A jury condemned Joshua Komisarjevsy, the second man who was found guilty of killing a Connecticut mother and her two daughters during a horrific 2007 home invasion, to death today. It took five days for the jury to decide that the 31-year-old Komisarjevsky would receive the death penalty, the same fate as his accomplice Steven Hayes, who was given the death penalty for the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11. "I guess I will spend the rest of my life wondering what I could have done or said to persuade the jurors mercy should have seasoned justice in this case," said Jeremiah Donovan, one of Komisarjevsky's defense lawyers. more ›

The trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky, one of the men accused of killing a Connecticut mother and her two daughters, is set to begin in the spring, but Komisarjevsky is doing everything he can to delay that process with a flurry of pretrial motions. One of those requests is to remove New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue from his trial. more ›

Steven Hayes, the ex-con who was found guilty of killing a Connecticut mother and her two daughters, was formally sentenced to death today in court. Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue Blue handed down six sentences of death by lethal injection for the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela., and set the execution date for May 27, 2011. “This is a terrible sentence, but is, in truth, a sentence you wrote for yourself in flames,” the judge told Hayes. more ›

The psychiatrist for Steven Hayes, who was convicted for the brutal 2007 home invasion and murder of a Connecticut family, testified yesterday, saying Hayes raped Jennifer Hawke-Petit after killing her. Hayes was allegedly upset that Jennifer Hawke-Petit betrayed him by tipping off the police. The psychiatrist also said that Hayes, who was allegedly abused as a child, was under the sway of his partner, Joshua Komisarjevsky, who had calmly beat Hawke-Petit's husband to the brink of death: "He said, 'It is like I am transported from the earth to the moon. I'm just following Josh's lead." Hayes is currently in the sentencing phase and faces the death penalty. more ›

One person, who has been noticeable by his absence, has loomed large over the trial of convicted killer Steven Hayes: Joshua Komisarjevsky his alleged partner in the Connecticut home invasion and murder of a doctor's family. He won't go on trial until next year, well after Hayes' case is settled, but his words and actions are being used by Hayes' defense attorneys to try to save their client from the death penalty. One woman described meeting Komisarjevsky briefly in court today: "I thought I was looking at the devil...My skin crawled. My hair stood on end...That was my reaction. [He had] dead eyes. Completely dead eyes." more ›

Earlier this week, Steven Hayes was found guilty on 16 of 17 counts related to the brutal 2007 home invasion of a Connecticut family which led to the murder of three people. Jurors will decide whether of not to give Hayes the death penalty when sentencing starts Oct. 18; some are wondering just how persuasive defense attorney Tom Ullmann, who saved a man from the death penalty a few years ago, can be. But the other storyline now emerging is that of Hayes' partner in the crime, Joshua Komisarjevsky, whom Ullmann accused of being the mastermind of the plot. more ›

After a day and a half of deliberations, a jury found Steven Hayes guilty on 16 of 17 counts related to the 2007 home invasion of a Connecticut family that led to the deaths of a mother and her two teen daughters. Hayes will face the death penalty; the Courant reports, "The verdicts set the stage for a penalty phase in which jurors will decide whether Hayes lives or dies. That phase will begin Oct. 18." The survivor, Dr. William Petit, who has been lobbying for the death penalty, said, "We did our best to keep our faith in God that justice would be served." more ›

Closing arguments were heard this week in the trial of Steven Hayes, one of the two men accused of perpetrating a home invasion and murder of a family in Connecticut. Prosecutors argued for the first time that Hayes was the one to ignite the fire that engulfed the Petit family's house, killing 17-year-old Hayley Petit and 11-year-old Michaela in the process. “The last one out is the one who lights the fire,” said prosecutor Michael Dearington. more ›

After more than a week of horrifying testimonies from 26 state witnesses in the trial of Steven Hayes, one of the two men accused of perpetrating a home invasion and murder of a family in Connecticut, prosecutors and defense have rested their cases, and closing arguments are due this Friday. The break came after testimony on Tuesday, where a corrections officer revealed that Hayes confessed to a fellow inmate that he had murdered Jennifer Hawke-Petit. "He just stated that he did kill Mrs. Petit,” the officer, Jeremiah Krob, said. more ›

It was another day filled with brutal testimonies in the trial of Steven Hayes, one of two men accused of perpetrating a brutal home invasion and murder of a family in Connecticut. A state fire marshal testified that gasoline had been poured onto the beds and bodies of 17-year-old Hayley Petit, and her 11-year-old sister Michaela, the two children killed in the attack. more ›

Yesterday, a detective described the confession Steven Hayes gave shortly after a brutal home invasion and murder of a family in Connecticut. It included details about the formulation of Hayes' and Joshua Komisarjevsky's plan, as well as the tension between them that led Hayes to allegedly rape and strangle Jennifer Hawke-Petit. Today, jurors were told about a series of chilling text messages between the two accused murderers leading up to the home invasion that reveal a cold-hearted impatience to set their plan in motion. more ›

It was another harrowing day of testimonies in the trial of Steven Hayes, one of the two men accused of perpetrating a brutal home invasion and murder of a family in Connecticut. A State Police detective who interviewed Hayes shortly after the brutal murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters Michaela and Hayley gave a riveting and shocking account of Hayes confession and description of the events: "There was a strong odor of gasoline emanating from [his] body." more ›