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

[trimmonthelake]

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.”

[Cappuccino]

VERDICT IS IN!    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

[Cappuccino]

GUILTY count one and two....and counting

[Cappuccino]

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

[Cappuccino]

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 

[Cappuccino]

Death penalty phase will begin October 18th, Monday

[trimmonthelake]

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.

[trimmonthelake]

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.

[SunnyinTX]

trim, thanks for the media updates...

[San]

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.

[San]

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

[Bearlyhere]

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.

 

[MuffyBee]

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


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."

[pdh3]

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

[Sister]

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

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

[San]

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.

 

I agree Bearly.

[San]

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

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

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.

[cookie]

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

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

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

[Sister]

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

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

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.

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.

[trimmonthelake]

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