In July 2007, a home invasion was carried out at the Petit family residence in Cheshire, Connecticut. During the invasion, Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley (17) and Michaela (11) were murdered. Dr William Petit, the father of the girls, escaped with severe injuries.
TW- this case discusses child murder and child sexual assault.
In terms of the area where this happened, the population of Cheshire is currently around 30k. The median household income in Cheshire is $120,546, compared to $78,444 statewide.
As some background into the victims,
Jennifer was born on September 26, 1958 in Morristown, NJ. Her parents were Reverend Richard and Marybelle Hawke.
Jennifer graduated Greenville Senior High in Pennsylvania. She was popular amongst her peers, and was captain of her drill team. She was also a member of the National Thespian Society, and a member of her Homecoming Court. Jennifer got a Degree in Nursing and began her career as a Pediatric Oncology Nurse at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburg. It was at that time that she met her future husband, William/Bill.
William was born on September 24, 1956. He was born in Southington, CT and he grew up in Plainville, CT. After graduating from Plainville High School, he earned an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and a medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, followed by a fellowship in endocrinology at the Yale University School of Medicine.
Jennifer and Bill got married on April 13, 1985 in Meadville, Pennsylvania.
The couple had their two daughters, Hayley Elizabeth on October 15, 1989 and Michaela Rose on November 17, 1995.
In 1989, Bill entered private practice in Plainville. In 1989, he also became medical director of the Joslin Diabetes Center at New Britain General Hospital, now a campus of The Hospital of Central Connecticut, and from 1994 to 2008 he served as Director of Public Health for Plainville.
After the births of their children, Jennifer began working as a school nurse for Cheshire Academy. It has been said that she was loving and generous. Jennfier enjoyed reading and playing the piano and guitar.
Hayley had just graduated from Miss Porter’s school and had plans to attend Dartmouth University.
Hayley was well known, admired, and loved for the affection and integrity she brought to all that she was, as a student, and athlete, a leader, and a friend. Throughout her high school career, Hayley was a High Honor Roll student; she was a member of Cum Laude, a journalism prize-winner, and winner of the school’s award for “exceptional community service.” In addition, she was admitted early to Dartmouth College. As a committed athlete, Hayley was a three-season varsity player of cross country, basketball, and crew; two-season varsity captain of basketball and crew; and was elected to the all-school senior leadership position of Athletic Association Head. Within the school community, her leadership example and impact, both private and public, were profound. Hayley’s leadership extended beyond the school to the larger community, in which she raised thousands of dollars in support of Multiple Sclerosis research.
Bill and Jennifer said that Michaela came into the world smiling.
Michaela was looking forward to attending middle school at Chase Collegiate. Following in her Hayley’s footsteps, she was to take over her Multiple Sclerosis cause “Hayley’s Hope”, renaming it “Michaela’s Miracle” when Hayley left for Dartmouth this fall. She had completed her summer reading and was embarking on the new Harry Potter series. Michaela loved playing soccer, basketball, and lacrosse. She was known for her amazing friendships and being a champion by including everyone.
Michaela loved watching the cooking network and preparing “gourmet” meals for her family, and could always be found jumping on the trampoline in her backyard.
Jennifer suffered from MS which is why her daughters were so passionate about the cause.
On the morning of July 22, 2007, the family went to church together. That evening, Jennifer and Michaela went to a local supermarket in Cheshire to gather ingredients for a recipe that Michaela wanted to cook – a pasta salad.
During their trip, a man named Joshua Komisarjevsky noticed them due to the family’s Mercedes-Benz and followed them around the supermarket and ended up following them home.
The other perpetrator in this case was known as Steven Hayes at the time. Steven presented as male at the time of the murders. Steven later transitioned to female and is now known as Linda Hayes.
As some background into the perpetrators, Hayes was born Steven Joseph Hayes on May 30, 1963. Hayes was first convicted for an offense as an adult in 1980 at age 16. Between 1980 and the Cheshire murders in 2007, Hayes was arrested almost 30 times and spent much of this time in jail. Hayes’ final arrest prior to these murders was in 2004 after a car window was smashed with a rock and a woman’s purse was stolen. Hayes was paroled after this in 2006 and sent to a halfway house, where she would meet Joshua,
Joshua was born on August 10, 1980 in Torrington, CT. Joshua was born to a 16 year old teen. He ended up being adopted by Benedict Komisarjevsky, the son of theatrical director Theodore Komisarjevsky and dancer Ernestine Stodelle, and his wife Jude (née Motkya).
In the early 90’s, Joshua’s sister accused him of sexual assault. He was convicted of that crime. He committed his first burglary when he was 14. In 2002, at age 22, he was arrested for 18 home invasions.
Joshua’s attorney said that he was told about all of the crimes in perfect detail. Joshua said that after robbing homes, he would go into bedrooms and listen to his victims breathe. He said he did this because he enjoyed the feeling of invading people’s homes and violating their security and privacy
Joshua was convicted of 12 counts of burglary in December 2002 and was sentenced to nine years in prison. Judge James Bentivegna described Joshua as a “calculated, cold-blooded predator”.
Joshua ended up being paroled in April 2007. Under Connecticut law, prosecutors were supposed to send the parole board a transcript of the sentencing proceeding. But the parole board that released him never received the transcript and was not aware of all the details regarding his case.
It seems like Joshua and Hayes had decided to carry out a crime and decided that the Petit family would be the target.
After Joshua followed the family home, he had a text conversation with Hayes that read: “I’m chomping at the bit to get started. Need a margarita soon.” Hayes then texted, “We still on?” Joshua replied, “Yes.” Hayes’s next text asked, “Soon?”, to which Joshua replied: “I’m putting the kid to bed hold your horses”. Hayes replied: “Dude, the horses want to get loose. LOL.”
The two hatched a plan to rob and ransack the Petit house, but they apparently never planned to hurt anyone.
On that night, July 22/23, William fell asleep on the couch downstairs in the sunroom. This happened often as he didn’t like to disturb Jennifer by getting into bed when she was asleep. He had fallen asleep after reading the paper, while the girls watched Army Wives in the living room.
This info about that night is from Time.com:
He was exhausted. He had gotten some sun out on the golf course, and he had just eaten a big plate of pasta. Not long after the girls’ show started, he was out cold on the couch, a section of the newspaper on his chest. When Army Wives ended, at eleven, the girls locked up the house and went upstairs to bed, leaving a light on in the kitchen for the cats, as usual. With her dad asleep on the couch downstairs, Michaela curled up in her parents’ bed, where she and Jennifer read the latest Harry Potter book together, and fell asleep.
Hayes and Joshua entered the house in the early hours of July 23 through the basement and an unlocked door. They found William sleeping in the sun room. Joshua found a baseball bat leaning on the basement stairs and he used that to strike William in the head multiple times.
“It was very strange,” he replied. “I remember thinking and feeling: ‘Ow! Ow! Ow!’”
“The next thing I knew,” he said, “I was seated in the middle of the sofa with my head down. It was dark. There was something warm running down the front of my face.”
They then bound William’s wrists and ankles with zip ties and rope. William has said that one criminal said to the other ‘If he moves, put two bullets in him.’
William quickly realized he was in grave danger. According to Time, “He has been taking a prescription blood thinner called Coumadin since he had heart trouble a few years ago, so as he lies on the couch, he is bleeding out faster than most people would.”
William said that one of the men said, “If you give us what we want, we won’t hurt you” and asked, “Where’s the safe?” He said there was no safe.
William said he was “in and out” of consciousness, but heard early morning birds singing.
Joshua and Hayes went and found Jennifer and the girls. They tied them by their wrists and ankles to their bedposts. They placed pillowcases over their heads.
After restraining everyone, they ransacked the house for cash. They were not satisfied with what they found.
Hayes left the home and purchased $10 worth of gas. The gas was put into two cans that had been taken from the Petit house.
Hayes returned to the home and forced Jennifer to go to a bank to withdraw $15k. Hayes said that the family would be harmed if Jennifer did not get the money. Jennifer went into the Bank of America branch where Mary Lyons was working as the manager.
Mary spoke to USA Today about her interaction with Jennifer.
“She explained to me that her family was being held and as long as she got the money and got back to the house everybody would be OK,” Mary said. “I just knew from the look on her face and the look in her eyes that she was telling the truth. Her eyes told me — a look from one mom to another mom.”
Mary approved the transaction and Jennifer left with the $15k. Mary then called the police.
Despite the quick action from the bank, police decided to assess the situation and set up a vehicle perimeter near the Petit house which took over half an hour. During that time, Jennifer and Hayes returned to the home. Joshua sexually assaulted Michaela – the 11 y/o. He documented the assault and rape of the child on his cell phone.
Hayes raped Jennifer. This happened after apparent provocation by Joshua.
William was still restrained and he could hear his wife’s assault going on. He yelled up and heard one of the invaders say, “Don’t worry. It’s all gonna be over in a couple of minutes.” William then managed to escape.
He did so by using the pole he was tied to to break the plastic zip ties binding his hands and escaped through the basement’s bulkhead door. When he went next door to ask for help (he had to roll across the ground to make it), his neighbor didn’t even recognize him due to the severity of his injuries,
He later said, “I thought, it’s now or never because in my mind at that moment, I thought they were going to shoot all of us.”
While Hayes was raping Jennifer, Joshua discovered that William had escaped. This is when the crime turned deadly.
Hayes strangled Jennifer to death. The criminals then doused her body and parts of the house including the bedrooms of the girls, and the girls themselves, with gas.
Hayes and Joshua set the house on fire and fled the scene.
Hayley managed to escape her restraints and run out of the bedroom. She ended up collapsing at the top of the staircase. She died from smoke inhalation. Third and fourth-degree burns on her feet indicated that she got very close to the fire around the time she died. The medical examiner who performed an autopsy on her could not determine if the burns occurred before or after her death.
Michaela also died from smoke inhalation. She also suffered burns which may have occurred while she was still alive. Joshua’s semen was found on Michaela’s body. Bleach was also found on her clothes which indicates that Joshua may have tried to eliminate DNA evidence.
When police arrived at the Petit home, they found William at the neighbor’s home, severely injured. They did not know if he was a victim or the perpetrator and would not even unrestrain him at first.
Hayes and Joshua fled the scene in the Petit family vehicle. They were immediately spotted by police surveillance and were pursued. They ended up being arrested one block away after they crashed into a police car. The horror at the Petit home had lasted seven hours.
Both Hayes and Joshua confessed to the murders. Hayes was said to smell of gasoline during the interrogation with police.
Hayes and Joshua tried to blame each other. Joshua also tried to blame William.
Hayes and Joshua ended up being tried separately. Hayes’ trial began on September 13, 2010. The jury was made up of seven women and five men.
Hayes’ defense team tried to argue that Josua was the mastermind behind the whole crime. They also argued that Joshua was responsible for how violent the crime became.
Excerpts from Joshua’s journal were presented in court.
“I’m not an angel,” Joshua wrote. “I’ve never claimed to be. The scars on my soul have forever defined me as different than others.”
In the journal, Joshua denied after raping Michaela but did admit to sexually assaulting her.
Joshua said that he “resented” the implication that he raped Michaela and wrote that he had “spared her that degree of demoralization.” “In a vulgar display of power, I ejaculated onto her.”
“As for why? It was the accumulation of years of pent up aggression,” he wrote.
Joshua also wrote in the journal that he took photos of Michaela and was going to use them to blackmail her parents.
The jury were shown 8 photos, taken from Joshua’s phone. In two photos, Joshua was photographed nude and posing suggestively. Five showed a young female with her arms tied above her head, with a cloth over her face and a close up of her underwear.
The eighth photo was of an older female, her legs splayed.
“What I was not prepared for was my demons getting the better of me,” he wrote.
He also wrote about William and his actions in the journal.
“If you don’t want to defend your family, then take your chances with the criminal while police sit outside and follow protocol,” he wrote.
“Hayley is a fighter. She continually tried time and time again to free herself,” he wrote. “Michaela was calm. Mrs. Petit’s courage was, is, to be respected. She could have stayed inside the bank where she was safe.”
“Mr. Petit is a coward, he ran away when he felt his own life was threatened,” Joshua wrote. “Time and time again I gave him the chance to save his family.”
Turning some of the blame on Hayes, Joshua wrote, “When Steve took the life of Mrs. Petit, he took it to a whole new level.”
“I am what I am and make no excuses,” he wrote. “I am a criminal with a criminal’s mind, and my anticipated death sentence will be a sentence of mercy.”
Joshua wrote about how when he started attacking William it “released a leash too hard to rein back in.”
“I was faced with the shocking realization that in some respects, I enjoy it,” he wrote. “They were experiencing what I experience every day.”
He also wrote “I am not proud of the outcome of July 23. “Michaela, angel of my nightmares. My pain to yours does not compare. How could I have turned my back walking out that door knowing your fear and sorrow?”
“Michaela, Haley, Jennifer – forgive me please,” he wrote “I am damned, take my life.”
William attended court every day of the trial.
The jury ended up deliberating for around five hours and announced a guilty verdict on October 5, 2010.
Hayes’ sentencing trial began on October 18, 2010. Jurors had to decide if Hayes should receive the death penalty or should be imprisoned for life. Deliberations began on November 5, 2010. The jury was split after the first day of deliberations at first.
Defense attorney Thomas Ullman told the jury that a sentence of life in prison would be the harshest possible punishment for his client Hayes, because she was so tormented by her crimes and would be isolated in prison. “Life in prison without the possibility of release is the harshest penalty,” Ullman said. “It is a fate worse than death. If you want to end [her] misery, put [her] to death. If you want [her] to suffer and carry that burden forever, the guilt, shame, and humiliation, sentence [her] to life without the possibility of release.”
On November 8, 2010, the jury recommended that Hayes be executed. They reached this decision after 17 hours of deliberation.
After the verdict, her defense attorney stated: “Hayes smiled upon hearing the jury’s recommendation of a death sentence.” She then added: “[Hayes] is thrilled. That’s what [she]’s wanted all along.
William spoke at a press conference after the verdict was returned. “We all know that God will be the final arbiter and I think the defendant faces far more serious punishments from the Lord than [she] can ever face from mankind.” He also spoke about his family, saying: “Michaela was an 11-year-old little girl tortured and killed in her own bedroom, surrounded by stuffed animals. Hayley had a great future. She was a strong and courageous person, and Jennifer helped so many kids.”
After Hayes’ trial, the Connecticut state judicial branch offered post-traumatic stress assistance to jurors due to the disturbing images and testimony that they were exposed to.
On December 2, 2010, Hayes apologized for the pain and suffering she had caused the Petit family and added that: “Death for me will be a welcome relief and I hope it will bring some peace and comfort to those who I have hurt so much.”
Judge Jon Blue formally imposed six death sentences, one for each of the capital charges; Blue then added a sentence of 106 years for other crimes Hayes committed during the home invasion, including kidnapping, burglary, and assault, before finishing with, “This is a terrible sentence, but is, in truth, a sentence you wrote for yourself in flames. May God have mercy on your soul.”
The judge also gave Hayes an official execution date of May 27, 2011; Blue said the date was a formality, because if Hayes appealed her case, her execution could be delayed for decades. Her death sentence became a life sentence in August 2015 when the state abolished capital punishment.
In an interview in October 2019, Hayes stated she was transgender and was undergoing hormone therapy as part of her gender transition while incarcerated.
She said she had been diagnosed with a gender identity disorder at 16, but never treated.
Joshua’s trial began on September 19, 2011. His attorneys offered to have him plead guilty in exchange for life in prison, but prosecutors wanted to take the case to trial in order to give him the death penalty.
Joshua’s attorneys tried to blame Hayes and painted her as the criminal mastermind. They also said that Joshua was confused and easily led and that he never intended to kill anyone.
Joshua was found guilty on October 13, 2011. On December 9, 2011, the jury recommended the death penalty.
Judge Blue said “This is a terrible sentence, but it’s one you wrote for yourself with deeds of unimaginable horror and savagery.”
Joshua made a statement during the sentencing hearing. He spoke about the shame, disappointment, and hurt he had caused, saying: “I will never find peace within. My life will be a continuation of the hurt I caused. The clock is now ticking and I owe a debt I cannot repay.”
Though he acknowledged taking part in the crime, he insisted that he did not intend to kill anyone, saying: “Millions have judged me guilty of capital offenses I did not commit. I did not intend for those women to die. They were never supposed to lose their lives. I don’t need twelve people to tell me what I’m guilty or not guilty of. None of them were there that morning. I know my responsibilities. I will bear them as I should. What I cannot do is claim responsibility for the actions of another.” He spoke about how the trial affected him, saying that he had become “quite comfortable in the face of hatred and bigotry” and said that the jury who recommended the death penalty for him “believed me so worthless even my very existence is deemed intolerable.”
He also said that forgiveness was not his to have, and that he needed to forgive his worst enemy – himself.
During his victim impact statement, William described the crime as his personal holocaust and said “I have a difficult time sleeping and trusting anymore. I hope to continue to honor my family. I push forward in the hope that good will overcome evil.”
Judge Blue set July 20, 2012, as Komisarjevsky’s execution date. His death sentence was turned into a life sentence in August 2015.
In 2012, William remarried. His new wife is photographer Christine Paluf.
The two met while Christine while working as a volunteer for the Petit Family Foundation, a charity set up by William in memory of his family. The foundation helps educate young people, improve the lives of those with chronic illnesses and protect those affected by violence.
Jennifer’s mother, Marybelle Hawke, has said her family welcomed the engagement and encouraged William to find peace and joy in his life.
Jennifer’s sister was among the wedding guests. A blessing written by Jennifer’s father, the Rev. Richard Hawke, was read at the wedding.
In November 2013, the couple had a son together. He is also named William.
The Petit family home at 300 Sorguhm Mill Drive was torn down after the events. In 2020, a memorial was built on the site.
“I can’t wait to come home tomorrow and see it all done,” said neighbor Anthony Ferraiolo.
Anthony and his wife Kim spent years maintaining the garden memorial that was erected where the Petit home once stood.
“People will still come here and sit and walk around and reflect,” said Anthony. “They leave a lot of momentos. There’s always been crosses left in a lot of things. We’ve collected them over the years.”
The new design was put together by the Petit Family Foundation. It includes a 30-foot stone circle with benches, stepping stones, and a cobblestone walkway. A fountain will be placed in the center in the coming months.
“It’s going to be something totally self-sufficient. It’s going to be solar-powered. We’re going to put a well in here,” said David Lamoreux who assisted in the project design.
The new memorial includes some of the original pieces. The three angel stone crosses, and benches will be reused while some of the plants have been repurposed.
The four o’clock flower, which was Michaela’s favorite will take a prominent role in the memorial as well. Three heart-shaped gardens will have the flowers planted in them. The state of Connecticut made named the flower the state’s official children’s flower in her honor.
“I think that the neighborhood will really embrace it so will the town as they have in the past,” said Anthony.
SOURCE LIST
https://www.fox61.com/article/news/community/a-new-memorial-the-petit-family-cheshire-ct/520-6c0a9805-1afd-4f08-92d3-7a41cf61409c
https://archive.md/20130723175255/http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2012/08/06/news/doc501ff564d4a7f214714500.txt
https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/page?id=11925877
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/17/cheshire-connecticut-home-invasion-murders-10-years-later/483863001
https://web.archive.org/web/20100917074348/http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/teller_urgent_bid_to_save_lives_WpERoX8jNoyGlWbq4j06hP
https://abcnews.go.com/US/TheLaw/gruesome-petit-trial-testimony-suspects-snapped-photos-assaults/story?id=11710077
https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/House-of-Horrors-Petit-describes-events-of-11599032.php
https://time.com/4032204/petit-home-invasion-the-rising
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire_home_invasion_murders
https://obituaries.sharonherald.com/obituary/jennifer-hawke-petit-753095741
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/hartfordcourant/name/hayley-petit-obituary?id=6581803#:~:text=PETIT%2C%20Hayley%20Elizabeth%20Hayley%20Elizabeth,Dartmouth%20College%20in%20the%20fall.
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/record-journal/name/michaela-petit-obituary?id=6581809
https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/House-of-Horrors-Petit-describes-events-of-11599032.php