July 25, 2007: Cheshire murder suspects arraigned

[Record-Journal]

MERIDEN -- The state medical examiner ruled Tuesday night that Jennifer Hawke-Petit died from strangulation and her two daughters died from smoke inhalation, but police and the state's attorney are still considering what additional charges might be brought in the case.

"Certainly these findings help us move the case forward, but we need to consider options carefully and the state's attorney will make a final decision," said state police Lt. J. Paul Vance.

"We completed processing the home tonight (Tuesday) and secured it, but we are still waiting for additional evidence to be processed before moving forward."

Wearing bright orange prison jumpsuits and shackled hand and foot, neither Steven Hayes nor Joshua Komisarjevksy turned around during their arraignments Tuesday to look at the packed courtroom, which included family members of the woman and two girls they are suspected of killing.

Marshals, Cheshire police and state police lined the front of the courtroom as each man was brought out to face the judge.

Hayes and Komisarjevksy are accused of breaking into the home of the Petit family on Sorghum Mill Drive early Monday morning, assaulting family members and setting the house on fire.

Hawke-Petit, 48, a nurse at Cheshire Academy, was strangled, and the family’s two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, died of smoke inhalation, the state medical examiner ruled.

Dr. William A. Petit Jr., 50, was severely beaten but managed to escape the fire. He remained hospitalized.
Komisarjevsky, 26, of 840 North Brooksvale Road, Cheshire, and Hayes, 44, of 5H Horn Ave., Winsted, were arrested Monday morning and charged with aggravated first-degree sexual assault, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary, first-degree arson, first-degree larceny, first-degree robbery, risk of injury to a minor and conspiracy to commit first-degree arson.

Komisarjevsky was also charged with first-degree assault.

The men broke into the home sometime around 3 a.m. Monday, according to state police. They beat Dr. Petit and tied him and his family up, police said. One of the men later forced Hawke-Petit to accompany him to the Bank of America branch in Maplecroft Plaza on Highland Avenue to make a withdrawal, police said.

The second man remained behind to hold the family hostage, according to police.

Hawke-Petit was apparently able to communicate to bank employees that there was a problem. A bank employee called 911 to report what was considered a suspicious withdrawal, and police dispatched officers to both the bank and the Pe****’ home.

Upon returning to the house, the two men doused the home with gasoline, setting it on fire before running out of the house, police said. When the first officers arrived and spotted the men fleeing, flames had already spread through much of the home.

Dr. Petit was able, despite serious head injuries and being bound, to hop up the basement stairs and escape the burning building. His wife and two daughters died at the scene.
Komisarjevksy and Hayes were taken into custody after ramming three Cheshire police cruisers trying to escape, police said.

On Tuesday, Judge Christina G. Dunnell kept both of the bonds for the suspects at $15 million and transferred the case to Part A court in New Haven. They are due in court on Aug. 7.

The Petit family’s pastor, the Rev. Stephen Volpe, visited Dr. Petit at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury Monday and Tuesday.

“He’s doing OK physically,” Volpe told the Associated Press. “Emotionally, he is devastated and still worried about others.”

The Petit family issued its first statement Tuesday through the hospital.

“Our precious family members have been the victims of horrible, senseless, violent assaults. We are understandably in shock and overwhelmed with sadness as we attempt to gather to support one another and recognize these wonderful, giving, beautiful individuals who have been so cruelly taken,” the statement read in part. “Everyone’s prayers are greatly appreciated at this most difficult time.”

It is believed Komisarjevsky and Hayes may have met while spending time in two halfway houses in Hartford during the summer of 2006.

Komisarjevsky was housed at Berman Treatment Center from June 6, 2006, until July 25, 2006. Hayes was at Berman from June 13, 2006, until July 31, 2006.

Berman is a 17-bed “intensive in-patient substance abuse treatment program” according to the state Department of Correction.

“All clients receive urine/breathalyzer monitoring, education and therapy groups, individual and group counseling, pre-release/life skills training, employment readiness, anger management and participation in community service projects. Upon completion, clients are often referred to the work release residential programs.”

Komisarjevsky and Hayes both went to work release programs at Silliman House, where, once participants are employed, 35 percent of their gross pay, up to $100, goes to pay for the cost of the house and programs.

Terri Saiya, spokeswoman for Community Solutions Inc., which runs the two residential centers, said the men may “very well have had what you’d consider normal interactions. Our clients eat together, attend groups together, and certainly have opportunities to interact. But if any of our staff had any reason to believe there was an inappropriate relationship of any kind it would have been reported and handled internally and there is absolutely no indication of that.”

Komisarjevsky’s address is about two miles from the Petit house. The home, owned by Benedict L. Komisarjevsky, is somewhat different from those surrounding it. Tucked among immaculately manicured lawns and new homes under construction, the house wears a peeling coat of paint and the yard is relatively untended. A knock on the door went unanswered.

Komisarjevsky previously lived in Bristol, police said, and while living there, Cheshire police arrested him in 2002 in connection with several burglaries, including ones in Bristol and Burlington.

He was also arrested in the same year by Farmington police and charged with a burglary there. In just about every case, residents were home when the burglaries took place, and one family was not even aware they’d been robbed until police began to investigate the case.

Hayes’ police record goes back to 1980 and his list of charges include illegal drug use, escape and numerous counts of burglary.

Both men had “minimal violent histories” according to the Department of Correction, and both were paroled this year, Komisarjevsky in April and Hayes in May. Correction officials said both men were required to report to their parole officers weekly and both had been in compliance with the requirements of their release, including full-time employment. No one interviewed could confirm where the men were working.

As police continue their investigation, the neighborhood around Sorghum Mill Drive continues to reel from the killings.

Morgan Raducha, 14, and her brother Mark, 16, were sitting on the lawn across the street from the Petit house for the second day in a row Tuesday.

“It’s scary that this happened right here,” Morgan said. “Nothing like this ever happens in Cheshire.”
Mark Raducha heard the sirens Monday morning and at first didn’t think much of it.

“But sirens are usually on Mountain Road and they pass by,” he said. “These got closer and closer, so I put on my clothes and came down the street to see what was going on.” It took a little time for the story to begin to trickle out.
“We thought it was a house fire first,” Mark said. “Then they started saying people were dead.”

Mark and Morgan’s mother, Deborah Raducha, said, “This is a neighborhood terrorized. They should add charges of terrorizing the neighborhood to the list of things they’ve arrested those thugs for.”

A past president of the DeaconWoods Homeowner’s Association, which includes Sorghum Mill Drive, Raducha said she had met the Petit family but didn’t know them well.
“This is the reason I left New Britain,” she said.

“I woke up at 3 a.m. today scared to death. And what’s really offensive is that someone was leaving fliers in everyone’s mailboxes today about a security system. Talk about taking advantage of a horrible situation.”

[David]

In light of the Cheshire story, how safe does your home's security system make you feel (if you already have one)? If you don't have a security system, would this prompt you to invest in one?

[FJT]

Originally Posted by David

In light of the Cheshire story, how safe does your home's security system make you feel (if you already have one)? If you don't have a security system, would this prompt you to invest in one?

A security system is like a lock and is not designed to keep out these people.
Locks are to keep out the honest not the dis-honest.

[tjohnl]

how many systems are armed when the house is occupied?

[Modica]

Everyone needs to stop this mall in Cheshire. Our drinking water comes from the north end of town where they want to put his mall. How can they gaurentee that everyone in Cheshire won't be Poisoned? Profits before people should not be. Let us get together like we did for the Pe**** to stop this horror in the north end. People have the power

[eds]

My father survived the enemy in the jungles of Cambodia and Laos with nothing more than a .45 and 7 rounds. Part of surviving is not just relying upon tools and technology, like weapons, security systems, and locks. Part of surviving is dynamic thinking to anticipate what will happen next and to deal with what happened. My father used to say he never worried about if he would get hurt, but when. Sometimes, no matter how trained or how prepared you might think you are, someone will get the better of you. You cannot hold out forever. Eventually you will break. Part of this realization is that you no longer focus on death, but focus on survival. You don't dwell on the "what-ifs" in life. You do your job. When I entered burning buildings, if I worried about dying I would have died. We can and should put up defenses, take precautions, keep our windows and doors locked. But then at some point we need to decide how much paranoia is proper. We all should be paranoid to some extent but not to the point of interrupted our lives for fear of movement outside our protected zone. Realistically this sort of crime is shocking but relatively rare. We must all realize though that at any time our lives can end. We must accept death as inevitable and value life for what it is: fleetingly temporary.