True Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Part VII

The Cheshire Home Invasion Murders

On July 23, 2007, Linda Hayes (named as Steven Hayes and presenting as male at the time of the incident) and Joshua Komisarjevsky invaded the residence of the Petit family in Cheshire, Connecticut. Though initially planning only to rob the house, Hayes and Komisarjevsky murdered Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, 17-year-old Hayley Petit, and 11-year-old Michaela Petit. Their father, Dr. William Petit, escaped with severe injuries.

Upon entering the Petits' home, Komisarjevsky beat William with a baseball bat, and the pair restrained him in the basement. Hawke-Petit and her daughters were also restrained. Hayes later kidnapped Hawke-Petit and forced her to withdraw money at a bank. After returning to the home, Hayes raped Hawke-Petit and strangled her to death. Komisarjevsky raped 11-year-old Michaela. The invaders then decided to burn down the house to destroy evidence. With Hayley and Michaela tied to their beds, the invaders doused them and the house with gasoline and set it on fire, leaving them to die of smoke inhalation.

The case garnered significant attention in Connecticut, with the Hartford Courant citing it as "possibly the most widely publicized crime in the state's history". The murders received national and international attention, and had a significant impact on Connecticut's death penalty, ultimately delaying its abolition.

Both Hayes and Komisarjevsky were convicted of the murders and sentenced to death. Their sentences were vacated in August 2015, when the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional and retroactively commuted all death sentences to life imprisonment.

Background

On the evening of Sunday, July 22, 2007, 48-year-old Hawke-Petit and her daughter, Michaela, went to a local Stop & Shop grocery store in Cheshire, Connecticut. They picked up food for a family dinner Michaela planned to prepare. During their trip to the grocery store, Komisarjevsky noticed and took interest in them, proceeding to follow them home. Prosecutors argued at the trial that Komisarjevsky was motivated by money and his interest in Michaela, whom he later sexually assaulted.

Shortly afterward, Hayes sent a text message to Komisarjevsky that read, "I'm chomping at the bit to get started. Need a margarita soon." Hayes then texted, "We still on?" Komisarjevsky replied, "Yes." Hayes's next text asked, "Soon?", to which Komisarjevsky replied: "I'm putting the kid to bed hold your horses". Hayes replied: "Dude, the horses want to get loose. LOL."

Home invasion

According to Hayes's confession, she and Komisarjevsky had planned to rob the Petit house under the cover of darkness, leaving the family bound but otherwise unharmed. Both attributed the grisly outcome to a change of plan. Upon their arrival in the early hours of July 23, they found William asleep on a couch in the ssunroom Komisarjevsky entered the basement through an unlocked door and took a baseball bat he found leaning on the basement stairs. Komisarjevsky then entered the ssunroomand used the bat to strike William four or five times. Komisarjevsky and Hayes bound William's wrists and ankles with plastic zip ties and rope. William remembered one perpetrator telling the other, "If he moves, put two bullets in him." The children and their mother were then bound in their respective rooms. Hayes and Komisarjevsky tied them by their wrists and ankles to their bedposts and placed pillowcases over their heads. After restraining the victims, Komisarjevsky and Hayes ransacked the house for cash. They then took William to the basement, where they tied him to a support pole. Hayes and Komisarjevsky continued ransacking the house for money but were not satisfied with what they found. They then found a check register with $40,000. They decided to steal $15,000.

Surveillance video from a gas station shows Hayes purchasing $10 worth of gasoline in two cans that were taken from the Petit home. After returning to the house, Hayes took Hawke-Petit to the bank. The prosecution later claimed that this was evidence of premeditated murder. Hayes forced Hawke-Petit to withdraw $15,000 from her line of credit when the bank opened. Hawke-Petit informed the bank teller that two men were holding her family hostage in their home and threatening to kill them all. Bank surveillance cameras captured the transaction. The bank manager called 9-1-1 and reported the situation to the police while Hawke-Petit was still with the teller. The manager reported to the 9-1-1 dispatcher, in real-time, as Hawke-Petit left the bank. The manager told the dispatcher that Hawke-Petit had indicated that the home invaders were "being nice" and that she believed they only wanted money. The Cheshire police responded to the bank's report by assessing the situation and setting up a vehicle perimeter, without revealing their presence.