Petit Family -- William, Jennifer, Hayley & Michaela - Father Beaten, Wife & Daughters Murdered 7/23/07

Dr. Petit: 'Glad for the girls that there was justice,' as Hayes sentenced to die

Published: Tuesday, November 09, 2010
By Randall Beach, Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — When Dr. William Petit Jr. Monday finally heard a jury declare Steven J. Hayes should be sentenced to death for murdering Petit’s wife and two daughters, he said he wept for the loss of his family but was “glad for the girls that there was justice.”

More than three years after the idyllic Cheshire home was broken into and the nightmare began with Petit being beaten with a baseball bat, 12 jurors stood up in Superior Court and affirmed Hayes deserves to die for what he did.

Read more: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/11/09/news/aa1_hayesverdict110910.txt

Jurors In Conn. Home Invasion Trial Get Counseling

by The Associated Press
November 17, 2010, 02:22 pm ET

In his sleep, Maico Cardona sees a little girl tied to a bed, burning up in a house fire. She cries out for help, but he can't reach her.

So graphic was the testimony he heard as a juror in the case of a Connecticut home invasion, a shocking crime that left two girls and their mother dead, that the nightmares haunt him a week later.

Out of concern for the shell-shocked jury, Connecticut's Judicial Branch took the rare step of offering counseling services. Cardona, who was part of a jury that convicted and sentenced Steven Hayes to die by lethal injection, said he is grateful for the help.

"I wasn't prepared mentally for what I was going to see," Cardona said.

Only a handful of states provide counseling services for jurors, and for now Connecticut is offering it only through a pilot program for those involved in the home invasion trial. But legal experts say such assistance can be invaluable for those picked at random and thrust into emotionally trying murder cases.

The trial in New Haven had several factors that can aggravate jurors' stress: multiple victims including children, sexual assault, graphic evidence and — as a capital case — the responsibility of deciding whether a defendant should live or die, jury scholar Valerie Hans said.

Read more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131389523

Hayes awaits official sentencing

November 23, 2010

The defense team for Steven Hayes — who was convicted of murdering Hayley Petit and her mother and sister in 2007, and who is expected to be sentenced to death for the crime — has asked New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue to either grant Hayes a new trial or sentence him to life in prison without parole, The Middletown Press reported Friday. Hayes’s lawyers have cited extensive media coverage and the political nature of the trial as factors that could have biased members of the jury against Hayes.

Hayley Petit — the daughter of William Petit ’78, who survived the attack — would have matriculated with the Class of 2011.

After deliberating for three days, on Oct. 5 the jury in Hayes’s trial convicted him of all six capital crimes and 10 of the 11 other crimes with which he was charged, The Dartmouth previously reported. On Nov. 8, the jurors recommended the death penalty, according to NBC Connecticut.

In the state of Connecticut, only one person has been executed since 1960, according to The New York Times.

After the jurors proposed a death sentence, Thomas Ullmann, one of Hayes’s attorneys, requested that his client’s official sentencing be delayed, NBC Connecticut reported. Ullmann said the widespread media coverage of the trial affected the jury’s decision.

In the request for a delay in sentencing, Hayes’s defense team argued that the more than 145,000 “tweets” about the case posted on Twitter affected the jurors’ opinions about Hayes, FOX News reported.

Read more: http://thedartmouth.com/2010/11/23/news/Hayes

Justice4all wrote:Jurors In Conn. Home Invasion Trial Get Counseling

by The Associated Press
November 17, 2010, 02:22 pm ET

In his sleep, Maico Cardona sees a little girl tied to a bed, burning up in a house fire. She cries out for help, but he can't reach her.

So graphic was the testimony he heard as a juror in the case of a Connecticut home invasion, a shocking crime that left two girls and their mother dead, that the nightmares haunt him a week later.

Out of concern for the shell-shocked jury, Connecticut's Judicial Branch took the rare step of offering counseling services. Cardona, who was part of a jury that convicted and sentenced Steven Hayes to die by lethal injection, said he is grateful for the help.

"I wasn't prepared mentally for what I was going to see," Cardona said.

Only a handful of states provide counseling services for jurors, and for now Connecticut is offering it only through a pilot program for those involved in the home invasion trial. But legal experts say such assistance can be invaluable for those picked at random and thrust into emotionally trying murder cases.

The trial in New Haven had several factors that can aggravate jurors' stress: multiple victims including children, sexual assault, graphic evidence and — as a capital case — the responsibility of deciding whether a defendant should live or die, jury scholar Valerie Hans said.

Read more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131389523

They saw their worst nightmare, in real life with real victims. I would think it would change you forever. I'm glad they are offering help.

Judge denies Hayes acquittal in assault on Petit; no answer on new trial

By: Mary Ellen Godin
Posted: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 12:39 pm

NEW HAVEN –It would be a rare human being not to have nightmares in this trial, Judge Jon C. Blue told attorneys for Steven Hayes Wednesday morning.

“The fact of the matter is your client left in his wake a scene of unimaginable horror. The defense is not entitled to a jury of robots,” the judge told Public Defender Thomas Ullman.

Hayes’ defense team is challenging the jury verdict that condemned Hayes to death for his role in a horrific Cheshire home invasion that killed Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters Hayley, 17 and Michaela, 11. The only survivor, Dr. William Petit Jr. was badly beaten in the seven-hour ordeal.

Two weeks ago, a 12-member jury sentenced Hayes to death on six capital felony counts. On Wednesday, he appeared in court wearing orange prison garb and leg shackles as his attorneys asked for a new trial or life sentence. Blue withheld any decision on the request, but vowed to have a ruling before final sentencing Dec. 2.

Haye’s defense argued the jury was heavily swayed by emotions rather than law and evidence. Ullman cited post-verdict interviews with the media that recorded jurors saying the evidence pictures of the dead girls, charred rope and burned beds and mattresses, left them with nightmares.

Read more: http://www.myrecordjournal.com/latestnews/article_22e4d81e-f7f6-11df-b999-001cc4c002e0.html

Wow, talk about throwing one out there! That's disgusting. I don't know how some of these defense attorneys sleep at night.

Judge Denies Defense Motion For A New Trial In Hayes Case

The Hartford Courant
November 26, 2010

Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue Friday denied a defense motion for a new trial for killer Steven Hayes.

Hayes was convicted and sentenced to death for killing three members of a Cheshire family during a 2007 home invasion.

Defense lawyer argued last week that Hayes should get a new trial because of juror comments to the media after the verdict, newspaper articles that quoted former jurors, and "tweet accounts" about the case, the verdict, and the aftermath.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-hayes-motion-for-new-trial-1126,0,238701.story

Do I understand this correctly, the defense wants a new trial because of what the jurors did and said after the verdict was in? Do they want to control the jurors' lives from now on? I think they should be free to express themselves as they wish, after having to sit on this case.

That's what it looks like mama. I'm glad Judge Blue denied the motion. Hayes is guilty and the jury correctly found him guilty. That should be the end of it.

Besides, after what they had to endure during this case, and reliving the horror this family was subjected to, they need to talk about it and not hold everything in. That would be really bad for them.

I agree mama. This case was so horrible that some of the jurors are having nightmares and are in counseling. Nothing they say now should be held against them as long as their decision was based on the facts that were presented in court.

Dr. William Petit To Speak Of Family At Steven Hayes' Sentencing Thursday
Uncertain If Hayes Will Address Court

By ALAINE GRIFFIN
The Hartford Courant
10:57 a.m. EST, December 1, 2010

NEW HAVEN — The lives of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela, will be remembered Thursday when a judge sentences their killer to death by lethal injection.

Dr. William Petit Jr., Hawke-Petit's husband and the girls' father, is expected to speak about his family and show photos of them in Superior Court. Petit is the only person to survive the attack and killings at the family's home in Cheshire on July 23, 2007.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/news/breaking/hc-hayes-to-be-sentenced-1202-20101201,0,5748649.story

Dr. William Petit Tells Court He Has Considered Suicide Many Times
Steven Hayes Speaks to Court for First Time at Sentencing

By EMILY FRIEDMAN and ANDREA CANNING
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Dec. 2, 2010



Dr. William Petit, the sole survivor in the home invasion that left his wife and two daughters dead, said today he has considered suicide many times because he is living in a "universe he doesn't want to be in."

"I seriously considered suicide may times. I have no wife, no children, no home and no interest in life in general," Petit said. "My wife was raped and strangled in her own home. Hayley and Michaela died alone in the only home they had never known."

Read more:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/petit-relatives-make-emotional-victim-impact-statements-familys/story?id=12294476

Oprah Interviews Dr. William Petit Jr. For Show Next Week

By ALAINE GRIFFIN
The Hartford Courant
6:45 p.m. EST, December 3, 2010

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" will air an interview next week with Dr. William Petit Jr., the lone survivor of a deadly home invasion, the show announced Friday.

Steven Hayes, convicted of killing Petit's wife and two daughters on July 23, 2007, during a break-in and arson at the family's Cheshire home, was sentenced Thursday to death by lethal injection.

During the interview – which will air Thursday - Petit will talk about the loss of his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and his two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, and "what it was like during the two-month trial to face a man who committed such heinous crimes" and "how he's able to go on," according to a press release from the show.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/hc-petit-oprah-12-4-20101203,0,4313796.story

Jury selection set for Feb. in home invasion trial

Published: 12:58 p.m., Tuesday, December 7, 2010

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — The second defendant charged in connection with a deadly Connecticut home invasion has been scheduled by a judge to go on trial Feb. 22.

The trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky (koh-mih-sar-JEFF'-ski) will start with jury selection, a process that could take months as prospective jurors are questioned by prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Read more: http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Jury-selection-set-for-Feb-in-home-invasion-trial-866010.php

Oprah interview with Dr. William Petit to air at 4 p.m. today

Thursday, December 9, 2010

CHICAGO (AP) -- A Connecticut doctor whose wife and two daughters were killed in a gruesome 2007 home invasion tells Oprah Winfrey he chose not to commit suicide because he hopes to see his family again in the afterlife.

Dr. William Petit will appear on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Thursday afternoon. The show will air at 4 p.m.

Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Oprah-interview-with-Dr-William-Petit-to-air-at-870963.php

Lawyers Want Judge Out In CT Home Invasion Case

February 13, 2011 10:43 PM

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP/CBSNewYork) — A hearing has been scheduled on a request by a Connecticut man charged with a deadly home invasion to disqualify the judge.

Attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky are seeking to have New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue removed from his trial. Another judge will consider the request Tuesday.

Read more: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/02/13/attorneys-want-judge-removed-in-ct-home-invasion-case/

Judge, Prosecutor In 2nd Cheshire Case Could Be Called To Testify

By ALAINE GRIFFIN
The Hartford Courant
6:50 p.m. EST, February 14, 2011

NEW HAVEN — New Haven's chief prosecutor and veteran Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue could testify at Tuesday's hearing on a motion to disqualify Blue from the trial of the second suspect in the Cheshire home-invasion killings.

Both Blue and New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington have been served with subpoenas by defense attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky, charged in the July 2007 torture and slayings of a Cheshire woman and her two daughters.

The attorneys are asking to have Blue disqualified because, they say, the judge "demonstrated bias" during the trial last year of Steven Hayes, the other man charged in the slayings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/hc-komisarjevsky-judge0215-20110214,0,1754456.story

Pretrial sessions OK’d for home-invasion survivor

The Associated Press
Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011 | 3:27 a.m.

A judge on Wednesday rejected a request by attorneys for a Connecticut man charged with a deadly home invasion to exclude the sole survivor of the crime from pretrial arguments and jury selection.

Attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky had asked that Dr. William Petit be kept out of the court proceedings. They said Petit, whose wife and two daughters were killed in 2007, referred to the testimony of other witnesses when he testified at the trial of Komisarjevsky's co-defendant, Steven Hayes, who was sentenced to death last year.

Judge Jon Blue denied the motion but said attorneys could bring up the issue at trial. Blue said witnesses are not typically sequestered before trials but can be later if there are concerns their testimony could be affected by that of others.

Read more: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/feb/20/us-home-invasion/

Conn. defense: Client not the devil

Attorneys want to humanize Joshua Komisarjevsky

Updated: Tuesday, 22 Feb 2011, 3:10 PM CST

~Snipped~

With Joshua Komisarjevsky heading to trial on capital murder charges next month, his attorneys are trying to lessen emotion in the case. They want to humanize their client, who was compared to the devil last year at the trial of his co-defendant, Steven Hayes, who was convicted and sentenced to death.

Among their many moves last week in New Haven Superior Court, defense attorneys argued that Komisarjevsky should be allowed to sit closer to the jury, where prosecutors traditionally sit. Todd Bussert, one of Komisarjevsky's attorneys, said there is a "perception that he is a monster."

"We want the opportunity to let them see him up close, to see that there is nothing to be afraid of," Bussert said. "He is a troubled young man. He made a mistake being there that night. He should not have gone into that house."

Read more: http://www.fox10tv.com/dpps/news/national/northeast/conn-home-invasion-defense-says-client-not-the-devil-nt11-jgr_3726263

A troubled young man who made a mistake? I wonder if defense attorneys believe anything that comes out of their own mouths. The devil comparison fits Komisarjevsky to a T.