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

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/03/convict-got-mixed-up-in-satanic-cult-teacher-says/
Convict got mixed up in satanic cult, teacher says
Published November 03, 2011
| Associated Press

 ::snipping2::
Armen Abrahamian, who taught Komisarjevsky Sunday school, testified in the sentencing phase of Komisarjevsky's trial that around 1995, one of Komisarjevsky's mentors rescued him at a home where a satanic ritual was taking place. The mentor, who has since died, did not know where Komisarjevsky was but felt "led" to find him after praying because he believed Komisarjevsky's safety was in jeopardy, he said.

Abrahamian said he and others at the church would pray for Komisarjevsky. One time they were praying in a circle and Komisarjevsky's father, Ben, began to cry, he said.

"The tears were coming down pretty rapidly on the floor as we prayed for Josh," he said.

Abrahamian described Komisarjevsky as a troubled teen who wanted to run away.

Komisarjevsky's family sent him to a religious residential program in Vermont after he burned down a vacant gas station as a teen and was briefly sent to a psychiatric hospital.

Eric Perry, a counselor at the Vermont program, testified that in 1996 Komisarjevsky told him in their weekly sessions that he was hearing voices at night telling him to kill himself and seeing objects he believed were related to his previous involvement in a satanic cult. In another incident, he described bomb-making materials confiscated from Komisarjevsky's room, along with a razor blade that he was thinking of using to kill himself.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/03/convict-got-mixed-up-in-satanic-cult-teacher-says/#ixzz1cgo9SJ5v

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/crime/komisarjevsky-penalty-phase-day-9
Komisarjevsky trial focuses on sex abuse

Updated: Monday, 07 Nov 2011, 1:33 PM EST
Published : Monday, 07 Nov 2011, 7:49 AM EST

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut man facing a possible death sentence for killing a woman and her two daughters during a home invasion told a psychologist his older foster brother raped him, burned his chest with cigarettes and posed him in sexual positions with his younger sister.

Joshua Komisarjevsky faces life in prison or the death penalty for killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters in their Cheshire home in 2007.
 ::snipping2::

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevsky-penalty9-1108-20111107,0,3664352.story
Psychologist Says Komisarjevsky Was Sexually Abused 'A Lot'
Older foster brother allegedly raped him, burned him, posed him in sexual positions with younger sister
By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com The Hartford Courant

1:07 p.m. EST, November 7, 2011
NEW HAVEN —

Convicted triple murderer Joshua Komisarjevsky told a clinical psychologist his older foster brother raped him, burned his chest with cigarettes and posed him in sexual positions with his younger sister, according to testimony Monday.

Leslie Lebowitz, a self-employed clinical psychologist, testified that she met with Komisarjevsky more than a dozen times for meetings while working on a psychological evaluation of him.

Lebowitz said she concluded Komisarjevsky was sexually abused "not every day, but a lot."
 ::snipping2::


There is no excuse for what happened to the Petit family.Period. 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevsky-penalty9-1108-20111107,0,3664352.story
Psychologist Says Komisarjevsky Was Sexually Abused 'A Lot'
Older foster brother allegedly raped him, burned him, posed him in sexual positions with younger sister
By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com The Hartford Courant

1:07 p.m. EST, November 7, 2011
NEW HAVEN —

Convicted triple murderer Joshua Komisarjevsky told a clinical psychologist his older foster brother raped him, burned his chest with cigarettes and posed him in sexual positions with his younger sister, according to testimony Monday.

Leslie Lebowitz, a self-employed clinical psychologist, testified that she met with Komisarjevsky more than a dozen times for meetings while working on a psychological evaluation of him.

Lebowitz said she concluded Komisarjevsky was sexually abused "not every day, but a lot."
 ::snipping2::


There is no excuse for what happened to the Petit family.Period. 

ITA

[cookie]

http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevsky-penalty9-1108-20111107,0,3664352.story
Psychologist Says Komisarjevsky Was Sexually Abused 'A Lot'
Older foster brother allegedly raped him, burned him, posed him in sexual positions with younger sister
By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com The Hartford Courant

1:07 p.m. EST, November 7, 2011
NEW HAVEN —

Convicted triple murderer Joshua Komisarjevsky told a clinical psychologist his older foster brother raped him, burned his chest with cigarettes and posed him in sexual positions with his younger sister, according to testimony Monday.

Leslie Lebowitz, a self-employed clinical psychologist, testified that she met with Komisarjevsky more than a dozen times for meetings while working on a psychological evaluation of him.

Lebowitz said she concluded Komisarjevsky was sexually abused "not every day, but a lot."
 ::snipping2::


There is no excuse for what happened to the Petit family.Period. 

ITA

agreed..
where were the parents of Komisarjevsky when all of this abuse supposedly happened? has anyone spoken to this foster child to see if this indeed did happen?
even so, no excuse for what he did to the Petits..none!

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2059161/Joshua-Komisarjevsky-trial-Foster-brother-Scott-Reetz-admits-sexual-assault.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Pictured: The foster brother who sexually abused home invasion killer 'a lot' admitted assault to a doctor and made him believe he was condemned to hell

  Joshua Komisarjevsky claimed sexual assaults occurred when he was 14
    Clinical psychologist interviewed accused foster brother, Scott Reetz for defence
    Testified Reetz said he was 'curious about sex' at the time and regretted abuse
    Reetz convicted in 1993 of sexual assault in an unrelated case
    Devoutly Christian family who home schooled killer refused medical help doctors suggested
    Judge deciding if Komisarjevsky's nine-year-old daughter should testify
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 10:06 AM on 9th November 2011

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2059161/Joshua-Komisarjevsky-trial-Foster-brother-Scott-Reetz-admits-sexual-assault.html#ixzz1dDHIFR9N

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.countytimes.com/articles/2011/11/08/news/doc4eb9e48ce9519127723837.txt
Prosecutor Challenges Komisarjevsky's Account of Repeated Sexual Assaults
Published: Tuesday, November 08, 2011
NEW HAVEN — A prosecutor Tuesday challenged the psychologist hired by Joshua Komisarjevsky’s attorneys about Komisarjevsky’s account he was repeatedly sexually assaulted as a young boy.

Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Gary Nicholson drew acknowledgments from the witness, Leslie Lebowitz, that Komisarjevsky never reported the alleged assaults until he was facing sentencing for 19 burglaries in 2002. He was sentenced to serve five years.

But Lebowitz said most men who have been sexually abused wait for many years before telling anybody about their experience.

Nicholson then asked: “Do you agree that people who are faced with legal problems can often use such a traumatic event as a way to get a less severe punishment?”

“I’m aware of that happening in the mitigation phase of death penalty cases,” Lebowitz replied.

Nicholson also asked if a person in Komisarjevsky’s situation, facing life in prison vs. execution, “would be motivated to lie, fabricate or exaggerate.”

Lebowitz said she agreed there was that motivation.
 ::snipping2::

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Joshua-Komisarjevsky-seeks-daughter-s-testimony-2267984.php
Joshua Komisarjevsky seeks daughter's testimony
Published 08:15 a.m., Monday, November 14, 2011

 ::snipping2::
The hearing will be held Monday in New Haven Superior Court in the sentencing phase of Komisarjevsky's trial. He was convicted last month of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters during the home invasion in 2007 in Cheshire.

Komisarjevsky's attorneys want his daughter to testify, possibly by videotape. But an attorney for the girl's guardian filed a motion to quash their subpoena, citing sensitive issues.

The attorney, Raymond Hassett, said he had concerns about the parameters of the girl's testimony.

Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Joshua-Komisarjevsky-seeks-daughter-s-testimony-2267984.php#ixzz1dh5IYf00

[trimmonthelake]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/deal-reached-show-video-komisarjevsky-child-14976376
Deal Reached to Show Video of Komisarjevsky Child
By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press
NEW HAVEN, Conn. November 18, 2011 (AP)

A judge on Thursday restricted who can view videotaped testimony of the 9-year-old daughter of a man convicted of killing three people in a 2007 home invasion after lawyers for the girl said she has received death threats.

Judge Jon C. Blue's ruling came during the penalty phase of Joshua Komisarjevsky's trial in New Haven. The jury that convicted him last month of capital felony, murder, sexual assault and other crimes is now considering whether he should get the death penalty or life in prison. His co-defendant, Steven Hayes, is already on death row.

Blue said he would only allow jurors, lawyers and reporters to see the video. It's not clear when the video, which doesn't exist yet, will be shown.

Under Blue's order, the video will be played in open court, but only the jury will be able to see it. The audience would be able only to listen to it. Credentialed members of the media will be allowed to watch the video at some later point when court is not in session, possibly on the same day the jury sees it.

Blue said he wouldn't allow the video to be released to the general public, and no one will be allowed to take photos or draw sketches of the girl while the video is played. The main goal, he said, is to protect her from harm by shielding her identity and not allowing photos or videos of her to be made public.

"There could be someone out there who seeks to do harm to the child," Blue said. "That we have to be careful of."
 ::snipping2::

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevsky-penalty15-1119-20111118,0,4596.story
Man Who Was In Prison With Komisarjevsky Is Expected to Testify Today
By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com The Hartford Courant
9:31 a.m. EST, November 18, 2011
NEW HAVEN — A man who spent time in prison with Joshua Komisarjevsky is expected to testify today during the penalty phase of his trial. State Department of Correction officials could also take the stand.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/girl-testifies-save-dad-home-invasion-killer-joshua/story?id=15017721
Girl, 9, Testifies in Bid to Save Her Dad, Home Invasion Killer Joshua Komisarjevsky, From Death Row
November 23, 2011

The 9-year-old daughter of convicted killer Joshua Komisarjevsky testified via videotape today in a bid to save the violent Connecticut home invader from the death penalty.

Jurors in the death penalty phase of Komisarjevsky's trial watched the 20-minute videotape and listened as the girl laughed, and talked about a best friend and how much she loved animals.

She also discussed her father, who she referred to as Josh, not "dad," saying he was a man she used to play with at her grandparents' home. She said he had gone to jail for "something he had done at work."

The girl lived with her grandparents at the time of the 2007 murders. She is not being identified to protect her privacy.

The videotaped testimony was shown over the objection of Komisarjevsky, himself, who addressed the court for the first time during his trial, though his voice was heard previously during a taped confession.
 ::snipping2::
Komisarjevsky's daughter was interviewed by Caroline Burry, a social worker, last weekend, but did not know she was being taped.

Burry took the stand after the videotape was played and testified that if Komisarjevsky was executed it could be "very damaging" to the girl, who is currently living with her maternal aunt. Her name has been changed and it is believed that none of her friends knows about her father's crimes.

The girl's testimony has been a point of contention for weeks as an attorney for the girl's guardian sought to prevent the interview, citing the possible psychological repercussions and a fear that her identity could become known.
But Jeremiah Donovan, one of Komisarjevsky's attorneys, said that showing the videotape was important because it would allow the jurors to see his client as a loving father who, records show, has seen his daughter 55 times during his incarceration -- instead of seeing him as just a cold-blooded killer.

But today, Komisarjevsky went against his own attorney's wishes. He addressed the judge in an attempt to prevent the videotape from being shown to the jury.

Komisarjevsky, who wore a dark suit and tie, read in a low voice from a piece of paper -- a prepared statement that his defense attorneys insisted he prepared on his own.

"Among many other considerations, I have carefully come to the overwhelming opinion that I am not at all comfortable putting my daughter in a position wherein she may feel that she has to explain or justify herself to anyone who perceives her statements to somehow help one of the most hated people in America," Komisarjevsky said.

"She's 9 years old. Had this interview been her decision to make, and she was old enough to understand that decision, that would be one thing. However, that is not the case in this situation. The decision has been made for her," he said.

Komisarjevsky went on to say that his daughter's words had been coached and that her current guardian punishes the girl if she mentions his name.

[cookie]

very sad for this little girl. If he didn't want his daughter to testify, wouldn't that over rule what his attorney wanted??

[trimmonthelake]

http://articles.courant.com/2011-11-26/community/hc-komisarjevsky-will-he-speak-1127-20111126_1_penalty-phase-joshua-komisarjevsky-cheshire-home
Will Komisarjevsky Address The Jury?
Judge Presiding In Convicted Cheshire Killer's Case Allowed Another Defendant Who Faced Death Penalty To Speak
November 26, 2011|By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com, The Hartford Courant

NEW HAVEN — When convicted Cheshire home invasion murderer Joshua Komisarjevsky stood up in court Wednesday to object to a video of his 9-year-old daughter being shown during the penalty phase of his trial, jurors deciding whether he lives or dies did not hear the words he read from a three-page statement.

Komisarjevsky's defense attorneys may decide to have jurors hear from Komisarjevsky by Monday, when they are expected to end their presentation of the mitigating evidence they hope will persuade jurors to spare his life.
 ::snipping2::

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.countytimes.com/articles/2011/11/26/news/doc4ecd0003dee47282978847.txt
Komisarjevsky’s Mother Testifies to Having Regrets as Foster Mother
Published: Saturday, November 26, 2011
By RANDALL BEACH

NEW HAVEN — Joshua Komisarjevsky’s mother testified Tuesday she wishes she never became a foster mother because it resulted in a foster child sexually assaulting Komisarjevsky and, in her view, led to the Cheshire home invasion.

Crying as she spoke, Jude Komisarjevsky said she and her husband, Benedict, “basically feel if we’d said ‘no’ to being foster parents, we wouldn’t be here today.”

Her appearance, the second during her son’s triple homicide trial, came immediately after a defense-hired psychiatrist spent nearly two days testifying about the many psychological factors that have made Komisarjevsky’s life so difficult.

One of the key traumas, according to Dr. Richard G. Dudley Jr., was that Komisarjevsky was raped and suffered other physical abuse from age 4-6 by the foster child, who was 11 years older.

Komisarjevsky was convicted on 17 counts in the Cheshire home invasion, including murdering Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17. He also was convicted of sexually assaulting Michaela while she was tied to her bed.
 ::snipping2::

 ::snipping2::
Dudley recalled that during his 50 hours of interviews with Komisarjevsky, the defendant “said at times he needed to do something very risky, thrill-seeking.”

Dudley quoted Komisarjevsky: “Nothing’s more risky and thrill-seeking than situations in which you risk death, such as Russian roulette.”

Dudley added, “When he got depressed and empty, doing something like that helped bring him out of it, helped him feel alive.”

According to Dudley, this need is why Komisarjevsky agreed to do the home invasion with Hayes.

But when Komisarjevsky recalled what happened that day, Dudley noted, “He said the situation became increasingly out of control. But he didn’t know what to do.”

“He expressed that the victims certainly didn’t have to die,” Dudley said. “He talked about how bad he felt; at the end of it all, how suicidal he was.”

The defense team and Komisarjevsky’s family have said it was Hayes who escalated the violence. Hayes, now on death row, admitted strangling Hawke-Petit. But both men were in the house for many hours, during which gasoline was spread over the daughters and their bodies while they were still alive and tied to their beds. They died of smoke inhalation.
 ::snipping2::

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/x473907112/Defense-resumes-in-Connecticut-home-invasion-sentencing#axzz1f155L9jE
Defense resumes in Connecticut home invasion sentencing
The Associated Press
Posted Nov 28, 2011 @ 09:24 AM
 ::snipping2::
Komisarjevsky and co-defendant Steven Hayes were convicted of capital felony and other charges stemming from the killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, at their Cheshire home.

Hayes is on death row.

Jurors were shown a videotaped interview of Komisarjevsky's 9-year-old daughter last week over his objections.

The defense is expected to rest Tuesday.

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iLi0rJF6yssj4H8trEdPdjLCLlyw?docId=3914957697cc453f8f737e46000e58c5
Conn. killer's faith taught that end was near
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN, Associated Press – 45 minutes ago
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut man facing a possible death sentence for killing three people in a home invasion grew up in a religious environment in which he was taught the end of the world was near, his former girlfriend testified Monday.

Frances Hodges said she grew up in a similar atmosphere and testified that both she and Joshua Komisarjevsky were taught that they would be persecuted and that she imagined her mother being burned to death.

"As a child growing up I thought it was only a matter of time before I would have to, that I would be persecuted for my faith," Hodges said. "I was just anxious all the time."
 ::snipping2::

 ::snipping2::
Hodges, who took a prolonged look at Komisarjevsky as she left the stand, says those who didn't share their beliefs were viewed as "potential agents of the devil."

"The secular world is considered toxic and anyone who participates in the secular world considered misled and potentially a threat to your faith," she testified.

Hodges dated Komisarjevsky as a teen for about two years in New Hampshire, where Komisarjevsky's family took him to a religious community after he burned down a vacant gas station and a psychiatric hospital recommended he undergo treatment.

Hodges said she and Komisarjevsky both struggled with their faith, especially after they started having sex. She said he was never violent.

"He was thoughtful," she said. "He was compelling. He was kind of an outsider, kind of a fringe person. I think that's why we probably sort of connected."

She described his family as secretive, even within religious circles.

"The family was kind of an isolationist-type family," Hodges said. "There were a lot of secrets."

Hodges broke down crying, prompting a brief recess, after testifying that a gay teen in the community killed himself by jumping out a window. She said she left the community, which taught homosexuality was an abomination, and suffered from years of alcoholism, an eating disorder and self-induced insomnia. She said two other teens from the community also committed suicide.
 ::snipping2::

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevsky-penalty19-1129-20111128,0,3019128,full.story
Komisarjevsky's Former Girlfriend: We Were Like The 'Lost Boys'
Woman Who Dated Killer As Teen Says They Were Raised Fearing Evil And That End Was Near; Guilty About Sex; Anxious And Depressed By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com The Hartford Courant
1:17 p.m. EST, November 28, 2011

 ::snipping2::
Komisarjevsky's lawyers are attempting to show that a series of mitigating factors — including Komisarjevsky's strict religious upbringing, his parents' unwillingness to seek psychiatric care for him following sexual abuse, and various ways that he has sought to turn his life around, including trying to build a life with his daughter — warrant a life sentence rather than death.

The jury will then weigh the mitigating factors presented by the defense against the aggravating factors stated by prosecutors.

Last month, Komisarjevsky, 31, was convicted on all 17 counts in the 2007 Cheshire home invasion case, including six capital offenses. Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela Petit, were killed in the attack.

The same Superior Court jury that convicted Komisarjevsky will decide whether he should be sentenced to death by lethal injection or to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

His accomplice, Steven Hayes, was convicted last year and sentenced to death.

[MuffyBee]

I hope we're all finished now with having to listen to how much a victim Komisarjevsky was in life, and move onto punishing him for the evil, wicked, horrible acts he committed against an innocent family.  It's way past time he and his attorneys stop blaming every little slight he may have had in his lifetime and take responsibility for what he's done.  Man up Komisarjevsky!  Isn't it amazing at times how some can be so cruel as he was to a child, raping, torturing and eventually leaving her to die, and yet when it's his time to pay up, what a whiner!       

[KittyMom]

I hope we're all finished now with having to listen to how much a victim Komisarjevsky was in life, and move onto punishing him for the evil, wicked, horrible acts he committed against an innocent family.  It's way past time he and his attorneys stop blaming every little slight he may have had in his lifetime and take responsibility for what he's done.  Man up Komisarjevsky!  Isn't it amazing at times how some can be so cruel as he was to a child, raping, torturing and eventually leaving her to die, and yet when it's his time to pay up, what a whiner!       

< LIKE >   

[Sister]

I hope we're all finished now with having to listen to how much a victim Komisarjevsky was in life, and move onto punishing him for the evil, wicked, horrible acts he committed against an innocent family.  It's way past time he and his attorneys stop blaming every little slight he may have had in his lifetime and take responsibility for what he's done.  Man up Komisarjevsky!  Isn't it amazing at times how some can be so cruel as he was to a child, raping, torturing and eventually leaving her to die, and yet when it's his time to pay up, what a whiner!       

::justice2NJ::