Record-Journal
07-27-2007, 12:11 AM
CHESHIRE -- New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington Thursday added capital felony murder to the list of charges against Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes and will be seeking the death penalty.
Both men now face six counts of capital felony and six counts of kidnapping plus first-degree burglary, larceny, aggravated sexual assault, arson, risk of injury to a minor and assault in Monday's deadly home invasion. Komisarjevsky is facing one additional charge of risk of injury to a minor.
Capital felony is punishable by a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or death by lethal injection.
Both men are accused of murdering Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, Hayley Petit, 17, and Michaela Petit, 11 and assaulting husband and father Dr. William A. Petit Jr., 50.
According to the breakdown of the charges from Dearington, Hayes is accused of sexually assaulting Hawke-Petit and Komisarjevsky is accused of sexually assaulting Michaela Petit.
One additional charge of first-degree sexual assault against Komisarjevsky does not name a victim.
"If there is a name missing, there is a reason, and we aren't commenting on it further," a spokesman for the Chief State's Attorney's Office said.
Dr. Petit was beaten by the men, bound and left badly injured in the basement of their Sorghum Mill Drive home while other members of his family were attacked.
Both defendants remain in custody at separate locations and in isolation from the regular prison population in lieu of $15 million bonds.
Meanwhile, Gov. M. Jodi Rell called Thursday for a panel to conduct a full-scale review of the state judicial process to see if any procedures need to be changed since the two men arrested in the case are "career criminals" and were on parole at the time of the murders.
"I want a top-to-bottom assessment of all the procedures and processes involved in charging, sentencing and releasing those convicted of crimes in Connecticut," said Rell.
"I want the facts of the Cheshire case to be used as a touchstone during the course of this examination."
Rell appointed retired Appellate Court Judge Thomas West, Victim's Advocate and Executive Director of the Coalition Against Violence Linda Holden, and an as-yet-unnamed retired prosecutor as the panel's co-chairs.
The panel will also include representatives of the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, the Department of Correction, the Judicial Branch, law enforcement and others.
"We owe it to the victims, their family and friends and to the public to thoroughly examine all facets of this terrible crime and address any weaknesses we may find," said Rell.
"Our citizens deserve to have confidence that Connecticut's communities are safe."
<a href="http://forums.ctrecord.com/forumdisplay.php?f=83" target="_blank"><img src="http://imagesource.zwire.com/local/Z/Zwire2755/zwire/images/icontalk14.jpg" border="0"></a><BR>
Both men now face six counts of capital felony and six counts of kidnapping plus first-degree burglary, larceny, aggravated sexual assault, arson, risk of injury to a minor and assault in Monday's deadly home invasion. Komisarjevsky is facing one additional charge of risk of injury to a minor.
Capital felony is punishable by a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or death by lethal injection.
Both men are accused of murdering Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, Hayley Petit, 17, and Michaela Petit, 11 and assaulting husband and father Dr. William A. Petit Jr., 50.
According to the breakdown of the charges from Dearington, Hayes is accused of sexually assaulting Hawke-Petit and Komisarjevsky is accused of sexually assaulting Michaela Petit.
One additional charge of first-degree sexual assault against Komisarjevsky does not name a victim.
"If there is a name missing, there is a reason, and we aren't commenting on it further," a spokesman for the Chief State's Attorney's Office said.
Dr. Petit was beaten by the men, bound and left badly injured in the basement of their Sorghum Mill Drive home while other members of his family were attacked.
Both defendants remain in custody at separate locations and in isolation from the regular prison population in lieu of $15 million bonds.
Meanwhile, Gov. M. Jodi Rell called Thursday for a panel to conduct a full-scale review of the state judicial process to see if any procedures need to be changed since the two men arrested in the case are "career criminals" and were on parole at the time of the murders.
"I want a top-to-bottom assessment of all the procedures and processes involved in charging, sentencing and releasing those convicted of crimes in Connecticut," said Rell.
"I want the facts of the Cheshire case to be used as a touchstone during the course of this examination."
Rell appointed retired Appellate Court Judge Thomas West, Victim's Advocate and Executive Director of the Coalition Against Violence Linda Holden, and an as-yet-unnamed retired prosecutor as the panel's co-chairs.
The panel will also include representatives of the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, the Department of Correction, the Judicial Branch, law enforcement and others.
"We owe it to the victims, their family and friends and to the public to thoroughly examine all facets of this terrible crime and address any weaknesses we may find," said Rell.
"Our citizens deserve to have confidence that Connecticut's communities are safe."
<a href="http://forums.ctrecord.com/forumdisplay.php?f=83" target="_blank"><img src="http://imagesource.zwire.com/local/Z/Zwire2755/zwire/images/icontalk14.jpg" border="0"></a><BR>