Episode 8: The Cheshire Home Invasion Murders
The Petit Family of Cheshire, Connecticut was well known in the community for being accomplished, smart, and driven individuals. Father William Petit, an endocrinologist, and mother Jennifer Hawke-Petit, an oncology nurse, were the parents of two smart daughters- Hayley (17) and Michaela (11). Each girl was known for their intelligence, their kindness, and their drive to help the community.
On the night of July 23rd, 2007, absolute tragedy took place in the Petit home, when two men with long histories of crime, addiction, and imprisonment decided to target the family. Looking for money and with no intentions of harming anyone, Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes entered the house through the back door to find William asleep in the sun room. After bashing him over the head with a baseball bat and tying him up, the two men tied up Jennifer and her two daughters, placing them in their respective bedrooms. After ransacking the house for cash, the two men find a check register with over $40k on it.
In the early hours of the morning, Hayes took Jennifer to the bank to cash $15k of the check registry. While inside, Jennifer calmly informed the bank teller that she and her family were being held hostage in their home. As Hayes and Jennifer were on their way back to the house, Komisarjevsky raped 11-year-old Michaela, taking pictures of her and her sister on his phone. When Hayes and Jennifer returned, Hayes proceeded to rape and strangle Jennifer at the persuasion of Komisarjevsky. Jennifer ultimately died of being strangled with a rope.
At this point, William, who was tied to a support beam in the basement, managed to escape. When the two men discovered this, they frantically doused the home in two previously purchased cans of gasoline. The house was set aflame, with Hayley and Michaela still tied to their beds in their respective rooms. The two girls died of smoke inhalation and burns.
In their attempt to escape, Komisarjevsky and Hayes were stopped by police, who had set up a parameter around the home. Both men were sent to jail, and faced trial one year apart. Ultimately, both men were sentenced to the death penalty for their vicious crimes. However, in 2012, Connecticut abolished the death penalty, and the two men had their sentences commuted to life in prison, where they remain to this day.
Image Sources:
ccn.com - “Trial stirs painful memories of brutal home invasion”
oxygen.com - “Connecticut Court Upholds Triple Murder Conviction of Petit Family Home Invasion Killer”