The Cheshire, Connecticut, home invasion murders were on July 23, 2007. A mother and her two daughters were murdered during a home invasion in Cheshire, Connecticut.[1]The Hartford Courant called the case "possibly the most widely publicized crime in the state's history".[2] In 2010, Steven Hayes was convicted of the murders and sentenced to death. His accomplice, Joshua Komisarjevsky, was found guilty on October 13, 2011, and sentenced to death on January 27, 2013.[3]
Victims
Jennifer Hawke-Petit, age 48, was a nurse and co-director of the health center at Cheshire Academy, a private boarding school. She met her husband, William Petit, in 1985 at Children's Hospital when he was a third-year medical student at the University of Pittsburgh and she was a new nurse.[4]
William Petit, the only survivor of the home invasion, is an endocrinologist in Cheshire. He survived when he escaped to a neighbor's house, even though he had injuries.[7][8] He has not returned to his medical practice since the murders, stating his desire to be active in the foundations set up to honor the memory of his deceased family.[9]
Capital felony, sexual assault, murder, kidnapping, and arson.
Criminal penalty
Death sentence
Steven J. Hayes (born May 30, 1963, in Homestead, Florida)[8] was found guilty on 16 out of 17 counts related to the home invasion murders on October 5, 2010.[10] On November 8, 2010, the jury returned with a recommendation for Hayes to be killed by the State.[11] He was formally sentenced to death by Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue on December 2, 2010.[12]
Joshua A. Komisarjevsky (born August 10, 1980) was Hayes' accomplice in the home invasion and murder of William Petit's wife and two daughters. He was born in 1980 and adopted[14] by the son of playwright Theodore Komisarjevsky. Komisarjevsky was kept at the Walker Reception Center[15] rather than pay a $15 million bond.[16] His trial began September 19, 2011, and on October 13, 2011, he was convicted on all 17 counts.[17] On December 9, 2011, the jury recommended the death penalty.[18] On January 27, 2012 Judge Jon Blue sentenced Komisarjevsky to death by lethal injection.[3]
