Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes were convicted of murdering nurse Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters during a seven-hour home invasion in New Haven, Connecticut, on 23 July 2007. Jennifer's husband, William Petit, was beaten and bound but survived the attack.
Attack began after supermarket sighting
The pair spotted Jennifer and her daughter at a supermarket and followed them back to their home. Komisarjevsky noted down their address, went home to put his own daughter to bed, then returned to the Petit family home under cover of darkness while they were asleep. His initial plan was burglary, but the crime escalated into a violent assault.
The intruders beat William Petit with a baseball bat until he lost consciousness. His daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, were tied up, and Jennifer was forced to withdraw $15,000 from a bank account after being escorted to a local branch.
Seven hours of torment
Hayes raped and strangled Jennifer, while Komisarjevsky sexually assaulted Michaela. Both Hayley and Jennifer were sexually assaulted, according to Vocal Media. The ordeal lasted seven hours.
Jennifer secretly alerted their bank, who informed authorities the family was being held hostage. The attackers drenched the house in accelerant before igniting it. Michaela and Hayley were bound to their beds and died from smoke inhalation. Hayley managed to break free from her bindings before succumbing to smoke inhalation, while Michaela never escaped her bedroom.
Survivor raised alarm
William Petit, battered and restrained, was hauled to the basement, where he slipped in and out of consciousness for several hours. He escaped and crawled to a neighbour's house to sound the alarm, but was unable to rescue his daughters or his wife. One detective described the crime scene as something that "never leaves your mind."
The murderers tried to escape in the Petit family's vehicle but were arrested by police almost instantly.
Death penalty debate
Petit campaigned to preserve the death penalty in Connecticut, successfully lobbying state senators to postpone repeal legislation while Komisarjevsky was still facing a capital punishment trial. "July 23, 2007, was our personal holocaust," Petit said following Komisarjevsky's death sentence. "A holocaust caused by two who are completely evil and actually do not comprehend what they have done."
Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy enacted legislation abolishing the state's death penalty for future crimes, although the new law does not extend to those already on death row. Over the past 50 years, Connecticut has performed just one execution – a serial killer put to death in 2005 after voluntarily waiving his right to appeal.
Komisarjevsky has said he contemplates volunteering to be executed during his bleakest moments. "I don't think I'll be executed against my will," he said in his first interview since his conviction. "I think if I volunteer, the state will execute me. I guess my reaction is not the reaction society expected."
Cynthia Hawke-Renn, the sister and aunt of the victims, told NBC she had not anticipated any apology from the killer, according to ABC. "He doesn't have nightmares, but I have nightmares and I can't stop thinking about it," she said. "I wish I could. And I think it's really sad that he doesn't have a conscience and have remorse and apologize to my brother-in-law or my parents."
Komisarjevsky now spends his days in solitary confinement, occupying his time with drawing, watching television, reading, and replying to both hate mail and letters from supporters. "Some days you're just overwhelmed by the isolation and the difficulties in communicating with loved ones, dealing with your own crisis of conscience," he said. "In order for some to swallow this bitter pill, it was inevitable that we would be left out."
