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 ›

It's been over two months since the end of the trial of Steven Hayes, the ex-con who was sentenced to death for the killing of a Connecticut mother and her two daughters, but jurors are still traumatized by the horrific details of the case. The Times talked to several of the former jurors, and found that eight of the 12 say they are "in a strange sort of emotional netherworld" since the case ended. “During the trial, you think you are dealing with things, and you generally are. But after the trial, you have trouble falling asleep. It’s difficult to realize that’s part of humanity, that people have it in them to do things like that,” said Joel L. Zemke. 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 ›

Yesterday, a jury sentenced Steven Hayes to death for his role in the brutal 2007 home invasion-turned-triple murder of a mother and two daughters in Cheshire, Connecticut. Jennifer Hawke-Petit was strangled to death while daughters Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17, died when Hayes and partner in crime Joshua Komisarjevsky, burned down the home. Dr. William Petit, who was beaten nearly to death with a baseball bat and bound, managed to escape and survived the tragedy. He said yesterday, "This is a verdict for justice... was really thinking of the tremendous loss … I was sad for the loss we have all suffered." more ›

Steven Hayes, the ex-con who was found guilty of killing a Connecticut mother and her two daughters (as well as beating her husband), was sentenced to death. The Courant reports, "The jury"—made up of seven women and five men—"sentenced Hayes to death on all six possible death-penalty counts: killing [Jennifer Hawke-Petit and Michaela and Hayley [Petit] in the course of a single action; killing a child under the age of 16; killing Hawke-Petit in the course of a kidnapping; killing Hayley in the course of a kidnapping; killing Michaela in the course of a kidnapping; and killing Hawke-Petit in the course of a sexual assault." more ›

Attorneys made their final arguments yesterday in the death-penalty phase of the trial of Steven Hayes, who was convicted earlier this month for the brutal 2007 home invasion and murder of a Connecticut family. Hayes' lawyer Thomas Ullmann told jurors, "This is a human being. You may not like him, you may hate him, you may despise what he did in this case, but he's not a rabid dog that needs to be put down." more ›

If you're an alternate juror on a case involving one of Connecticut's most horrifying crimes—the murder and sexual assault of a woman and her two daughters, plus the near fatal beating of the woman's husband, in their home—why pass up to the opportunity to see if the bailiff wants to go out on a date? Even though she's supposed to be considering whether Steven Hayes, who was convicted of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit, Michaela Petit, and Hayley Petit, deserves the death penalty, an unnamed juror sent this note—written on a napkin—"Sunday 5:00 pm Side Street Grill / Hamden"—meant for the court marshal but intercepted for the judge to see. 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 ›

The trial of Steven Hayes, who was found guilty on 16 of 17 counts related to the home invasion, torture and murder of a Connecticut doctor's family, has entered the death-penalty phase this week. His lawyers revealed today that Hayes has a "persistent desire to kill himself," and has attempted to do so several times before and after the July 2007 triple murder. more ›

Defense lawyers for Steven Hayes, who was found guilty on 16 of 17 counts related to the brutal home invasion and murder of a Connecticut doctor's family, were hoping to save their client from the death penalty by arguing that the cost of imposing and carrying out a death sentence would far exceed the cost of a life sentence. They received a blow to their argument today, when the Judge in the case ruled that the cost will not be allowed to be used as a mitigating factor: "A jury in the penalty phase of a capital case is charged with the task of using reasoned moral judgment, not counting dollars and cents," Judge Jon C. Blue wrote in his decision. more ›

Lawyers for Steven Hayes, the man who was found guilty earlier this week in relation to the brutal 2007 home invasion and murder of a Connecticut doctor's family, laid out the unusual argument they plan to use to save their client from the death penalty in court papers filed yesterday: it's too expensive. 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 ›

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 ›

More horrifying testimonies of the brutal home invasion and murder of a family in Connecticut were recounted during the trial of Steven Hayes, one of the accused murderers. Today, the trial was temporarily halted till Monday, because defendant Hayes reportedly had a seizure last night, urinating on himself in the process, and his lawyer is concerned for his mental health. more ›

One of the men charged with the brutal murders—and sexual assaults—of a Connecticut mother and her two daughters will be heading to trial soon and the NY Times reports on his defense attorneys' preparation: "The defense said it would request that the names of books that one of the accused men, Steven Hayes, checked out of a prison library before the killings not be admitted as evidence. The books, the defense indicated in one motion, included plots that were “criminally malevolent in the extreme." more ›