Conn. man thanks jurors in deadly home invasion

Dr. William Petit Jr. is seen with his daughters Michaela,... — Dr. William Petit Jr. is seen with his daughters Michaela, front, Hayley, and his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, in Cape Cod, Mass. Dr. Petit was severely beaten and his wife and two daughters were killed during a home invasion in Cheshire, Conn., on July 23, 2007. Credit: AP

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSOctober 5, 2010

The Connecticut doctor who survived the fatal home invasion that killed his wife and two daughters thanked jurors for convicting one of the two suspects in the gruesome attacks.

Dr. William Petit spoke to reporters shortly after the verdict against Steven Hayes, 47, was read in court in New Haven on Tuesday afternoon.

Petit was tied up and assaulted but managed to escape the 2007 attack in his family home in Cheshire.

Hayes now faces the possibility of being sentenced to death after his conviction on capital felony, murder, sexual assault and other charges. His co-defendant will go to trial on similar charges next year.

Hayes was convicted by a jury that heard eight days of gruesome testimony about the July 2007 attacks on Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11.

The sole survivor, Dr. Petit, appeared to hold back tears as the verdict was read. His head down, he sucked in his bottom lip.

The verdict triggers a second phase of the trial, beginning Oct. 18, in which the same jurors will decide if Hayes should be executed or face life in prison.

Hayes’ defense admitted his involvement in the fatal home invasion but blamed his co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, for being the aggressor. Komisarjevsky faces trial next year and also could be sentenced to death.

Komisarjevsky spotted the mother and her two daughters at a supermarket, followed them to their Cheshire home, then returned later with Hayes, authorities say.

The men broke into the Petit house in the New Haven suburb of Cheshire, beat William Petit with a baseball bat and forced Hawke-Petit to withdraw money from a bank before raping and strangling her, according to testimony.

The men, both paroled burglars who met at a halfway house, tied the girls to their beds, put pillow cases over their heads and poured gas on or around them before setting the house on fire, authorities say.

The girls died of smoke inhalation. Authorities say the men were caught fleeing the scene.

Hayes’ attorneys conceded most of the evidence on the first day and spent much of the trial focusing on Komisarjevsky’s role. They pointed to graphic photos of Michaela found on Komisarjevsky’s cell phone, and Hayes’ attorney, Tom Ullmann, said Komisarjevsky escalated the violence at every critical point, starting with William Petit’s beating.

Prosecutors rejected that argument, saying the two men were equally responsible for the crime.

The jurors’ deliberations totaled about five hours. Hayes was convicted of 16 counts total, including two charges of sexually assaulting Hawke-Petit. He was acquitted of one count — arson.

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