Intruders Kill Doctor’s Wife, Daughters

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Intruders Kill Doctor’s Wife, Daughters

July 25, 2007 by Morbid

Filed under: Crime

13739516bn9 Intruders Kill Doctors Wife, Daughters

Hayley Petit, Michaela Petit, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, Dr. William Petit Jr. Courtesy Muldoon Photography.

CHESHIRE, Conn. – Two men broke into the home of William Petit Jr., 50, a prominent doctor, kidnapped his wife Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and forced her to withdraw money from a bank early Monday morning. Jennifer was able to notify bank employees that she and her family were being held hostage and notified police. When police arrived at Petit’s house, the observed two men leaving in a station wagon while the house was engulfed in flames. After striking a couple police cruisers on their way out, the two men, not identified, were apprehended.

InsideInside reviews the house they found a severely injured William Petit Jr as well as the dead bodies of his wife and his two daughters, Hayley and Michaela.

Petit, a well-known diabetes specialist, was in stable condition at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, his injuries nor the cause of his family members deaths, have been released. Authorities would not release the names of the suspects. The two men are due Tuesday in Meriden Superior Court.

UPDATE:

Steven Hayes, 44, and Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26 were charged with burglary, arson and sexual assault for allegedly breaking into a doctor’s home, forcing a hostage to withdraw cash at a bank and burning the house several hours later, killing the doctor’s wife and two daughters.

Update

AutopsyAutopsy reviews results released Wednesday revealed that Hawke-Petit was strangled to death, and her two daughters — Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11 — died from smoke inhalation, according to the state’s Department of Public Safety. A source close to the investigation told CNN that Hayley Petit’s charred body was found at the top of a staircase in the home; Michaela Petit’s body was found tied to her bed; Jennifer Hawke-Petit’s body was found on the first floor.

William Petit, who police said was assaulted and sustained serious head injuries, managed to get up the stairs from the basement and outside the burning home.

Wonder who was on the receiving end of the sexual assault?

Discussion

Tags: hostage, Joshua Komisarjevsky, kidnap, Murder, Petit. Steven Hayes

Comments

Swede

American police should take a look at other fires involving families with daughters, this doesnt seem like a "first-offense" to me. Just because someone gets caught for the first time doesnt mean they havent done similar crimes before. Those 2 have probably killed people like this before...

Morbid

Richard, I agree with you about their motives. They stated it was the car they liked, but it is a bit too coincidental, if it was Michaela that was with her mom, that the two they followed were also the two that were raped.

What an odd turn for two long-time criminals to take. I wonder if it was the scenario in which the two did things together they would not have done had they been on their own?

Richard

Class aside, this is a horric tragedy. I cannot understand why the police were not at the Petit home by the time she returned with the assailant to meet her death. Someone should look at the timeline. Also, great pictures of the family can be seen in the pictures from Hayley's graduation from Miss Porter's found at the school site. For After seeing these, I think Michaela and her mom were the targets of these sickos and everything else was collateral damage. They should be fed into a tree chipper. Slowly.

okay

You're all a bunch of cunts.

passerby

wow, aren't you all precious... We have two psychics: the "Rapists should be in jail till death" and the "we need to thank" moron who both don't realize that these two had no history of violent crime on their rapsheet. Next, we have "catherine" who thinks that a heartfelt remark like "a family like this in the community" somehow means a white and/or affluent family when it actually means an extremely charitable, kind and giving family who helped out their community more than the average member (read the articles; that's who these people were. The daughter, at 17, even started her own charity! You know, to help out those poor, underprivileged types you're so concerned about.) The "not as golden" families, in this context, wouldn't be "poor people" but rather those that spawned the likes of these two murderers. There are plenty of racist, classist assholes out there for you to be outraged with; save this crap for them and don't be an insensitive hypocrite.

Anonymous

i would like 5 min alone with each of those two losers

marie

RAPISTS SHOULD BE IN JAIL TILL DEATH
SEXUAL PREDATORS SHOULD BE IN JAIL TILL DEATH
THESE TWO SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD BY NOW .
LET'S RAISE MONEY TO BUILD MORE JAILS WITH NO AMENIETIES.
LET'S KEEP OUR BOY AND GIRLS, AND OUR WOMEN SAFE.

marie

We need to thank our judges for their moderation.
We need to thank our government that refuses to keep those beasts in cage.
We need to thank the activists that call rats have rights.
we need to thank the attorneys that only want to win. with no meaculpa
we need to thank our society that will not stand up because it did not happen to them.

Shame on you America

Anonymous

RE; Cathrine: This family was not real affluent and not "golden"-Don't believe everything you read! They lived in a modest house and volunteered alot of time to community activities including Girl Scouts and The Multiple Sclerosis Society. The girls were hard working students but didn't like to draw attention to themselves. Mrs. Petit had Multiple Scerosis-diagnosed 8 years ago. Dr. Petit went to public Elem and High Schools. I think the Reverend meant that this family was at a low risk for a violent crime so it was shocking that this happened to them. They respected all people and helped people through good deeds literally everyday. ....A sad day in Connecticut and for us all.

Morbid

If this were to happen to me, I would not be in the hospital, as I would have been dead along with my family. Granted, I don't know this guy, or what he went through in that house, but I am hoping more details will emerge on why the ex-cons didn't kill him as he tried to stop the sexual assault of his wife or daughters. I would rather die trying to defend my family than to live knowing I was unable to.

larry

Catherine that is one of the most assanine comments I have read thus far. Rather than simply express your saddness over such a senseless act of brutality you have to twist it around to involve the "less fortunate" families. I'm surprised you didn't attribute the vicious atrocity carried out by these two animals to their upbringing in a "not privledged" neighborhoods.

Anonymous

Chilling, reminiscient of the killings described the book, "In Cold Blood" The second "home invasion" incident in Connecticut in just one month.

Catherine

I am shaken and saddened by the news of these brutal killings. However the comment of the minister about "a family like this in this community" makes my heart ache for the other families not as golden who are not privileged enough to live in upper class neighborhoods, but have still been victims of sensless and brutal crimes. Don't they count? I guess this reflects the thinking of the "new" America.