Jury Condemns Joshua Komisarjevsky to Death for Conn. Home Invasion Murders

Unlike the Casey Anthony trial verdict, one verdict I'm happy to hear about was Joshua Komisarjev
(CBS/AP) NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The man convicted of killing a woman and her two daughters in a 2007 home invasion has been sentenced to death.

The jury deliberated for five days before returning the verdict against Joshua Komisarjevsky (koh-mih-sar-JEV'-skee). His accomplice, Steven Hayes, is already on death row for the murders in the affluent suburb of Cheshire. On Wednesday, the jury sent a note to the judge indicating they were having trouble weighing Komisarjevsky's role in the crime against Hayes.

The defense asked jurors to spare Komisarjevsky's life, arguing that his ultra-religious family never got him proper help after he was sexually abused as a child by his foster brother.


The crime led to the defeat of a bill to abolish the death penalty in Connecticut and sparked tougher state laws for repeat offenders and home invasions.
(Complete coverage of the Petit family murders on Crimesider)

What was once the Petit's house is now a rememberance garden... R.I.P.

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.

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.

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.

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.