William Petit

16 Stories

The 11 Men on Connecticut's Death Row Won't Die

At least, not by the state's hand, after court overturns death penalty

(Newser) - The 11 men sitting on death row in Connecticut won't die by the state's hand following today's ruling by the state's highest court. The state abolished the death penalty in April 2012 , but only for future crimes; today's decision by the Connecticut Supreme Court concerned...

Home Invasion Survivor Will Be a Dad Again

Dr. William Petit expecting baby with new wife Christine

(Newser) - The Connecticut doctor whose wife and two daughters were killed in a horrific 2007 home invasion says he and his new wife are expecting a baby. Dr. William Petit and his wife Christine told WFSB-TV yesterday that the baby is due Dec. 3. The couple's announcement comes shortly before...

Home Invasion Survivor Petit Remarries

Dad who lost entire family in horrific 2007 crime marries Christine Paluf

(Newser) - A Connecticut doctor whose wife and two daughters were killed in a horrific 2007 home invasion and fire has remarried. Dr. William Petit wed 34-year-old photographer Christine Paluf yesterday. About 300 people attended the ceremony in West Hartford and reception in Simsbury, said a friend and family spokesman. Paluf met...

Connecticut Kills Death Penalty

 Connecticut Kills Death Penalty 
Apr 26, 2012 1:53 AM CDT

Connecticut Kills Death Penalty

Law won't affect murderers already on death row

(Newser) - Life without the possibility of parole has replaced lethal injection as the harshest punishment Connecticut's courts can hand down. Gov. Dan Malloy signed a bill to repeal capital punishment, making the state the 17th to do so, and the fifth in the last five years, ABC reports. The new...

2nd Man Gets Death Sentence in Home Invasion

Joshua Komisarjevsky and accomplice killed mother, two daughters

(Newser) - A jury condemned a Connecticut man to death today for killing a woman and her two daughters during a night of terror inside their suburban home, rejecting defense attorneys' request to spare his life in light of the abuse he suffered as a boy. The jury deliberated over the span...

2nd Man Convicted in Home Invasion, Murders

Joshua Komisarjevsky will now face the death penalty

(Newser) - A second man has been convicted in the murders of a mother and her two daughters during a home invasion in Connecticut. Joshua Komisarjevsky, the alleged mastermind, was found guilty of all 17 counts today and now faces a death penalty hearing, reports the Hartford Courant . His accomplice, Steven Hayes,...

Triple Murderer Hayes Welcomes Death Sentence

It will be a 'relief,' he tells courtroom

(Newser) - Steven Hayes, convicted in the brutal triple murder of a mother and her two daughters, learned his fate in a Connecticut courtroom today: He'll be executed on May 27, 2011. Among the quotes in the Hartford Courant coverage of the sentencing:
  • Hayes: "I am tormented and have nightmares about
...

Hayes Sentenced to Death for Grisly Triple Murder

Conn. man convicted in fatal home invasion

(Newser) - A Connecticut man was condemned to death today for a night of terror inside a suburban home in which Jennifer Hawke-Petit was strangled and her two daughters tied to their beds, doused in gasoline, and left to die in a fire. Jurors in New Haven Superior Court voted unanimously to...

Death Penalty Jury Hears Co-Defendant's Journal Entries

He wrote about Connecticut victims

(Newser) - The convicted murderer of a Connecticut woman and her two daughters has attempted suicide several times since the horrific crime . A Yale psychiatry professor interviewed Steven Hayes several times and told the court today of his attempts. Though his lawyers are fighting for life in prison, Hayes said he'd prefer...

Debate Over Killer's Fate Seeps Into Conn. Races

Death penalty becomes central issue after home invasion conviction

(Newser) - One of the most horrific crimes in Connecticut's history may weigh on the state's elections. Stephen Hayes is awaiting sentencing for the home invasion murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters next week and Republican candidates for Senate and governor have been making the death penalty a central issue....

Murderer's Last Plea: It's Too Expensive to Kill Me

Conn. killer hopes to avoid execution

(Newser) - With their client convicted in a ghastly triple murder of a mother and her two young daughters, the lawyers for Steven Hayes have mustered what seems like a grasping-at-straws argument to keep him from being executed: It's too expensive. When the penalty phase of the trial begins, the lawyers will...

Connecticut Jury Convicts Man in Brutal Family Murders

They'll decide next on whether or not Steven Hayes gets the death penalty

(Newser) - A paroled burglar was convicted today of killing a mother and her two daughters in a 2007 home invasion in an affluent Connecticut town and now could be sentenced to death. Steven Hayes was convicted of capital felony and three counts of murder by a jury that heard eight days...

Horrific Conn. Triple-Murder Case Goes to Jury

Defendant may face death penalty for Hawke-Petit murders

(Newser) - Jurors finished their first day of deliberations in the case of Steven J. Hayes, a parolee accused of sexually assaulting and murdering a Connecticut woman and her two daughters in a horrifically brutal home invasion , reports the New York Times . The jury did not reach a verdict before going home...

Conn. Cops: Defendants Took Photos of Victims

More brutal testimony and evidence in triple-murder trial

(Newser) - Jurors had to sit through more horrific testimony today in the murder trial of one of two men accused of sexually assaulting and murdering a Connecticut woman and her two daughters in a home invasion, the Hartford Courant reports. Among other things, police described photos they found on the men's...

Mom Withdrew $15K for Robbers Before Her Murder

Bank surveillance tape shows mother's desperate bid to save family

(Newser) - In a desperate bid to save her family, a Connecticut mom withdrew $15,000 for home invaders who were holding her husband and two daughters hostage. Despite the payoff, she and her children were sexually assaulted and murdered, prosecutors said yesterday. Jennifer Hawke-Petit withdrew the money while at least one...

Trial of Burglar Accused of Murdering Family Begins

Mother, two daughters were killed

(Newser) - In July of 2007, two lifetime criminals, Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky, broke into the Petit family home in New Haven, Connecticut. They are accused of horrific crimes—raping and killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit, sexually abusing one of her daughters before killing her, and killing another daughter by setting the house...

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