Cheshire home invasion Survivor Appears on Oprah

CBS News- A Connecticut doctor whose wife and two daughters were killed in a gruesome 2007 home invasion said on Thursday's episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that while he has had suicidal thoughts he chose not to kill himself because he hopes to be with his family in the afterlife.

In court earlier this month, before a man convicted in the killings was sentenced to death, Dr. William Petit said he had struggled with suicidal thoughts, nightmares and flashbacks. Winfrey asked Petit why he decided not to kill himself after all.

"Religious reasons," Petit answered. "I thought in the afterlife, if I was going to meet up with my family, if I did that (commit suicide) then maybe I would never meet up with them again. I wasn't willing to take that chance. I thought that they would not approve and they would want me to go forward."

Petit was the sole survivor of the home invasion. His wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, were killed. The mother and youngest daughter were sexually assaulted. Authorities say their attackers tied the girls to their beds, poured gasoline on or around them and set the house on fire.

Steven Hayes of Connecticut was convicted of sexually assaulting and strangling Jennifer Hawke-Petit and killing her daughters. He was sentenced to death. Another defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, is to go to trial next year.

Petit told Winfrey he thinks his wife would want him to continue his medical career. He also told Winfrey that he is not considering forgiveness right now.

"I don't think you can forgive ultimate evil," he said. "I think forgiving the essence of evil is not appropriate."

Trial Set for 2nd Defendant in Cheshire Home Invasion

CHESHIRE - The date has been set for the second trial in a deadly Cheshire home invasion.

Joshua Komisarjevsky will stand trial in February for the killing of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters.

The other defendant, Stephen Hayes, was convicted in October and sentenced to death last week.

Dead Man Found in Bathtub Identified

Stratford, Conn. (WTNH) - A man who broke into a Stratford home and was later found dead in the bathtub has been identified as a teenager from Bridgeport, police said.

They say it was 18-year-old Joshua Hamilton of Bridgeport.

Stratford police say the man broke into a home on Seabreeze Drive around 1:20 a.m. Friday, November 19th.

Last week's incident is still under investigation and the results of the autopsy have not been released.

Police say it appears Hamilton was injured before he entered the home.

Police Attempt to Identify Fatally Stabbed Intruder

(11/19/10) STRATFORD -Police are trying to identify the man who broke into a Stratford home today after he was fatally stabbed.

Investigators say it happened at around 1 a.m. at 40 Seabreeze Drive . They say the man who broke in may have been looking for help after the stabbing.

Police say the homeowner, Robert Smith, woke up after hearing the man break into his house.

They say the homeowner and the intruder got into some kind of a fight, with the homeowner falling down the steps and then running to a neighbor's house to call police.

Police say they may need to use fingerprints or dental records to identify the suspect. They say he didn't have any identification on him and he wasn't wearing any shoes.

An autopsy is scheduled to be performed.

Prosecutors Claim Suspect Bound, Stabbed Kathleen Smith of Burlington

Burlington, VT- Police believe a drifter bound and killed a Burlington woman in her home last month because she sided with a friend, the mother of his child, in a years-old custody dispute.

Jose Pazos held a grudge against Kathleen Smith for the stance she took in the feud, according to statements to police from a woman who knew Pazos and a friend of Smith’s, lead investigator Detective Paul Petralia wrote in court papers made public at Pazos’ arraignment Tuesday.

Smith, 50, bled to death late Oct. 14 or early Oct. 15 from apparent knife wounds to her neck after being tied up in her home, according to court papers. Authorities said they have significant evidence linking Pazos to the killing:

• Investigators found Smith’s blood on a knife taken from Pazos, 45, at the time of his arrest.

• The type of utility rope used to bind Smith matched rope found at the Burlington encampment where Pazos lived.

• The tread on Pazos’ hiking shoes matched bloody footprints left in Smith’s house, at 154 Park St.

• A search of Pazos’ computer showed he had researched the same “prusik” knot that was used to bind Smith a week before the killing, and searched for news reports about her death — before her body had been found, Oct. 18.

Pazos pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington to first-degree murder, kidnapping (restraining) with the intent to inflict injury, burglarizing an occupied dwelling and operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent. Judge Linda Levitt ordered Pazos held without bail. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

He made no comments in court Tuesday, but authorities said he told investigators he had nothing to do with the slaying of Smith, a popular social worker and artist.

“No, I have no reason, no motive,” Pazos said, according to court papers.

Margaret Jansch, one of Pazos’ two court-appointed attorneys, said after the arraignment that the defense had little time to review the court paperwork before the hearing.

“I must say the motive seems rather thin,” Jansch told reporters at the courthouse. “A grudge that’s three years old, but, again, this is something that we’ll find more about as the case progresses.”

Jansch urged the public to avoid judging Pazos prematurely.

“You heard one side of the story today with the facts the police have uncovered so far,” she said. “But that’s only one side of the story. I’m sure as the case progresses, both sides of the case will become clear.”

She declined to discuss any private conversations with Pazos but said, “He seems in good spirits. He appears to me to be an articulate man, an educated man and calm, given the circumstances.”

The mother of Pazos’ second child, Sharon Fialco, who lives in northern Vermont, said they met about 15 years ago, had a child, and then had a dispute regarding the custody of that child, according to court papers. Fialco said she “was not aware of Pazos having any animosity towards Smith,” according to court papers.

Fialco couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.

Smith, 50, a popular social worker and artist, was found dead Oct. 18 in her Old North End home by a co-worker when she failed to appear for her job, Burlington police have said.

Pazos had been jailed at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington for lack of $1 million bail on four misdemeanor charges related to the break-in at the Middlebury Snow Bowl. Burlington police discovered Pazos in a shed Oct. 23 at the Snow Bowl, about six miles from a wooded area of Hancock where Smith’s car was found abandoned.

Pazos faces two counts of unlawful trespass, and one charge each of unlawful mischief and petty larceny. Those charges are pending in Addison County.

Police say Pazos killed Smith, stole her car and drove it more than 60 miles to Hancock. He ditched the car off a dirt road in the Green Mountain National Forest after the vehicle struck a rock ledge, traveled about six miles and broke into the Middlebury College Snow Bowl, police said.

Police arrested Pazos a week later at the Snow Bowl while searching the area of the break-in.

Smith, who worked an overnight shift for the Howard Center, missed a mandatory training session Oct. 15 and her shift Oct. 17. She was last reported seen alive walking her dog at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 14. A co-worker went to Smith’s house Oct. 18 and found her dead.

Dressed in her nightgown, Smith lay face-down in a pool of dried blood on her kitchen floor, her hands tied behind her back and her fingers duct-taped together, according to court papers. A wire with a wooden handle lay on her back, and another wooden handle, apparently broken from the wire, lay next to her body, court papers said. She had a scarf wrapped around her neck and tied to her hands.

A window pane above the lock on the back door had been removed, court papers said.

Investigators have yet to determine how long Smith had been bound or whether she had been tortured, Chittenden County State’s Attorney T. J. Donovan said after Tuesday’s arraignment.

Burlington police searching the Snow Bowl found Pazos on Oct. 23 asleep in a storage shed.

Officers said they found him with a hunting knife, a hatchet and a replica handgun. In his backpack they said they found items including a laptop and a HowardCenter first-aid kit. Pazos wore a plastic cover over his clothes, held together with distinctive duct tape similar to the kind used to bind Smith, police said.

Pazos admitted to breaking into the Snow Bowl to seek shelter from a storm, court papers said.

Pazos said he hitchhiked to Middlebury and had been in the area for about three weeks, although a surveillance camera recorded Pazos on Oct. 13 entering the Cumberland Farms store on Riverside Avenue in Burlington, according to court papers.

Pazos lived in an encampment in the woods behind the store, police said. At the encampment, police said they found rope, a stun gun and a Burlington police incident report naming Pazos as the complainant.

Pazos told police he knew Smith, met her once at the Fletcher Free Library, communicated with her on Facebook and had been to her house “once or twice,” according to court papers.

Pazos accessed the Internet on his laptop via unsecured wireless networks, police said. He accessed a network in Burlington a day or two before Smith was killed, and accessed a network in Middlebury on Oct. 15, according to court papers.

That same day, three days before a co-worker found Smith’s body, Pazos searched Google for “Police blotter,” “Burlington Vermont crime rates” and “Smith,” according to court papers.

Two days later, he searched the Burlington Free Press obituaries and cops and court section, along with Google, for “Kathleen Smith, Vermont” and “Kathleen Smith, Howard Center, Vermont,” court papers said.

Authorities believe Pazos last communicated with Smith on Facebook over the summer, and said they are unsure what triggered the alleged slaying in October.

Pazos is scheduled to appear again in court in about two months.

Jurors in CT Home Invasion Trial Speak Out

NEW YORK -- Jurors talked about their decision to condemn a Connecticut man to death for a home invasion triple murder on the “Today” show Tuesday.

When the death sentence was read aloud in the New Haven courtroom Monday, convicted killer Stephen Hayes smiled.

"I think if anyone deserved the death penalty in this life, probably he does,” said one of the jurors.

Hayes, who has tried to take his own life behind bars, wanted the death penalty, according to his defense attorney. But the jurors who sentenced him said they disagree.

"I think he's focused entirely on what he can do to best forward what position he can have left in life and I don't think the death penalty is what he has in mind at all," said Herbert Gram, a juror.

Prosecutors say Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky broke into the Petit family's Cheshire, Conn. home in the summer of 2007. They allegedly brutally tortured and killed Jennifer Petit and her two daughters, 17-year-old Haley and 11-year-old Michaela. They left the father William for dead, but he escaped.

Jurors say those details were extremely hard to hear, but support from their fellow jurors kept them objective.

"The hardest part was keeping my emotions at bay and making a decision within the law," said another juror.

"There was not a single non-civil word spoken during the entire deliberation for both periods. How 12 people just came together and worked out the problems of taking another person's life," said a male juror.

The jurors met with the father and husband, Dr. William Petit, after the trial in a basement room in the courthouse.

They said he was overwhelmed with thanks for their verdict.

One juror described Petit as the strongest man he's ever met.

Defense: Life Sentence 'Worse than Death' for Home Invasion Killer

New Haven, Connecticut (CNN) -- A Connecticut jury begins deliberations Friday on whether Steven Hayes should be sentenced to life in prison or put to death.

Hayes was convicted of killing two sisters and their mother during a 2007 home invasion. Tom Ullmann, Hayes' lawyer, told jurors on Thursday his client would suffer more if given a life sentence.

"Life in prison without the possibility of release is the harshest penalty," said Tom Ullmann. "It is a fate worse than death."

Ullmann then had his 47-year-old client stand directly in front of the jury, put his hand on Hayes' shoulder and said to the five men and seven women, "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 down at the floor.

His lawyer continued, "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."

But prosecuting attorney Michael Dearington sought to persuade the jurors to order Hayes be executed for his role in in the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her daughters, 17-year-old Hayley Petit and 11-year-old Michaela Petit.

"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."

Superior Court Judge Jon Blue then read a 36-page charge and verdict form to the jury.

A psychiatrist testified in October that Hayes had told him, "I would rather they kill me," reflecting Hayes' apparent hope that he'd be executed.

The high school dropout said he had a long history of substance abuse, the psychiatrist said.

But Dearington said Thursday that that did not excuse the murders. "Drugs don't necessarily lead to violent crimes," he said.

Hayes was convicted 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, beat Dr. William Petit, raped and strangled his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, sexually molested one of their two daughters, set the house afire and tried to flee.

The girls died of smoke inhalation; Petit himself escaped to a neighbor's home.

Komisarjevsky is to be tried separately.

In March, Hayes said he no longer wanted to commit suicide "but intended to let the state do it," a psychiatrist testified.

Man Who Led 'Ninjas' Into Florida Home Guilty of First-Degree Murder

Pensacola, Florida (CNN) -- The man who prosecutors said captained a team of masked men dressed as ninjas as they ambushed a Florida home has been found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder.

A Escambia County jury determined Thursday evening that Leonard Gonzalez Jr. followed through on his plan and fatally shot Byrd and Melanie Billings in the couple's master bedroom, as one of their nine special-needs children looked on. He was also found guilty of armed home-invasion robbery.

During the trial, Gonzalez frequently conversed with his attorneys, shook his head and even smirked. He told Judge Nickolas Geeker that he didn't need to call any witnesses or testify on his own behalf, because "the evidence speaks for itself."

And after the jury came out to ask a question during their four hours of deliberations, he said, "I've already been tried and convicted by the media."

But Gonzalez was stoic just before the verdict came in. Meanwhile, members of the Billings family cried in the courtroom, with Byrd's and Melanie's daughter Ashley Markham hugging prosecutors. Gonzalez nodded to the Billings family -- as he'd done earlier Thursday -- after he was fingerprinted and led away.

The jury of 11 women and one man deliberated for four hours before reaching the verdict. In that time, they requested to see a 14-minute surveillance video, culled from 16 cameras around the Billings house that were set up around the house to watch the nine special-needs children that the couple had adopted and were in the house of the time of the murder.

One video showed a masked man -- who Frederick Thornton, a member of the group, identified as Gonzalez -- shooting Byrd Billings once in each leg. Another video showed a scene from a girl's bedroom as a red van packed with people arrives outside the house. The girl gets up from bed as the masked men enter the house, then hides under the covers pretending to sleep after hearing the commotion nearby. The van was owned by Gonzalez.

A camera was not in the master bedroom. But Thornton said that Gonzalez led the Billings' couple into the room. And expert witnesseses showed how Gonzalez shot Byrd Billings once in the head and twice more as he lay face down on the floor, and then shot Melanie Billings through the head and chest.

During closing arguments, Assistant State Attorney John Molchan painted an involved picture depicting Gonzalez as the ringleader who hatched the plan, formed the team, outfitted six other men with guns and clothes, then led them as they barged into the Billings' large home in Beulah, Florida.

He said Gonzalez was motivated by "simple greed" -- pointing to testimony from the defendant's wife that the family's business, a karate school, had gone under and they had dwindling means to take care of their six children. Leonard Gonzalez knew Billings, who gave $5,000 to a self-defense charity he started, and he knew he had money, Molchan said.

Gonzalez provided the all-black clothing, boots and guns and briefed the attackers prior to the invasion, according to Molchan. He said that Gonzalez also did "all the talking [and] all the muscling" when the group entered the residence.

"The puzzle pieces all come together, and they prove an ugly story," said Molchan. "There is no doubt that Leonard Patrick Gonzalez is the man who had his finger ... on the trigger."

John Jay Gontarek, one of Gonzalez's attorneys, criticized the state's case as overly reliant on circumstantial evidence and two men, Rakeem Florence and Thornton, who confessed their involvement and named Gonzalez as the leader of the band of masked men and the shooter.

Florence said there was no mention anyone would be killed until he overheard Gonzalez say he was "going to kill somebody" minutes before they went to the house.

Prosecutors called the testimony of the two -- who were age 16 and 19, respectively, when the crime took place -- measured and reliable, and supported by the other evidence in the case. But both Florence and Thornton, who have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for their roles, admitted first lying to family and law enforcement before changing their stories.

"They're hanging their hat on the testimony of those admitted liars," Gontarek said of the prosecution.

DNA tests on the 9 mm pistol and bullet casings that killed the Billings' couple did not conclusively point to Gonzalez, Gontarek pointed out. He said, too, that there was minimal effort to clean the alleged murder weapon.

"We don't have to prove who the killer was," Gontarek said. "No matter how tragic this murder is, if you have one reasonable doubt, then you have a duty to return a verdict of not guilty."

Florence and Thornton testified that Gonzalez said they were after $13 million of money laundered from "the Mexican mafia." A small safe that was stolen and later found in the back yard of one of Gonzalez's friends contained prescription medication, family documents and some jewelry. Two sources familiar with the investigation told CNN that a second safe at the home contained at least $100,000.

In final comments, Molchan reminded the jury of Gonzalez's own words after he first spoke to police, when he reportedly said, "I'm in deep, I'll take the heat."

"The defense attorney labeled [Leonard] Gonzalez as being somewhat goofy," said Molchan. "Folks, he's not goofy. He's a murderer -- a plain, cold-blooded murderer."

The penalty phase in Gonzalez's trial starts Friday morning, Judge Geeker said.

Testimony Continues in Sentencing Phase of Home Invasion Case

NEW HAVEN -- Testimony will continue in the trial of a Connecticut man to determine whether he should receive a death sentence for killing a woman and her two daughters in a home invasion.

Steven Hayes was convicted in New Haven Superior Court, where testimony resumes Monday.

Hayes was convicted earlier this month of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, at their Cheshire home in 2007.

The jury will decide whether he deserves execution or life in prison.

A psychiatrist testified last week that Hayes told him he wanted to testify and "look like a monster" by expressing no remorse so that the jury would impose capital punishment.

But the psychiatrist said he did not know if Hayes genuinely wanted the death penalty.

Dr. William Petit Won't Testify at Sentencing of Family's Killer

(CNN) -- A Connecticut man whose wife and two daughters were murdered in a 2007 home invasion will not testify at the sentencing of the convicted killer, he said Friday.

Dr. William Petit has "regretfully decided" against testifying because he said Connecticut's law on victim impact statements is unclear and could provide convicts with grounds to appeal their sentences.

Announcing his decision in a statement Friday, Petit urged Connecticut's General Assembly to "promptly amend the law to guarantee ... the right of surviving family members of capital murder victims to present victim impact statements" at sentencing.

On Tuesday, a jury convicted 47-year-old Steven Hayes of capital murder in the deaths of Petit's family members. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

On Friday, Petit said he would have preferred to make a statement at Hayes' sentencing.

"Unfortunately, however, our General Assembly has failed to enact an appropriately clear law to allow a victim like me the right to make a statement on behalf of myself and my family members during the course of a capital sentencing trial," his statement said.

"This lack of clarity in the law is a crippling disincentive to surviving family members of victims in capital murder cases to make a statement," Petit continued, because such statements could be construed to violate state law, giving a convict "a basis for appeal and possibly even a new sentencing trial."

Petit said Friday that the law fails to specify who may offer a victim impact statement or when the statement could be introduced.

"Does it permit the victim himself to read the statement or does its passive-voice phrasing require that a prosecutor or other court official read the statement?" he asked.

"More significantly, does it allow the statement to be read prior to the jury's decision on what sentence to impose or should the statement be read as a pointless formality after the jury has already decided what sentence to impose?"

Hayes was found guilty of 16 of the 17 charges against him in connection with the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, including nine counts of murder and capital murder and four counts of kidnapping. The jurors acquitted him of an arson charge in the burning of the family's home.

The killings took place in the New Haven suburb of Cheshire early on July 23, 2007.

Petit's and his wife's home was invaded in the middle of the night by Hayes and another man, Joshua Komisarjevsky, prosecutors say. Komisarjevsky will be tried separately.

"There is some relief, but my family is still gone," Petit told reporters after Tuesday's verdict. "It doesn't bring them back. It doesn't bring back the home that we had."

At the penalty phase, jurors will determine whether the mitigating evidence the defense is expected to present will outweigh the aggravating factors in favor of the death penalty. Judge Jon Blue set the penalty phase to begin October 18.

On Friday, Petit said that a victim impact statement should be a part of that process.

"Just as a capital murderer is permitted to seek to 'humanize' himself by presenting all manner of mitigating evidence about his own background and circumstances, the prosecution should also be permitted equally to 'humanize' the lives of a defendant's victims," his statement said.

During the trial, Jeremiah Krob, a Connecticut prison officer, testified he overheard Hayes confess to another inmate that he killed Jennifer Hawke-Petit.

Connecticut State Police Detective Anthony Buglione, who interviewed Hayes after the crime, has testified that the duo beat Petit bloody and left him in the basement.

According to the testimony, the two men then went upstairs and found Hawke-Petit and 11-year-old Michaela Petit asleep in the master bedroom. After tying Hawke-Petit to her bed, they led the girl to her room, tied her to her bed and put a pillowcase over her head, Hayes told Buglione.

They then found 17-year-old Hayley Petit in her room and did the same, he said.

After finding evidence of a bank account containing $20,000 to $30,000, they decided to have the mother go to the bank in the morning and withdraw money from her account, Buglione testified.

Hayes is accused of taking Hawke-Petit to the bank while Komisarjevsky allegedly stayed behind. When Hayes and Hawke-Petit returned with the money, the two men allegedly set the home on fire and fled.

Inside the home, authorities said, Hawke-Petit, 48, was found raped and strangled. Her two daughters, one of whom had been sexually assaulted, died of smoke inhalation. Petit, the sole survivor, escaped to a neighbor's home.

Burn Mother F*cker, Burn! - Hayes Convicted in Deadly Cheshire Home Invasion

NEW HAVEN (AP) - A paroled burglar was convicted Tuesday of killing a mother and her two daughters in a 2007 home invasion in an affluent Connecticut town and now could be sentenced to death.

Steven Hayes was convicted of capital felony and three counts of murder by a jury that heard eight days of gruesome testimony about the July 2007 attacks on Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela.

The verdict triggers a second phase of the trial, in which the same jurors will decide if Hayes should be executed or face life in prison. Hayes was convicted of 16 counts and acquitted of a single count - arson.

Hayes' defense admitted to his involvement in the fatal home invasion but blamed his co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, for being the aggressor. Komisarjevsky faces trial next year.

Komisarjevsky spotted the mother and her two daughters at a supermarket, followed them to their Cheshire home, then returned later with Hayes, authorities say.

The men broke into the Petit house in the New Haven suburb of Cheshire, beat the girl's father with a baseball bat and forced Hawke-Petit to withdraw money from a bank before raping and strangling her, according to testimony. The men, both paroled burglars who met at a halfway house, tied the girls to their beds, put pillow cases over their heads and poured gas on or around them before setting the house on fire, authorities say.

The girls died of smoke inhalation. Authorities say the men were caught fleeing the scene.

Hayes' attorneys conceded most of the evidence on the first day and spent much of the trial focusing on Komisarjevsky's role. They pointed to graphic photos of Michaela found on Komisarjevsky's cell phone, and Hayes' attorney, Tom Ullmann, said Komisarjevsky escalated the violence at every critical point, starting with Dr. Petit's beating.

Prosecutors rejected that argument, saying the two men were equally responsible for the crime.

Seven Indicted in Deaths of Florida Couple

PENSACOLA, Florida (CNN) -- Seven men charged in the deaths of a Florida couple slain last month were indicted Tuesday on murder charges, officials said.

According to the office of State Attorney Bill Eddins, each man was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of home-invasion robbery in connection to the July 9 killings at the Beulah, Florida, home of Byrd and Melanie Billings, a couple known for adopting special-needs children.

The suspects are Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., 35; Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr., 56; Wayne Thomas Coldiron, 41; Gary Lamont Sumner, 30; Fredrick Lee Thornton, 19; Donald Ray Stallworth, 28; and Rakeem Chavez Florence, 16, who was charged as an adult, authorities said. All seven are being held without bail.

Police have described the younger Gonzalez as the organizer of the crime. Two of the suspects claim that he was the lone shooter, according to court documents

An eighth suspect, Pamela Wiggins, was charged with being an accessory after the fact, though she was not included in the indictment returned by the Escambia County grand jury on Tuesday. Police say they found a safe belonging to the Billingses in the Wigginses' back yard.

Meanwhile, relatives of the couple confirmed reports that another safe containing more than $100,000 was in the home at the time of the killings.

The first safe, containing prescription medication, family documents and some jewelry, was taken from the Billingses' home, authorities have said.

"Following a meeting with the state's attorney this Monday, the Billings family now feels it is appropriate to acknowledge the existence of a second safe in the home," said a statement released by family attorney Robert Beasley.

Rumors have said the safe contained as much as $12 million, the statement said, but in fact it "contained $164,000 in cash, some antique jewelry and assorted legal documents."

The money was a reserve for Byrd Billings' financing business, he said, and has been removed as possible evidence.

"There were no drugs, guns or any other items which suggested illegal activity found in the home," the statement said.

Prosecutors believe that there were two motives in the killings: robbery and a contracted hit, a source said last month.

The source said the state attorney's office was working under the belief that most of the suspects in the case were told only that they were robbing the Billingses but that Leonard Gonzalez Jr. and other yet-unnamed suspects also were plotting a hit on the couple. The source was not sure of the exact motive behind the hit.

The Billingses had adopted 13 special-needs children, and each had two biological children. Police have said nine of the children were at home at the time of the invasion, and one managed to flee and seek help from a neighbor.

Documents Detail Cheshire Home Invasion & Update

This broke my heart when it happened and remembered just now I need to save this through my blog..

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The suspects in a deadly home invasion in Cheshire poured gasoline on and around a mother and two daughters, then set their house on fire and fled, according to search warrants released by a judge Tuesday.

The 11 heavily edited warrants, that span more than 60 pages, provide the first official version of the events of July 23. Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, were killed. Hawke-Petit's husband, Dr. William Petit, was badly beaten but escaped.

The search warrants, obtained by Eyewitness News at the New Haven County Courthouse, indicate detectives found nylon tape marks on Jennifer Hawke-Petit's neck and rope around her ankles. Her daughters' wrists and ankles were also bound, according to the documents, and one daughter had her upper body tied to her bed posts.

All three women had signs of accelerants on or near them, and one of the women were completely doused. The documents indicate investigators found three partially melted plastic gallon containers inside the house.

"One of the deceased was burned beyond recognition, with indications that an accelerant was liberally poured on her," investigators wrote in a 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 was strangled and the two girls died of smoke inhalation, according to the medical examiner.

Paroled burglars Joshua Komisarjevsky, 27, of Cheshire, and Steven Hayes, 44, of Winsted, both face capital felony and multiple murder, kidnapping, sexual assault and arson charges in connection with the killings.

They are scheduled to appear Nov. 6 in Superior Court for probable cause hearings.

The documents also contain detectives' requests for the DNA of Komisarjevsky and Hayes, in addition to lab testing of their clothes for blood, semen or other evidence.

An attorney for The Hartford Courant argued last month for the release of the documents. Prosecutors did not object to unsealing the warrants, but defense attorneys said coverage of their contents would make it difficult to find impartial jurors for their client's trials.

Last week, Superior Court Judge Richard Damiani agreed to release edited versions of the warrants. Defense attorneys 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 further comment.

Police say Komisarjevsky and Hayes entered the home about 3 a.m. July 23, planning to burglarize it. When they found the family home, they beat Dr. Petit, then tied up his wife and daughters.

Authorities were tipped off that the family was in danger by employees at a local bank when one of the suspects forced Hawke-Petit to make a withdrawal around 9:30 a.m. Bank employees became suspicious and called police, who drove to the Petit home.

The suspects were caught in the family's car after ramming several cruisers as they fled the burning home, which they allegedly torched to cover their tracks. Dr. Petit escaped to a neighbor's house.

Police searched a minivan registered to Komisarjevsky's mother, a Chevrolet Venture, and found a package for a BB gun, duct tape, a Lowe's Home Improvement store receipt, flexible ties and different types of gloves, according to the warrants.

In a GMC Sierra pickup truck, police said they found Dr. Petit's wallet, his wife's wallet, two pearl necklaces and a red, blood-like stain. Detectives also described finding a purple knapsack belonging to Hayes that has the initials "HAP."

Video: Judge Releases Cheshire Search Warrants

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Suspect Was 'Depressed'

CHESHIRE - In the days before being charged with committing a brutal triple murder in Cheshire, Joshua Komisarjevsky was depressed over the loss of his teenage girlfriend and struggling financially because of mounting costs related to his 5-year-old child, a close friend said Friday.

But he also was planning to renovate his parents' home and had just returned from a trip to The Home Depot when the friend visited him about a week ago at his home, less than 2 miles from where the killings occurred.

"We went for a walk in a park near his parents' house, with his kid,'' said the friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "He definitely was depressed about his girlfriend moving down South.''

The friend, a woman from Bristol, speculated that Komisarjevsky's depression might have led him back to using illegal drugs.

"But there's nothing about him that could ever make me think he'd do something as awful as this,'' she said.

The woman also shared with The Courant a letter Komisarjevsky wrote to her in late 2005, while he was in prison on burglary charges. In the letter, he lamented about not being able to hold his child.

Komisarjevsky, 26, and Steven Hayes, 44 of Winsted, are being held on $15 million bail each, and each is charged with six counts of capital felony. The men are accused of breaking into the Sorghum Mill Drive home of Dr. William Petit on Monday, beating him with a baseball bat, raping his wife and at least one child and then lighting the house on fire.

Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, were killed. The mother was strangled and the two girls died of smoke inhalation, tied to their beds. Charges filed by New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington indicate that Komisarjevsky raped the younger child.

Police sources said that they were unsure whether the men were intoxicated or on drugs the night of the killings. Authorities are awaiting toxicology test results from the state laboratory.

The Bristol woman met Komisarjevsky through Jennifer Norton, the mother of his child, Jayda, and corresponded with him while he was in prison.

The last letter she received was written on Nov. 28, 2005. In it, he responded to several questions she asked him about what it was like to be a parent while in prison. In the four-page letter, Komisarjevsky wrote lucidly about prison conditions and the difficulty of having a young child while in prison.

"Some lowly inmates in here in conjunction with their child's caregiver have used their children to smuggle drugs into prison which has in-turn made it very difficult for those of us who legitimately wish to hold and spend time with our children,'' Komisarjevsky wrote.

Komisarjevsky's daughter was born a month after he was sentenced to nine years in prison for a string of burglaries in Cheshire and the Bristol area.

"My daughter knows who I am and knows the sound of my voice. She calls me daddy and tells me she loves me but I haven't seen her for awhile. Unfortunately my incarceration has disallowed me to be actively involved in the first years of her life when attachment and the forming of emotional bonds are most prevalent,'' he wrote.

He also complained about how difficult it is providing for a child while in prison.

"I wish nothing but the very best for my daughter and it is painful not to be able to provide for her,'' Komisarjevsky wrote.

Komisarjevsky was transferred to a Hartford halfway house about six months after writing the letter. He met Hayes at the facility.

The Hayes family issued their first statement Friday, which read, in part:

"Each of us affected by this devastation will feel the impact forever. Words do not relieve the suffering of everyone affected by this tragedy. At 3 a.m. Monday, July 23, 2007, the lives of many families changed forever. Three families are suffering and the pain is too much to bear for anyone affected by this unforgivable act. Everyone's heart aches today and that pain will never go away.''

In a statement released this week, Chris Komisarjevsky, the uncle of Joshua Komisarjevsky, said, "The crime and the murder of members of the Petit family in Cheshire are horrible ... more than anyone can imagine. It was a monstrous, deranged act, beyond comprehension.

Chattahoochee Tech Instructor Shot, Killed

SMYRNA, Ga. -- Police believe thieves shot and killed a Smyrna man when he surprised them as they tried to break into his truck early Sunday morning.

Joseph Gunn, 54, was found shot outside his home in the 1700 block of Highlands View Drive just before 3 a.m.

Gunn worked as an instructor at Chattahoochee Tech, teaching in the automotive and water sports repair department since 2004.

Channel 2 Action News reporter Ross Cavitt spoke to the detectives handling the case and they said it appears Gunn heard or saw thieves breaking into his truck, parked outside his townhome. When he went to investigate, he was shot.

Gunn was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital where he died.

Police are searching for two black males in connection with the shooting.

Anyone with information about the case should call Smyrna Police at (678) 631-5167 or (770) 434-9481.

"Dumb as a Blog" Is Great!

Five-Alarm Morons- Three men who attempted a home invasion in search of medication were foiled by a 58-year-old woman brandishing a bowl of homemade chili and a broom, according to police in Claiborne County, TN.

The invaders fled but were eventually apprehended in connection with the crime, says cops. One of the men, by the looks of things, seems to have suffered a hot sauce-related injury to his eye. They are (l to r) Fabian Moore, 32, Tommy Wayne Garrett, 24, and Samuel Partin, 30.

Police working on this con carne case say that two of them were associated with a convenience store robbery.

Maybe the victim has a future teaching a self-defense cooking class: Tai Cheese? Te Kwon Donut? Jiu Jit-soup?