Joshua Komisarjevsky, the second man who was found guilty of killing a Connecticut mother and her two daughters during a horrific 2007 home invasion, was formally sentenced to death today. Komisarjevsky expressed regret over the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, but continued to blame accomplice and fellow death row inmate Steven Hayes for much of the horrors of that day: “I know my responsibilities, but what I cannot do is carry the responsibilities of the actions of another,” Komisarjevsky said. “I did not want those innocent women to die.”
Komisarjevsky denied he killed anyone, said he didn’t rape Michaela, and claimed he didn’t start the fire. Talking about his death sentence he said, “I wonder when the killing will end.” He added that he had family and supporters who don’t want him to die, and said being sentenced to death was a "surreal experience." The lone survivor of the home invasion, Dr. William Petit, called the loss of his wife and two daughters a "personal holocaust."
The harrowing details of Komisarjevsky and Hayes' plan have been aired over the course of two trials, including Hayes' last year, when he was found guilty of 16 of 17 counts and acquitted of arson. The pair, both ex-cons who met at a halfway house, stalked Hawke-Petit and 11-year-old Michaela at a grocery store before breaking into the family's Cheshire home; they took the family hostage, beating Dr. William Petit and tying him up in the basement, while forcing Hawke-Petit to go to a bank and withdraw $30,000.
Prosecutors said Komisarjevsky sexually assaulted Michaela and insisted that Hayes rape Hawke-Petit to "square things up." Hawke-Petit was strangled and the daughters died from smoke inhalation after the men doused the home with gasoline. Petit was able to crawl out of the basement and ask a neighbor for help. The Courant reported that Komisarjevsky "admitted tying Hayley and Michaela to their beds, sexually molesting Michaela and beating Petit in the head with a baseball bat, but he said he never intended for anyone to die." Dr. Petit told reporters after the verdict was announced that this trial was more difficult because "clearly there was a focus on Michaela" and noted the case has always been one of "sexual predation."
There was one nice piece of news as well: Petit is now engaged to photographer Christine Paluf, with the blessing of his deceased wife's family. "Mom, Dad and I have said to him since early on, 'We want you to look for love again,' " said Cindy Hawke-Renn, the only sibling of Petit's late wife. "We want you to be happy. We want you to find some happiness and joy. I just can't wait to dance at the wedding."
