In July 2007, the Petit family's idyllic life in Cheshire, Connecticut, became a living nightmare when two convicted criminals, Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky, broke into their house with the intention of robbing the upscale home of a respected doctor, William; his wife, Jennifer (a former nurse who had recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis); and their two daughters, Michaela and Hayley. However, the burglary quickly transformed into a terrifying home invasion that included multiple acts of sexual assault and ended with a frightening crescendo of arson and murder.
After the perpetrators were captured by law enforcement, many people in the wealthy town were left asking how such a brutal crime could have occurred in their quiet community, as well as what, if anything, could have been done to prevent one woman and two girls from losing their lives on that fateful summer day. The Cheshire, Connecticut, home invasion murders, as they came to be called, are a terrifying example of a "simple" robbery spinning out of control.
Things You'll Wish You Didn't Know About The Cheshire Murders And Their Aftermath,
One Of The Men Raped A Child
After they tied up Dr. Petit in the basement, Hayes and Komisarjevksy went upstairs where they discovered 11-year-old Michaela and her mother asleep next to one another in bed, while 17-year-old Hayley was asleep in her own bedroom. The pair tied up the woman and her two daughters and placed pillowcases over their heads. Then the two men searched the home at 300 Sorghum Mill Drive for valuable items they could steal.
Disappointed by the family's belongings, Hayes took Mrs. Petit to the bank to withdraw some money, leaving his 26-year-old accomplice in the house with the two girls. While Hayes was at Bank of America with Jennifer, 26-year-old Komisarjevksy performed oral sex on 11-year-old Michaela and made the girl pose in a variety of sexually explicit positions while he masturbated in front of her.
Two Men Committed A Home Invasion That Lasted Several Hours
At approximately 3 AM on July 23, 2007, Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, and Steven Hayes, 44, broke into the Cheshire, Connecticut, home of the Petit family, which included parents Jennifer, 48, and William, 50, and their two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11. The pair discovered William, a successful endocrinologist, asleep on a sofa on the porch, causing Komisarjevsky to hit the father of the family in the head with a baseball bat.
After striking Petit in the head, Hayes and Komisarjevsky tied the doctor up and took him down to the basement, where they secured him to a pipe. With Dr. Petit restrained and out of their way, the two men went upstairs to continue their horrifying reign of terror that lasted approximately seven hours and left three people dead and much of the house destroyed by fire.
They Poured Gasoline On Their Victims' Bodies Before Setting The House On Fire
After committing murder and multiple acts of rape and robbery, Komisarjevsky and Hayes decided to get rid of any evidence of their crimes by setting the house on fire. Before Hayes took Mrs. Petit to the bank to withdraw money, he'd actually left the house hours earlier to go to a nearby gas station, where he purchased two containers and filled them with several gallons of gasoline.
Together, Komisarjevsky and Hayes poured gas all over the house, making sure to douse Mrs. Petit's dead body with accelerant. The pair also poured gas all over Michaela and Hayley, who were both still alive and tied to their beds with pillowcases covering their heads. With the house and their victims soaked with accelerant, one of the men lit a match and set the home ablaze. However, both Komisarjevsky and Hayes have denied being the person responsible for setting the fire, with each man saying the other one struck the match that started the blaze.
One Of The Men Followed The Mother And Her Young Daughter Home From A Store
Prior to breaking into the Petit home, Hayes and Komisarjevsky had burglarized at least two other houses in Cheshire, stealing money and credit cards. They decided to target the Petit family after Komisarjevsky spotted 11-year-old Michaela and her mother buying groceries at Stop & Shop and followed them back to their house.
According to Komisarjevsky, he thought the family had "a very nice house and very nice car and thought it would be nice to be there someday."
That evening, Komisarjevsky met up with Hayes and the two men made the decision to rob the Petit family's home.
Police Were Outside The House While The Men Were Inside Assaulting The Victims
After Dr. Petit managed to escape his burning home, he tried to get help for his wife and two daughters, unaware that the police had already been notified of an incident at his home approximately one hour earlier. Apparently, when Hayes forced his wife to withdraw $15,000 from their bank, Jennifer told one of the tellers about the situation, even letting the employee know her children were tied up at her house. After Mrs. Petit left Bank of America with Hayes - who had been waiting in the car - a bank employee called 911 to inform the authorities about the disturbing situation.
Shortly after the call was made, officers were dispatched to the Petit home, but they were instructed by their superiors not to enter the house. They were also told not to attempt to speak with Hayes when he arrived back at the house and drove into the garage, nor were they allowed to try to contact someone inside the residence via phone.
Instead, law enforcement officials were told to set up a perimeter and monitor the situation, leaving officers just outside the home while Hayes raped and murdered Mrs. Petit and the men set the house on fire.
The Jury Was Offered Counseling Because The Crime Was So Disturbing
After the two men were arrested as they tried to flee, they were charged with multiple counts, including sexual assault, murder, kidnapping, and arson. In October 2010, Hayes was convicted of 16 counts, and the following month he was given the death penalty. In October 2011, Komisarjevsky was convicted of 17 counts, and in December 2017 he - like his accomplice - was sentenced to death for his crimes.
During both of their trials, members of the jury were exposed to horrifying evidence, including autopsy photos of the victims' bodies and images Komisarjevsky had taken of 11-year-old Michaela as he sexually assaulted her. As a result of these pictures - as well as disturbing witness testimony - many members of the jury experienced severe psychological and emotional trauma, so the state of Connecticut offered to provided free counseling the jurors.
The Two Men Met While Staying At A Halfway House
After Komisarjevsky and Hayes started the blaze, they hopped into the Petit family's SUV and tried to leave the scene of their shocking crimes. However, the pair only managed to drive one block before they crashed the vehicle and were apprehended by law enforcement.
Investigators soon discovered both men had extensive criminal histories, and they'd actually met one another the previous year while they were both living at a halfway house in Hartford, CT. Shortly after meeting, Hayes and Komisarjevsky decided to become partners in crime, committing burglaries together in order to steal cash and credit cards from wealthy families.
The Father Was Unable To Save His Wife And Daughters
Shortly after Komisarjevksy and Hayes set the house on fire and fled the scene, Dr. Petit - who had been tied up in the basement - managed to free himself from his restraints and escape from the burning home. Petit ran to a neighbor's house - with his ankles still bound together - to get help for himself and his family, not realizing his wife had already been strangled to death by one of the men.
When his neighbor discovered William at his door around 10 AM, he didn't recognize the doctor because he'd been beaten so severely with a baseball bat. Tragically, Dr. Petit was unable to save the lives of his wife and daughters, making him the only survivor of the sickening home invasion.
The Two Girls Died Of Smoke Inhalation
Before Komisarjevsky and Hayes set the house on fire, they shut the doors to Michaela and Hayley's bedrooms, leaving the two girls tied to their beds with pillowcases on their heads. According to Komisarjevsky, before one of them put a match to the gasoline they'd poured all over the house, he said to his accomplice, "You can't seriously be contemplating burning these two girls alive."
After they started the fire, the two men fled the house, and 17-year-old Hayley actually managed to escape from her room, but she was overcome by the heavy smoke that filled the Sorghum Mill Road home. Hayley's body was found at the top of the stairs, while Michaela's corpse was discovered still bound to her bed. A medical examiner later determined both girls had died of smoke inhalation.
The Other Man Raped And Strangled The Mother
When Hayes returned from Bank of America with Jennifer - having forced Mrs. Petit to withdraw $15,000 from her account - he learned that his accomplice had sexually assaulted 11-year-old Michaela. According to Hayes, Komisarjevsky encouraged him to assault Mrs. Petit in order to "square things up" between the two of them, so he raped Jennifer on the floor of the family's living room.
However, as the 44-year-old was assaulting Mrs. Petit, his 26-year-old accomplice came into the room to tell him Dr. Petit had escaped from the basement, causing Hayes to strangle Jennifer to death. After Hayes murdered Mrs. Petit, the two men decided there was only one way for them to destroy evidence of their horrible crimes.