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UPDATE, October 5, 2010: Triple Murder Case Yields Convictions on 16 of 17 Counts
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Dr. William A. Petit Jr. 50, and his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, with their daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11. (Photo/Midtown Photography, via Associated Press)
Dr. William Petit Jr. is a remarkable man.
Frankly, I don't know how he managed to make it through the memorial service for his murdered wife and two daughters.
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- Dr. William Petit Jr. still bore bruises and gashes as he urged hundreds of mourners Saturday to "spread the work" of his wife and two young daughters, who were slain after burglars surprised them in their home.
Petit, the lone survivor of the violent attack, told more than 2,000 friends and strangers who crowded the memorial service about his wife of 22 years, who was a nurse; his college-bound daughter; and his youngest, who was just 11.
"I guess if there's anything to be gained from the senseless deaths of my beautiful family, it's for us all to go forward with the inclination to live with a faith that embodies action. Help a neighbor, fight for a cause, love your family," Petit said.
"I'm really expecting all of you to go out and do some of these things with your family, in your own little way, to spread the work of these three wonderful women. Thank you," he told the crowd.
Authorities say two men with long criminal histories broke into Petit's Cheshire home early Monday and held the family hostage for several hours. One forced Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, to make a withdrawal at a bank later that morning, triggering suspicion among bank employees, police said. Police rushed to the house, found it on fire and encountered the suspects fleeing. The two were arrested after crashing the Petits' car into police cruisers.
Petit was severely beaten and bound in the basement but managed to escape the fire. The bodies of his relatives were found in the smoldering home. Hawke-Petit was strangled, while Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, died of smoke inhalation.
This recap of what happened to the Petit family really doesn't relay the horror of their ordeal.
This account from the Republican-American provides more of the details.
After staking out the Petit house, the men — Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, and Steven Hayes, 44, — drove to a Wal-Mart, where they bought an air rifle and rope.
They came back and waited about a mile-and-a-half away until about 3 a.m. Monday, when they slipped into the house through an unlocked door.
Komisarjevsky and Hayes attacked Hawke-Petit's husband, Dr. William Petit Jr., then threw him down the basement stairs and beat him viciously. Sources said the men bound Petit and left him in the basement, where he remained for the next six hours.
The men then restrained Hawke-Petit and her daughters — Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley — and raped them repeatedly, the sources said.
About 9 a.m., one of the suspects drove Hawke-Petit to the Bank of America on Route 10 in Cheshire and forced her to withdraw $15,000 in cash while he waited outside. Hawke-Petite managed to convey to a bank teller that there was a problem at her home. The teller called police.
At some point during that excursion, the man with Hawke-Petit stopped and bought a container of gasoline.
After they returned to the home, the attackers strangled Hawke-Petit, doused the home with gasoline and set it ablaze.
Dr. Petit, who remained hospitalized Tuesday at Saint Mary's Hospital in Waterbury, was able to free himself and crawl into the yard. Police arrived about the same time and arrested Komisarjevsky and Hayes after the two men tried to barrel through a police roadblock.
Inside the Petit home, authorities found the bodies of Hawke-Petit and her two daughters.
Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky
The two men responsible for these brutal, brutal crimes are evil.
They aren't fit to live among civilized human beings.
They destroyed this family.
They weren't satisfied with stealing money from them. They chose to torture the girls and their mom before they killed them.
Really there aren't words to describe how awful the mother and daughters' final hours must have been.
I don't know how Dr. Petit will be able to put his life back together after losing his precious wife and children through such utterly senseless and extreme violence.
My heart goes out to him and all those suffering the loss of Jennifer, Hayley, and Michaela.
Here's the kicker:
The suspects, 26-year-old Joshua Komisarjevsky of Cheshire and 44-year-old Steven Hayes of Winsted, are charged with capital felony, arson, sexual assault and other crimes, and could face the death penalty if convicted. Both had been released from prison on parole this year.
Think of how many lives would be different today if these two monsters hadn't been released from prison.
WNBC reports:
Two parolees, 26-year-old Joshua Komisarjevsky of Cheshire and 44-year-old Steven Hayes of Winsted, remained jailed on $15 million bond each Thursday.
Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty against the two, who were each charged Thursday with six counts of capital felony. They already faced charges of assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, arson, larceny and risk of injury to children.
On an abstract level, I oppose the death penalty.
To embrace it would be inconsistent with my pro-life beliefs.
But in this case, looking at the concrete facts, it seems almost immoral to not favor the death penalty for Komisarjevsky and Hayes.
It's easy to say that I'm against capital punishment, but in instances like this I have to admit that it's also hypocritical.
One can't go through life on a theoretical level alone. I can't.
If my family had been brutalized and murdered, I'd want the killers to never see another sunrise, eat another meal, drift off into sleep, smile, laugh, read a letter or a book, speak to another person, or take another breath.
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May Jennifer, Hayley, and Michaela rest in peace.
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Statement issued by Petit Family
Memorial Funds:
The Jennifer Hawke-Petit scholarship at Cheshire Academy. (www.cheshireacademy.org)
The Hayley Elizabeth Petit scholarship at Miss Porter's School. (www.missporters.org)
The Michaela Rose Petit scholarship at Chase Collegiate School. (www.chasecollegiate.org)
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