Suspects Arrested in Connecticut Triple Homicide

By Pamela Mortimer

Arson accompanied an already heinous crime in the small town of Cheshire, CT on Monday. Two parolees with long criminal records were arraigned Tuesday on charges of breaking and entering, forcing a hostage to withdraw cash from a bank, and setting fire to the house. The suspects were apprehended Monday as they fled the burning home in the family’s SUV.

Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, of Cheshire and Steve Hayes, 44, of Winsted, face first degree sexual assault, kidnapping, arson, and robbery charges. State police have stated that additional charges are likely. Bail was set at $15 million each.

A court official reported that Hayes and Komisarjevky both have rap sheets with more than 20 prior burglaries, and both were out on parole.

The two men, both represented by public defenders, did not enter pleas.

The arraignment was the result of the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11. Dr. William Petit Jr., 50, was the sole survivor.

Dr. Petit, a prominent endocrinologist, was severely injured in the attack. According to an unnamed law enforcement official, Dr. Petit managed to relay the events which led to the family being taken hostage and the deaths of his wife and two daughters.

The Petits resided in Cheshire, an upper-middle class neighborhood of 29,000, about 15 miles north of New Haven.

"In Cheshire we're not used to this type of event," said Police Chief Michael Cruess. "It's a very unfortunate, tragic event that's probably going to reach right down to the core of the community."

Hayley Petit was a well known girl in the community, competing in school sports and often helping to raise funds for Multiple Sclerosis and other community projects. Despite a collapsed lung, she recently attended her graduation from Miss Porter's School in Farmington. She had received an early acceptance to Dartmouth, her father’s alma mater.

"Right now it's so awful and so hard even to take in the horror of it," said M. Burch Tracy Ford, head of Miss Porter's School in Farmington.

Hayley served as the captain of the basketball and crew teams and was a role model for younger students.

"She was such a good, good person," Ford said. "The younger kids just worshipped the ground she walked on."

Jennifer Hawke-Petit, a nurse, was co-director of the health center at Cheshire Academy, a private boarding school.

"It's just a very difficult day here," said Philip Moore, director of communications for Cheshire Academy. "She was very good at educating kids about good health, not just taking care of them when they are not feeling well."

Authorities were alerted to possible trouble at the Petit home by a local bank employee who witnessed a suspicious man accompanying an unnamed Petit female. The Petit family member was instructed to make a withdrawal around 9:30 a.m. on Monday. Police responded to the call and drove to the Petit home to check it out. But it was too late.

The Reverend Ronald A. Rising, a neighbor, said he’d known the family for over 10 years.

"They're just a lovely family," he said. "It's just awful to think it would happen to a family like that in this community. You don't think about those things happening."