have sex with the girl.  ::MonkeyShocked::

 Komisarjevsky also talks about hearing Dr. Petit, the only one to survive that morning, free himself and run out of the basement where they tied him up. ::snipping2::

http://www.wfsb.com/story/15521853/jurors-to-hear-more-testimony-from-komisarjevsky

JK says that Hayes didn't pour gas on the girls.  But, there was gas on the beds.  So, is he saying that he did it?  I'm betting he did.

http://www.myrecordjournal.com/cheshire/article_da2925ca-e83c-11e0-85ea-001cc4c002e0.html
Second week of the Komisarjevsky trial starts this morning
Posted: Monday, September 26, 2011 8:38 am | Updated: 8:42 am, Mon Sep 26, 2011.

Mary Ellen Godin | 0 comments

NEW HAVEN -- The second week of Joshua Komisarjevsky's trial is expected to open with continued testimony from police, fire officials and a representative from Verizon Wireless, court officials said Monday.

Defense attorneys for Komisarjevsky are expected to resume their cross-examination of Cheshire Detective Joseph Vitello, who took Komisarjevsky's statement in the hours after the deadly home invasion on July 23, 2007.
 ::snipping2::

Hi trimm.  I hope this trial is over quickly.  The Petit family shouldn't have to go through this again.

I agree.  ::rhino::

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
JBernsteinFoxCT Jennifer Bernstein
Day 5 of Joshua Komisarjevsky trial set to begin at 10. Defense expected to continue cross examination of a police detective.
3 minutes ago
Jennifer Bernstein
JBernsteinFoxCT Jennifer Bernstein
Komisarjevsky arrived at court at 8:55 today...brought in by Judicial Marshals
15 minutes ago

(http://s1.proxy03.twitpic.com/photos/large/408067132.jpg)
JBernsteinFoxCT Jennifer Bernstein
Dr. Petit and family have arrived for Day 5 of trial twitpic.com/6qyam4
13 minutes ago http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)

They look so sad and defeated.  Its heartbreaking.

this family has been through soooo much..breaks my heart.

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial

 ::MonkeyMad::  Yeah, right.   ::MonkeyMad::

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
alainegriffin Alaine Griffin
Jennifer Hawke-Petit would have been 53 today. #Komisarjevsky #Cheshire
6 minutes ago

Who cares how many cameras captured the Jennifer and Michaela while in the grocery store?  How could that possibly impact JK's killing them?

Second week of Komisarjevsky trial begins
 Posted: Sep 26, 2011 12:05 PM EDT Updated: Sep 26, 2011 12:13 PM EDT
 By WFSB Staff

 NEW HAVEN, CT (WFSB) -

 The lead detective in the Cheshire home invasion murder case took the stand on Monday as the second week of the trial against Joshua Komisarjevsky began. ::snipping2::

In cross examination Monday, the detective was questioned about how cooperative Komisarjevsky was right after police said he tried to get away from the burning home with Hayes.

 Jennifer Hawke-Petit was already dead inside and police said the Petit daughters, Hayley and Michaela, were left inside tied up and were killed by the fire.

 The detective said Hayes would not answer questions about who was inside, but Komisarjevsky was more forthcoming saying there were a woman inside already dead and two others upstairs.

 The detective also said Komisarjevsky motioned to Hayes when he told the detective the woman was dead indicating Hayes was responsible for her death. ::snipping2::

http://www.wfsb.com/story/15549871/second-week-of-komisarjevsky-trial-begins

http://abcnews.go.com/US/petit-trial-coroner-describes-teen-daughters-death/story?id=14607151
Petit Murder Trial: Coroner Describes Teen Girl's Death in Fire
By ANNE-MARIE DORNING
NEW HAVEN, Conn. Sept. 26, 2011
Video at link.
Dr. William Petit and several of his family members walked out of court today, some of them in tears, unable to listen to the coroner's testimony describing the final moments of his teenage daughter who died in a fire set by a pair of robbers.

Hayley Petit, 17, died along with her younger sister, Michaela, on July 23, 2007, tied to their beds in a suburban Connecticut house splashed with gasoline. Their mother, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, was raped and strangled before the house was set ablaze.

Hayley Petit's body was found at the top of the staircase. Her sister's body was found still in her bed.
 ::snipping2::

 ::snipping2::
Dr. William Petit Has to Leave Trial

Shah said that the cause of death for Hayley Petit was "asphyxia due to smoke inhalation." Prosecutor Michael Dearington asked Shah what the girl likely experienced shortly before her death.

Shah told the court that a victim like Hayley Petit would typically "experience significant pain from breathing in smoke and soot before she died." She also likely felt disorientation, nausea and an inability to breathe shortly before her death.

Shah testified that it could have taken from "a few to several minutes" to die after she started to breath in the searingly hot toxic air. Given the third and even fourth degree burns to her feet, Shah it is likely that the flames got very close to the young girl on or about the time that she died although she could not say if Hayley Petit felt the burns before she died.

Jurors were shown photos of Petit's body taken at both the crime scene and during the autopsy. At one point, Shah stood up holding the a photograph in front of the jury and described Hayley's injuries

"This is her body found at the scene…On her upper legs you can see some recognizable skin…Those are mostly second degree burns, but further down you can see more severe burns," said Shah.

Dr. Petit's family, who had been weeping and consoling themselves in court, walked out of the courtroom as the grisly slideshow continued, unable to listen to the testimony.
 ::snipping2::

 ::MonkeyTears::

http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevsky-day5-0927-20110926,0,4457742,full.story
Komisarjevsky Trial: Hayley Petit's Autopsy
Medical Examiner Noted Burned Ropes On Wrist And Ankles, Clothes Smelled Of Gas

(Video at link state audio confession tapes will be released this week.)
By ALAINE GRIFFIN And JOSH KOVNER, agriffin@courant.com and jkovner@courant.com The Hartford Courant

7:33 p.m. EDT, September 26, 2011
NEW HAVEN—
— Hayley Petit died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning, an associate state medical examiner who performed the autopsy on the 17-year-old victim of the Cheshire home invasion testified Monday afternoon in Joshua Komisarjevsky's trial.

Death would have overtaken the girl in as little as a few moments as her body suffocated, said Dr. Malka Shah.Shah said she found burned remnants of rope tied around Hayley's right wrist and ankles and soot in her nose and mouth. The remains of her clothing smelled of gas.

Hayley had burns all over her body, but Shah said she could not determine whether the burns occurred before or after Hayley died. Hayley had been tied to her bed but managed to break free. Investigators found her body on the second floor at the top of the stairs.
 ::snipping2::

I'm sure that sick POS, JK, enjoyed himself today.   ::MonkeyMad::  He managed to revolt the jury and torment the Petit family all with a front row seat. 

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Joshua-Komisarjevsky-Cheshire-Home-Invasion-Jennifer-Hawke-Petit-130553318.html

Recorded Komisarjevsky Confession Released

http://media.nbcbayarea.com/audio/Komisarjevsky+1.mp3

This is just part of the audio.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/petit-home-invasion-taped-confession-joshua-komisarjevsky/story?id=14611602
Petit Home Invasion: Taped Confession of Joshua Komisarjevsky
By ANNE-MARIE DORNING
NEW HAVEN, Conn. Sept. 27, 2011
Video at link.
An accused killer's recorded confession is a horrifying glimpse into how an almost casual plan to rob people at ATMs escalated chaotically into a night of rape, murder and arson that left a mother and her two daughters dead in a suburban Connecticut home.

The taped confession of Joshua Komisarjevsky, publicly released Monday, details the attack on the home of Dr. William Petit, and the murders of his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and his daughters Michaela Petit, 11 and Hayley Petit, 17.

Towards the end of the audio taped confession, Komisarjevsky, 31, implied that he agreed to tell his story to the police in the aftermath of the triple murder because "I feel they deserved it, you know. They earned this and uh I just f##d up."
 ::snipping2::

http://callsforjustice.wordpress.com/
Hayley Petit Death Likely Slow And Painful
09/27/2011 donchais
Dr. William Petit left the courtroom and family members cried as Dr. Malka Shah testified that Hayley’s clothes smelled of gasoline.

She still had remnants of rope tied tightly on her legs and wrists and her body, particularly her back and legs, had first, second and third degree burns all over.  Her lungs were filled with carbon monoxide.

Shah could not say whether the burns happened while Hayley was alive.   She also couldn’t say if they occurred before or after she fell in the hallway.
 ::snipping2::

Judge Jon Blue lifted the embargo he imposed last week and allowed Komisarjevsky taped police interview to be released.

Police Interview: (Slow loading)

Part One http://nhregister.com/articles/2011/09/27/news/doc4e80f2700a6cc076162002.txt

Part Two http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/09/26/news/doc4e81058446d4d695903899.txt?viewmode=fullstory

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Jurors glancing at Dr Petit. He looks very tired today. #Komis
17 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Detectives seized cotton bra cut at straps, also kitchen shears. In audio confession #Komis told police he cut Michaela's clothing off.
18 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Photo of Michaela's room shows stuffed snake, stuffed animals, pillows, and also the bat Sgt testifies used to beat Dr Petit. # Komis
22 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Now jury seeing photo of Michaela's room. Purple satin bedding, pink carpet can be made out through fire debris. #Komis
29 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Dr Petit staring at photo of his daughter's room, burned and broken. Sgt testifies to rug cut out where they found gas pour. #Komis
38 minutes ago

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Mid morning break #Komis
7 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
More rope seen in bedroom, #Komis intently watching slide show of scene.
12 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Photo shows phone line...but not connected to phone in master bedroom. #Komis
13 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
In master bedroom photo, boxes on bed opened, Jewelry boxes opened. Scarf tied to bed post, she says used as restraint. #Komis
15 minutes ago
Alaine Griffin
alainegriffin Alaine Griffin
#Komisarjevsky prosecutor showing photos of burned-out Petit home, daughters' bedrooms, bloody basement where father was bound. courant.

http://www.courant.com/
Komisarjevsky Jurors See Photos Of Petit Girls' Bedrooms
Burned Beds, Shears, Bra With Cut Straps, Scorched Carpet Areas Where Trained Dogs Found Fire Accelerant
By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com The Hartford Courant

11:57 a.m. EDT, September 27, 2011
NEW HAVEN—

Video at link.
Jurors in the trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky viewed photos Tuesday morning of evidence police found and processed while investigating the deadly 2007 Cheshire home invasion.

Prosecutor Gary Nicholson took jurors inside the Petit home, to Hayley Petit's bedroom, showing photos on a movie screen of the 17-year-old's burned bed and soot-covered walls. Materials resembling nylon stockings were tied around the bedposts of Hayley's bed.

Investigators took samples of burnt rug near the side of Hayley's bed, State Police Sgt. Karen Gabianelli testified, after a police dog trained to identify accelerants hit on the area.
 ::snipping2::

(http://www.courant.com/media/alternatethumbnails/story/2011-09/65053820-27085222-400225.jpg)
This police photo released by the Connecticut Judicial Branch shows the charred bedroom of Michaela Petit. (HANDOUT)

Komisarjevsky's Audio Statement

    audio
    Audio Statement By Joshua Komisarjevsky On Cheshire Home Invasion [Warning: Strong Language And Graphic Content]  http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevsky-confession-tapes-audio,0,3846651.audiogallery

    interactive
    Police Interview With Joshua Komisarjevsky, Part 1 [PDF]  http://www.courant.com/community/north-haven/hc-komisarjevsky-interview-part-1-pdf-html,0,1816806.htmlpage

    interactive
    Police Interview With Joshua Komisarjevsky, Part 2 [PDF]  http://www.courant.com/community/north-haven/hc-komisarjevsky-interview-part-2-pdf-html,0,2472167.htmlpage

thanks for the updates Trimm...sad ...beyond sad really...

Sicko is enjoying his handiwork, no doubt.

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial) Edit to fix link-needed hyperlink.  MB

The reporters don't seem to be following the case as much this week.  

http://abcnews.go.com/US/petit-home-invasion-evidence-shows-gas-led-girls/story?id=14610895

Petit Home Invasion Evidence Shows Gas Led to Girls' Beds

http://abcnews.go.com/US/petit-home-invasion-evidence-shows-gas-led-girls/story?id=14610895

At this link look for the video entitled:
Father Testifies in Connecticut Murder Trial
Notice at mark 1:53 what Komisarjevsky's father does as the reporters try to question him.  He even has a faint smile on his face.   ::MonkeyShocked::

I went grocery shopping today, much like how Mrs. Petit and her daughters did on that fateful day. my thoughts went to them..any one of us could end up a victim like they were. how easy it would be for someone to see one of us in a store and follow us home and wait until dark to attack..Very frightening thought. Every families nightmare.
another thing that I thought, did this family get picked because this pervert had his sights on Michaela after seeing her? do men who intend on robbery suddenly turn into a pedophile? does a pedophile suddenly turn into a robber?? This guy is/was a pedophile before he attacked Michaela in my opinion and he wanted to go to her home for that very reason, more so than to rob them. It would have been far easier to rob a gas station or store or grab purses in the parking lot etc...
They went to that home that night to rape and mayhem. And then to rob. Otherwise, why beat Dr. Petit at the very beginning? everyone was sleeping. Rob them and then get out of the house if that truly was their only motive. jmo...

http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevksy-day7-0929-20110928,0,7549621.story
Experts: No Drugs, Alcohol In Komisarjevsky's Blood
Testimony Begins About Cellphone Text Messages
By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com The Hartford Courant

11:39 a.m. EDT, September 28, 2011
NEW HAVEN — —

State toxicology experts testified this morning that they found no alcohol or drugs in the blood of Joshua Komisarjevsky in samples taken by investigators after his arrest in connection with the 2007 fatal Cheshire home invasion.

One expert, Mark Anderson, testified that he tested the blood of Komisarjevsky and his partner in the crime, Steven Hayes, for alcohol and "other volatiles."

"We did not find any ethanol in any sample," Anderson said

Laura Grestini told jurors she looked in the the suspects' blood for illegal drugs. The only thing she found, she said, was caffeine.
 ::snipping2::

 ::rhino::

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial (http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial)

LauriePerez Laurie Perez
In redirect Brunetti says he made determination the pics were of 11 year old Petit daughter. #Komis
36 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Cross examination begins. Brunetti says he'd been briefed about case. #Komis
38 minutes ago
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Brunetti says he placed black bar over part of last picture for "discretion." #Komis
38 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Jury passing folders with pictures. One guy rubbing his forehead as he waits to receive them. Another shakes his head after seeing. #Komis
41 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
Bruentti says first image taken July 23 7:27 a-m and last image 9:14 a-m. jury now to see them. Not on screen. #Komis
42 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
These pics are not in screen. Brunetti says one image shows cloth over face area of young white girl, arm bent back. #Komis
45 minutes ago
Laurie Perez
LauriePerez Laurie Perez
#Komis told police he took pictures of Michaela Petit with his cellphone. Brunetti now viewing them.
46 minutes ago

Jurors See Komisarjevsky's Graphic Cellphone Pictures Of Young Girl
Photos were shot the morning of the deadly Cheshire home invasion
 ::snipping2::

According to testimony in last year's trial of Komisarjevsky's accomplice, Steven Hayes, one of the images, taken at 7:27 a.m. on July 23, 2007, showed a young female, dressed in a skirt and a sleeveless shirt lying on a bed with her arms up above her head. Her face was covered with a cloth, which Komisarjevsky since has admitted was a pillowcase.

A photo, taken at 7:51 a.m., showed a close-up of the girl's private area. Another image, according to testimony in the Hayes trial, showed the same girl lying on her back.

A photo shot at 7:52 a.m. showed the girl on a bed with her legs tied.

On redirect, Brunetti said he had determined that the pictures were of Petit's 11-year-old daughter. ::snipping2::

http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevksy-day7-0929-20110928,0,7549621.story

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/28/jury-sees-texts-between-j_n_985467.html
Jury Sees Texts Between Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes In Conn. Home Invasion
JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN   09/28/11 12:31 PM ET
 ::snipping2::
Prosecutors showed the texts that Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes sent to each other in the hours before the deadly home invasion in July 2007 in Cheshire. Hayes was convicted and sentenced to death last year. Komisarjevsky is on trial and could join him on death row if he's convicted.

"I'm chomping at the bit to get started," Hayes wrote, according to testimony. "Need a margarita soon."

After Hayes sends another text later, Komisarjevsky replies that he's putting his 5-year-old daughter to bed, adding "Hold your horses."

"Dude," Hayes responds, "the horses want to get loose. LOL."
 ::snipping2::

total sicko!  when can I stick the needle in this idiot's arm?  ::MonkeyMad::

http://twitter.com/#!/hartfordcourant/lists/cheshire-trial


You know, JK tried to make is sound like he'd only assaulted her while her mother was gone to the bank.  This shows that he toyed with her for a least a couple of hours.