One of the suspects in the 2007 home invasion in which Hayley Petit, who was to be a member of the Class of 2011, was killed is now seeking a change of venue for the trial citing pretrial publicity, the Associated Press reported on Sept. 9.
An attorney for Joshua Komisarjevsky said in papers filed earlier this month that William Petit Jr. '78, Hayley's father and the sole survivor of the Cheshire, Conn. home invasion, is calling for the suspect's execution, according to the AP. The papers allege that Petit has made repeated incendiary comments about Komisarjevsky, including calling the suspect an "animal," the AP reported.
Hayley's sister and mother, Michaela Petit and Jennifer Hawke-Petit, were also killed in the home invasion.
Lawyers for both defendants are under a court issued gag order and were unable to comment.
The likelihood that Komisarjevsky's request will be granted is low, according to Yale Law School professor Steven Duke.
"The problem is that Connecticut's a small state," he said. "And the publicity about this case has been enormous."
The trial could only be moved to another venue within Connecticut, making a change of venue "probably kind of futile," Duke said. He also noted that the trial is being held in New Haven and not in the town of Cheshire itself, where a change of venue would be more warranted.
Several defendants in high profile Connecticut cases have been denied a change of venue in the past, including a lawyer who was later convicted of murder for hire in 2002, and an aide to former Connecticut governor John G. Rowland, according to the Hartford Courant.
"[A change of venue request] would be kind of a routine motion," Duke said. "Even if [Komisarjevsky's lawyers] don't think it will help much."
In the early hours of July 22, 2007, Komisarjevsky and the other suspect, Steven Hayes, allegedly entered the Petit family's home and demanded that Hawke-Petit withdraw $15,000 from the family's bank. Hawke-Petit managed to alert bank employees that her family was being held hostage, but Hayley, her mother and her sister had been murdered by the time police made it to the Petit home. Hawke-Petit was allegedly strangled to death by one or both suspects before they allegedly poured gasoline around her and her daughters, who were tied to a bedpost. The house was then set on fire.
Autopsies revealed that the Petit daughters died of smoke inhalation, while Hawke-Petit died of asphyxiation.
William Petit has stated publicly that he supports Connecticut law allowing the death penalty, and praised the June decision by Gov. M. Jodi Rell, R-Conn., to veto a bill that would have abolished it.
"Thankfully, Gov. Rell has a sense of what is required to maintain the fabric of our society," Petit said, according to the Courant. "Finally, the victims have a reasonable voice and some consideration over the deluded thinkers who feel that rights should only be accorded to convicted felons. I want to thank Gov. Rell for her moral courage and clarity to stand up for what is right and just with her veto of the bill to abolish the death penalty."
Petit also supports initiating a bill that would mandate a life sentence for any person after their third conviction for a violent crime, according to the Courant.
Petit will testify at the trial, according to a July 6 letter to the editor of the Courant.
Komisarjevsky and Hayes remain in custody and have pleaded not guilty to a slate of charges, including murder, kidnapping, arson and sexual assault. Both suspects could face the death penalty if convicted.
In July, Petit presented the Hayley's Hope and Michaela's Miracle scholarship for the first time to two Connecticut teenagers. The scholarship is given to high school seniors who have a parent that suffers from multiple sclerosis or who have MS themselves. Hawke-Petit suffered from MS, and both of her daughters were active in fundraising to find a cure for the condition.
Hayley Petit, who had been accepted early decision to Dartmouth and was recruited for the women's crew team, planned to pursue her interest in medicine, following in the footsteps of her father, a well-respected endocrinologist and diabetes expert.
Petit could not be reached for comment.
Staff reporter Kate Farley contributed to the reporting of this article.
