Advertisement

2nd trial begins in home invasion killings; father relives horror

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

It was a case so horrific it was difficult to comprehend: Two men burst into a Connecticut home in July 2007, tying up a man and his two young daughters and raping and strangling his wife before setting the house on fire. The father managed to escape, but the rest of the family died.

One man has already been convicted and sentenced to death in the case. Steven Hayes apologized for what he put the Petit family through.

Advertisement

‘Death for me will be a welcome relief, and I hope it will bring some peace and comfort to those who I have hurt so much,’ Hayes said during his sentencing hearing in December.

On Monday, a trial got underway for Hayes’ alleged accomplice, Joshua Komisarjevsky, 31, that will force Dr. William Petit to once again relive the day that he lost his entire family as well as tangible mementos -- such as family photographs -- in the flames. Petit sat in the front of the courtroom Monday surrounded by friends and family.

At Hayes’ trial, Komisarjevsky was portrayed as the mastermind. In this trial, Komisarjevsky is portraying Hayes as the leader. Prosecutors, however, say both men are equally responsible.

The men were on parole for burglary when they allegedly forced their way into the Petits’ Cheshire home and overpowered the family. Petit was beaten with a baseball bat. His wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, was forced to withdraw money from a bank before Hayes raped and strangled her. The girls, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley, died of smoke inhalation after gasoline was used to set the house on fire in a bid to destroy evidence.

Attorney Walter Bansley told jurors in New Haven Superior Court that Komisarjevsky did not intend to kill anyone and blamed Hayes for the worst of it. But Bansley did say that Komisarjevsky was the one who spotted Hawke-Petit and Michaela at the market and followed the mother and daughter home to scout out the residence as a possible target, returning later with Hayes. The attorney also admitted Komisarjevsky wielded the bat against Petit and tied everyone up.

But he said the evidence will show that it was Hayes who raped and strangled Hawke-Petit, doused the house with gasoline and started the fire. The attorney said that Komisarjevsky told Hayes at the crime scene that “I’m not killing anyone. No one is dying by my hand today.”

Advertisement

Bansley also told jurors that his client has “cognitive difficulties” that make him unable to make quick decisions in stressful situations, according to the Associated Press.

ALSO:

Texas wildfires largely controlled

Death toll in Reno air crash rises to 10

Reno air crash: New footage shows plane crashing into the ground

--Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

Advertisement
Advertisement