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Thread: Joshua Komisarjevsky - Connecticut

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    Joshua Komisarjevsky - Connecticut

    Extensive case coverage here



    Jennifer Hawke-Petit on Cheshire Bank Surveillance




    More Anguish: Cheshire Readies For Death Penalty Trial 2

    Trial of alleged mastermind Komisarjevsky could be longer

    CHESHIRE, Conn. (CBS 2) — The stage is now set for another death penalty trial in the home invasion murders of a mother and her two children in Connecticut.

    A day after a jury gave Steven Hayes a death sentence, the focus now turns to his co-defendant — the person Hayes has fingered as the mastermind.

    The new owner of the house where the accused killer once lived asked CBS 2’s Lou Young not to take pictures.

    “It’s very difficult. It’s very difficult for everyone,” Cheshire resident Ray Bennet said.

    Joshua Komisarjevsky was 26 years old in the summer of 2007 when the Petit home became a killing ground. It’s now a memorial park for the victims. That the adopted son of an affluent local couple would be accused of the crimes here is almost beyond belief.

    The younger defendant seemed to play the lead role in the horror that occurred in Cheshire. He was the experienced burglar. He allegedly used the baseball bat to beat Dr. William Petit and police found photos of the Petit girls on his cell phone, taken inside the house during the crimes.

    He also knew the area well. He grew up in Cheshire. His adoptive parents lived less than two miles from here.

    Bennet told CBS 2 that Komisarjevsky grew up in a good home in a nice community. So what could have possibly gone wrong?

    “I have, have no idea,” Bennet said.

    Komisarjevsky has a 5-year-old daughter, and a former girlfriend who may have been part of his motive for robbing the Petit home. The paroled ex-convict allegedly told her he was going to get $15,000 to reunite them in Connecticut – the precise amount of money Jennifer Hawke-Petit was asked to withdraw from a bank before she and her daughters were murdered.

    The girlfriend, Caroline Mesel, who lives out of state, said she now despises him.

    “I get so mad thinking about it. I kind of wish I could do to him what he did to the girls. I kind of wish he could just feel exactly what they went through,” Mesel said during a recent interview.

    Young has learned the penalty phase of Komisarjevsky’s trial will contain evidence of childhood abuse, drugs and psychological problems. Experts said it will be longer than the Hayes trial.

    “I think you’re going to see quite a few potential mitigating factors being put before the jury and the court,” former prosecutor Chris Morani told Young.

    The second Cheshire trial begins after the first of the year in New Haven.

    In personal writings Komisarjevsky fancied himself as a dedicated burglar who enjoyed breaking into homes, sometimes with the help of night vision goggles. He met Hayes in a half-way house awaiting parole.

    Before the Cheshire killings neither had a previous history of violence.

    http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/11/...nalty-trial-2/

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    Jury Selection In 2nd Cheshire Trial To Start Feb. 22

    Jury selection for the trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky, the second man charged in the July 2007 Cheshire home-invasion killings, will begin Feb. 22, Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue said this morning.

    Komisarjevsky, 30, of Cheshire, faces the death penalty if convicted of the killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, during a break-in, robbery and arson inside their Cheshire home on July 23, 2007.

    Last week, Komisarjevsky's accomplice, Steven Hayes, 47, of Winsted, was sentenced to die by lethal injection for the kidnapping, rape and strangulation of Hawke-Petit and the kidnapping and killings of Hayley and Michaela. The sentencing capped Hayes' high-profile trial, which began Sept. 13.

    Komisarjevsky is accused of breaking into the Petit home in the middle of the night and beating Dr. William Petit Jr., Hawke-Petit's husband and the girls' father, with a baseball bat and tying him to a pole in the basement.

    Once inside the home, the intruders ransacked the house looking for valuables. At one point, Hayes drove Hawke-Petit to the bank and forced her to withdraw money. After returning to the Petit home, Hayes raped and killed Hawke-Petit. Testimony at Hayes' trial showed that Michaela was sexually assaulted. Michaela and Hayley were tied to their beds and the home was doused with gasoline and set on fire.

    Petit was beaten during the seven-hour attack at his home but escaped before the house went up in flames.

    http://www.courant.com/community/che...,1918709.story

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    Defense Lawyers Want to Move Komisarjevsky Trial

    They filed motions in New Haven Superior Court asking to move the case to Stamford, according to the Hartford Courant.

    Komisarjevsky is the second suspect accused in the home invasion murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11 in their Cheshire home. Jury selection was scheduled to begin this month, but was delayed to March 14.

    Steven Hayes, the first of the two suspects tried in the case, was sentenced to death for the murders in December. Komisarjevsky's lawyers said they wanted the trial moved because of what they called "unprecedented, prejudicial publicity" surrounding Hayes' trial, the paper reported. Komisarjevsky faces the death penalty as well if he is convicted.

    http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/l...115323834.html

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    Defense Lawyers Want Blue Disqualified From Komisarjevsky Trial

    Attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky want to disqualify Judge Jon Blue from hearing his case and the motion will go before another judge on Feb. 15.

    Komisarjevsky is the second suspect accused in the home invasion murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11 in their Cheshire home. Jury selection was scheduled to begin this month, but was delayed to March 14.

    Steven Hayes, the first of the two suspects tried in the case, was sentenced to death for the murders in December. Blue presided over his trial.

    Komisarjevsky's lawyers cited "partiality, lack of objectivity and unsuitable temperament" as reasons they want the judge disqualified. They also brought up reporters tweeting from the courtroom and the judge bringing chocolate chip cookies and giving them out at court.

    "In the hypothetical event that the motion is granted, the case will be reassigned. In the hypothetical event that the motion is denied, I will retain jurisdiction of the cae and proceed to hear the remaining motions," Blue wrote in the order released on Monday.

    Komisarjevsky faces the death penalty as well if he is convicted.

    http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/l...115505104.html

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    Komisarjevsky lawyers want potential jurors to see triple slaying crime scene photos (read motions)

    Attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky, the second defendant in the Cheshire triple homicide, Wednesday filed a motion requesting the jury be sequestered during his upcoming trial and that potential jurors be required to see crime scene photos of the victims.

    The motion, covering a range of jury selection issues, follows 11 motions filed last Friday by Komisarjevsky’s attorneys: Walter Bansley III, Todd Bussert and Jeremiah Donovan.

    State’s Attorney Michael Dearington and Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Gary Nicholson have until Friday to respond in writing to the defense motions.

    The earlier defense motions called for, among other things, moving the trial to Fairfield County because of the extensive pretrial publicity and removing Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue as presiding judge because of his “lack of objectivity.” Blue presided over the trial last fall of co-defendant Steven J. Hayes, who was convicted on multiple counts and sentenced to death.

    The 11 motions and possibly the latest addition, are scheduled to be heard Feb. 15. Jury selection, expected to last four months or more, is scheduled to begin March 14. The trial could begin in fall, if the schedule follows that of the Hayes trial.

    Komisarjevsky, who also faces a possible death penalty if convicted on capital felony counts, is charged in the July 2007 deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17. Their father, Dr. William Petit, was severely beaten with a baseball bat but managed to escape just before his home erupted in flames.

    Hayes, 47, of Winsted, admitted strangling Hawke-Petit but his attorneys charged Komisarjevsky, 30, of Cheshire, with masterminding the crime. The girls, who had been tied to their beds, died of smoke inhalation.

    The defense attorneys wrote in their motion that showing the graphic crime scene photos to prospective jurors would help determine whether they are qualified to serve on the jury.

    The attorneys said they want the photos seen “in order to uncover any prejudice or influence, emotional or otherwise, that could affect the outcome of the trial.”

    They added that once those in the jury pool saw the photos, the attorneys and the judge could “evaluate accurately whether they have the emotional strength, endurance and perspective to view the evidence objectively and dispassionately.”

    Jurors in the Hayes trial did not see the photos until evidence began. Some of them were visibly shaken.

    The attorneys also seek to have the jury sequestered because of the “notoriety” of the case.

    “It is difficult to identify a case that has garnered as much media attention and scrutiny” as this one, the attorneys said.

    “Media coverage of this case is such that, no matter how well intentioned the jurors, it will be nearly impossible to avoid exposure to information that might deprive Mr. Komisarjevsky of his right to a fair trial with due process and an impartial jury,” the attorneys said.

    The other elements of the motion included a request for juror questionnaires, which were not used in the Hayes case. The defense attorneys said using questionnaires would more effectively “unearth any latent bias or prejudice” because the potential jurors might not be so candid when questioned in open court during the individual voir dire process.

    The defense attorneys also requested that the panels of potential jurors, which numbered about 45 people called twice per week during the Hayes case be increased to as many as the jury assembly room could accommodate: 152 fixed seats.

    In addition, the attorneys want to double the number of peremptory challenges that were allowed Hayes’ defense team and prosecutors during that jury selection, from 39 to 78. But the defense attorneys said they should have those 78 challenges and prosecutors should remain at 39 challenges because of “a societal anti-defendant bias, specifically an anti-Joshua Komisarjevsky bias” as well as media coverage.

    http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2...txt?viewmode=2

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    Defense motions opposed in second Petit murder trial

    NEW HAVEN -- The prosecution in the Joshua Komisarjevsky case filed motion on Thursday against a change of venue and disqualifying Judge Jon C. Blue.

    The motions were in response to defense motions last week to have the venue for the trial of Komisarjevsky changed to the Stamford-Norwalk District instead of New Haven where the trial of co-defendant Steven Hayes was held last year. Another motion to be heard by the court on Tuesday asked that Blue, who presided over the Hayes trial, be disqualified based on his "partiality, lack of objectivity and unsuitable temperament."

    Komisarjevsky, 30, could get the death penalty if convicted in the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters Hayley, 17, Michaela, 11, during a home invasion in Cheshire in 2007.

    Hayes was sentenced to death after being convicted in the deaths last year.

    http://www.rep-am.com/news/local/doc...f390794202.txt

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    Judge, Prosecutor In 2nd Cheshire Case Could Be Called To Testify

    New Haven's chief prosecutor and veteran Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue could testify at Tuesday's hearing on a motion to disqualify Blue from the trial of the second suspect in the Cheshire home-invasion killings.

    Both Blue and New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington have been served with subpoenas by defense attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky, charged in the July 2007 torture and slayings of a Cheshire woman and her two daughters.

    The attorneys are asking to have Blue disqualified because, they say, the judge "demonstrated bias" during the trial last year of Steven Hayes, the other man charged in the slayings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela.

    Tuesday's motion will be heard by Judge Brian T. Fischer. Komisarjevsky is being represented by attorneys Jeremiah Donovan, Walter C. Bansley III, and Todd A. Bussert, three special public defenders appointed by the state.

    Jury selection is scheduled to begin March 14.

    In December, Hayes was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Komisarjevsky, 30, of Cheshire, faces the death penalty if convicted.

    The motion to disqualify Blue said that the judge's "conduct and comments in the Hayes case reveal a partiality and a temperament unsuitable for" Komisarjevsky's trial. The motion said that although most judges would express reservation about presiding over the home-invasion killings case, Blue "apparently leaped into the fray" and "has a stated affinity for 'the drama.' "

    The motion stated that Blue "labeled the crime scene 'a scene of unimaginable horror' and offered that Hayes' crimes were 'more horrific than any that have come before me in my long judicial career,' meaning there was 'good reason' that Hayes was 'a man universally despised.' " The motion called the statements "inflammatory" and said that they "proved irresistible grist for the media mill."

    The lawyers wrote that Blue's "deeply troubling, injudicious comments are evidence of his identification with the jury and the mob mentality that has surrounded this prosecution for these last several years."

    Prosecutors will argue against the disqualification of Blue. In a motion filed last week, prosecutors challenged defense claims that Blue revealed "a partiality and a temperament unsuitable" for Komisarjevsky's trial. "The nature of the claims made [by the defense] ... not infrequently drift between being legally irrelevant, factually inaccurate, and a product of wishful thinking, pure speculation and mild hysteria," the prosecutors wrote.

    Regarding specific comments made by Blue on Nov. 8 and cited by the defense — that Hayes was "universally despised, with good reason" - the prosecutors argued that the comments "are eminently fair and were well-founded and appropriate based upon the evidence presented before him over a period of weeks.

    "Also," the prosecutors wrote, "it is significant that at this point in time, Judge Blue was speaking to a jury which had found the defendant guilty." At the time, the jurors had returned a death sentence, and Hayes had left the courtroom.

    Komisarjevsky is accused of breaking into the Petit home in the middle of the night, beating Dr. William Petit Jr., Hawke-Petit's husband and the girls' father, with a baseball bat, and tying him to a post in the basement.

    Once inside, the intruders ransacked the house looking for valuables. At one point, Hayes drove Hawke-Petit to the bank and forced her to withdraw money. After returning to the Petit home, Hayes raped and killed Hawke-Petit. Testimony at Hayes' trial showed that Michaela was sexually assaulted. Michaela and Hayley were tied to their beds and the home was doused with gasoline and set on fire.

    Petit was beaten during the seven-hour attack at his home, but escaped before the house went up in flames.

    http://www.courant.com/community/che...,1754456.story

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    Judge denies bid to disqualify judge in Conn. case

    The judge who oversaw the first trial in a deadly home invasion case showed no bias and can preside over the other defendant's upcoming triple murder trial, another judge ruled Tuesday.

    Attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky wanted New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue removed from his trial in the 2007 murders of a mother and her two daughters. They argued Blue repeatedly made gratuitous comments while presiding over the trial of Steven Hayes, who was convicted and condemned to death in November.

    Superior Court Judge Brian Fischer denied the motion, saying Blue's statements showed no bias and did not call into question his impartiality.

    Authorities say Komisarjevsky and Hayes killed Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley, in their Cheshire home. The girls' father, Dr. William Petit, was beaten but survived.

    Hayes sexually assaulted and strangled Hawke-Petit. Authorities say he and Komisarjevsky tied her daughters to their beds, poured gasoline on or around them and set fire to their home.

    Jury selection for Komisarjevsky's trial is scheduled to start March 14.

    Komisarjevsky's attorneys said Blue repeatedly made gratuitous comments while presiding over Hayes' trial, such as saying there was "good reason" that Hayes was "a man universally despised." Komisarjevsky's attorneys also challenged Blue's suggestion that jurors could hug one another after hearing gruesome evidence one day.

    "A judge has to stay above the fray," said Todd Bussert, one of Komisarjevsky's attorneys. "That is a direct appeal to emotion. We want a judge who can stay above the fray, because that's what the law requires."

    The attorneys also criticized Blue for handing out cookies to the news media and the public one day.

    "To the extent that cookies were given to members of the Petit or Hawke families, or their supporters, a reasonable person could see it as a sign of favoritism, that is, a gift for those supporting the state in its prosecution of Steven Hayes," the attorneys wrote.

    Fischer said there was no evidence Blue gave the cookies to relatives of the victims.

    Fischer said it was the jury, not Blue, who convicted Hayes and condemned him to death. He said Blue's comments did not show bias toward Komisarjevsky.

    Prosecutors argued Blue should not be disqualified, saying his comments were fair and based on the evidence.

    Blue planned to hear other defense motions Tuesday afternoon.

    Among his other motions, Komisarjevsky argued that the murder charges that could expose him to the death penalty should be dismissed because evidence from the first trial showed that Hayes raped and killed Hawke-Petit and poured the gasoline and lit the fire that led to the smoke inhalation deaths of the girls.

    But prosecutors have said both men were equally responsible for the crime and that Hayes blamed Komisarjevsky for escalating the violence by beating Dr. Petit with a baseball bat.

    Komisarjevsky's attorneys also want the judge to prohibit anyone from wearing pins, buttons, clothing or other paraphernalia associated with the victims or charities in their memory. They said relatives and supporters of the victims frequently wore such items in court, calling them the "Petit posse" and arguing it was "inherently prejudicial" to Komisarjevsky and a threat to his right to a fair trial.

    Komisarjevsky also filed a motion arguing that prospective jurors should not be excused if they express opposition to the death penalty.

    Attorneys for Komisarjevsky want to move the trial to Fairfield County, the next county over, saying Komisarjevsky had been so "demonized" during the first trial that it was impossible for him to get a fair trial in New Haven. That motion will be heard next week.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110215/...ome_invasion_3

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    Judge Denies Bid To Dismiss Charges In 2007 Cheshire Home Invasion Case

    A Connecticut judge has rejected a move to dismiss charges against the second defendant in the deadly 2007 Cheshire home invasion case.

    Attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky argued Tuesday that murder charges that could expose him to the death penalty should be dismissed. They say evidence showed that his co-defendant, Steven Hayes, killed Jennifer Hawke Petit and poured the gasoline and lit the fire that led to the smoke inhalation deaths of her two daughters.

    Judge Jon Blue rejected the request, saying there was enough evidence against Komisarjevsky to proceed to trial next month.

    Prosecutors say both men are equally responsible for the crime. Hayes was convicted and sentenced to death in the fall.

    http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/02/...invasion-case/

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    Judge, attorneys clash in Conn. home invasion case

    Attorneys for a man charged with a home invasion that left a mother and her two daughters dead clashed sharply Tuesday with a judge, who questioned whether one of the lawyers was threatening a filibuster of jury selection.

    New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue called Tuesday's dispute a grave matter and said he would take it up again Wednesday.

    Attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky wanted Blue removed from his trial in the 2007 murders of the mother and her daughters in Cheshire, a wealthy New Haven suburb. Another judge rejected that request Tuesday, ruling he had showed no bias in an earlier trial of Komisarjevksy's co-defendant.

    One of Komisarjevsky's attorneys, Jeremiah Donovan, later in the day clashed with Blue over his request to schedule jury selection four days per week instead of five so he could handle other cases and keep his law practice running during a lengthy trial.

    Blue said he was concerned by a statement in Donovan's motion that said if the judge insisted on five days per week of jury selection it would be "highly doubtful that the defendant will receive the kind of focused and vigorous representation that the Constitution demands" in death penalty cases and that it could spark an appeal.

    As Blue pressed Donovan about what he meant, Donovan said the judge was twisting his words. Donovan said he would spend the same amount of time on the case regardless of the schedule, but he said he would urge his fellow attorneys to ask lengthy questions of prospective jurors so none is picked on days he couldn't make it to court.

    Blue repeatedly questioned whether Donovan was threatening a filibuster. He then asked Donovan and his two colleagues to clarify on Wednesday what they meant in the motion.

    That prompted, another of Komisarjevsky's attorneys, Walter Bansley, to accuse Blue of trying to divide them.

    Authorities say Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes killed Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley. The girls' father, Dr. William Petit, was beaten but survived.

    Hayes was convicted last year of sexually assaulting and strangling Hawke-Petit and was sentenced to death. Authorities say he and Komisarjevsky tied her daughters to their beds, poured gasoline on or around them and set fire to their home.

    Hayes and Komisarjevsky have blamed each other for escalating the crime. Jury selection for Komisarjevsky's trial is scheduled to start March 14.

    Komisarjevsky's attorneys said Blue repeatedly made gratuitous comments while presiding over Hayes' trial, such as saying there was "good reason" that Hayes was "a man universally despised." Komisarjevsky's attorneys also challenged Blue's suggestion that jurors could hug one another after hearing gruesome evidence.

    "A judge has to stay above the fray," Komisarjevsky's attorney Todd Bussert said. "That is a direct appeal to emotion. We want a judge who can stay above the fray, because that's what the law requires."

    The attorneys also criticized Blue for handing out cookies to the news media and the public.

    Superior Court Judge Brian Fischer, who denied the motion to remove Blue, said there was no evidence Blue gave the cookies to relatives of the victims. Fischer said it was the jurors, not Blue, who convicted Hayes and condemned him to death. He said Blue's comments did not show bias toward Komisarjevsky.

    Prosecutors argued Blue should not be disqualified, saying his comments were fair and based on the evidence.

    Blue also rejected several other defense motions, including a claim that murder charges that could expose Komisarjevsky to the death penalty should be dismissed because evidence from the first trial showed that Hayes raped and killed Hawke-Petit and poured the gasoline and lit the fire that led to the smoke inhalation deaths of the girls.

    But prosecutors have said that both men were equally responsible for the crime and that Hayes blamed Komisarjevsky for escalating the violence by beating Petit with a baseball bat.

    Attorneys for Komisarjevsky want to move the trial to Fairfield County, the next county over, saying Komisarjevsky had been so "demonized" during the first trial that it was impossible for him to get a fair trial in New Haven. That motion will be heard next week.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110216/...ome_invasion_7

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