Steven Hayes who is currently on trial for the murders of Hayley Petit, who was to matriculate with the Class of 2011, and her mother and sister has submitted a request to change his plea to guilty, according to multiple media reports. Hayes, who is currently standing trial, is one of two men charged in the case.
Joshua Komisarjevsky, the second suspect, said he would plead guilty to the charges only if the state agreed not to press for the death penalty, his attorney told the Associated Press on Friday.
Komisarjevsky, 29, and Hayes, 46, were charged with sexual assault and capital felony murder among other crimes related to the murders, the AP reported. Both men originally pled not guilty to all charges.
Hayes told New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue that he wanted to change his plea to guilty shortly after his attorneys waived a competency hearing on Thursday, according to reports. Blue did not immediately accept Hayes' plea, and Hayes' attorneys stated they would try to stanch a guilty plea, despite their client's statements, the Hartford Courant reported.
Hayes' attorneys have been worried about his mental health since he attempted suicide in prison on Jan. 30, according to the AP.
One of Hayes' attorneys, Thomas Ullmann, told CNN at the time that his client was in intensive care after he was found unconscious in his cell. Hayes was reportedly in a medically induced coma for a period after he overdosed on a stockpile of his daily medications, CNN reported.
Following the suicide attempt, jury selection for Hayes' trial was postponed for six weeks. Five jurors have been selected so far, according to the Courant.
Part of the delay in jury selection came from Hayes' lawyers' attempt to challenge aspects of his detention following his suicide attempt, the Courant reported. They claimed Hayes was unable to maintain proper hygiene and medical care due to the prison's suicide precautions, and that 24-hour lighting kept Hayes from sleeping.
Hayes's change of plea must be established at an official hearing, according to AP reports.
Jeremiah Donovan, Komisarjevsky's attorney, said that his client would uphold his not guilty plea unless the death penalty were dropped, an agreement that he has presented on behalf of his client since charges were first filed regarding the July 2007 murder.
"We said during the very first appearance in court and we continue to say that we would plead guilty to all the charges so long as the state didn't insist upon the death of [Komisarjevsky,]" Donovan told the AP.
Hayes and Komisarjevsky allegedly invaded the Cheshire, Conn. home of William Petit, Jr. '78 and his family around 3 a.m. on July 23, 2007, The Dartmouth previously reported.
At 9:00 a.m., the accused forced Jennifer Hawke-Petit Petit's wife to drive to her bank and withdraw a large sum of money. She then alerted a bank employee that her family was being held captive, according to a previous article in The Dartmouth.
When police arrived at the house, they found the residence on fire. The suspects tried to flee the scene, but crashed their getaway vehicle into two police cars, which had been positioned as a roadblock, The Dartmouth previously reported.
William Petit had been badly beaten, but managed to escape his home with severe head wounds and walk to a neighbor's house, where he sought help, according to The Dartmouth.
Autopsies of Hawke-Petit and her daughters showed that Hawke-Petit had been strangled. The suspects tied her daughters to their beds and set the house ablaze, causing the girls to die of smoke inhalation, according to the AP.
Hayley Petit had been admitted to the College as an early decision applicant and a women's crew recruit, The Dartmouth previously reported. She was active in high school activities and started Hayley's Hope, a fundraising organization that raised money for multiple sclerosis research. Hawke-Petit was diagnosed with MS in 1999, and both Hayley and her sister Michaela were active in finding a cure, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Donovan and Michael Dearington, state attorney for the prosecution, could not be reached for comment by press time. Ullmann declined to comment, citing a gag order imposed by the court.
