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Thread: Joshua Komisarjevsky - Connecticut

  1. #71
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    Joshua Komisarjevsky's Daughter Could Be Forced to Testify in Death Penalty Trial

    A 9-year-old girl may be forced to testify in her father's murder trial to save him from being sentenced to death.

    Defense attorneys have filed a subpoena to have the daughter of Joshua Komisarjevsky testify, but prosecutors have fought the motion.

    The Connecticut Department of Children and Families has also sent a letter to Judge Jon C. Blue asking that the child be prevented from testifying. A mental health professional who is familiar with the psychological condition of the girl is also expected to be in court today to discuss what effects testifying could have on the child.

    Lawyer Justine Rakich-Kelly, the executive director of the Children's Law Center, is representing the child. In April, Rakich-Kelly filed a motion with the judge to have the child referred to only by a pseudonym to protect her privacy because shortly after her father was arrested in 2007 for the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Komisarjevsky's daughter, who was 5 at the time, received a threatening letter. Attorneys and witnesses have so far not referred to her by name in court.

    http://abcnews.go.com/US/joshua-komi...8#.TrK5xXLO1S0

  2. #72
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    Killer's Daughter, 9, Unlikely To Testify In Open Court

    If and when Joshua Komisarjevsky's 9-year-old daughter is called to testify, it is unlikely she will do so from the courtroom's witness stand in front of jurors and spectators.

    Legal experts say the girl could be questioned by prosecutors and defense attorneys at another location, like a local college, with Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue and possibly Komisarjevsky in the room.

    Her testimony would be videotaped and played later for the jury in open court.

    "The child would be placed under oath and questioned just as she would be questioned at a trial," said attorney M. Hatcher "Reese" Norris.

    Before she testifies, the judge could hear from mental health officials about what effects, if any, testifying would have on the girl. Norris said it is unlikely Blue will prejudge the relevance of the girl's testimony without hearing what she has to say.

    "The judge is the final arbiter on whether the jury will ever have the testimony played before it," Norris said.

    Testimony in the penalty phase of Joshua Komisarjevsky's trial will be put on hold Monday as attorneys hash out whether the girl will testify at her father's penalty phase and under what terms she will be questioned.

    Judge Blue, who will listen to the arguments, has closed the hearing to the public.

    Raymond M. Hassett, the attorney for the girl's legal guardian, had asked that the courtroom be closed while he presented his arguments on a motion he has filed to quash a subpoena from defense attorneys calling on the girl to testify. Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys objected to the courtroom being closed.

    Earlier this month, Hassett said he is interested in protecting the girl's privacy but also in making sure due process is followed. He said he had "concerns … about the parameters of the testimony."

    In late March, an attorney was hired to represent Komisarjevsky's daughter because her legal guardian had indicated that the child could be subpoenaed to testify at her father's trial. The girl is currently living with a maternal aunt.

    Komisarjevsky, 31, of Cheshire, faces the death penalty for the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, during a nighttime home invasion at their Cheshire home. Komisarjevsky was convicted last month of tying the mother and girls to their beds, sexually assaulting Michaela and beating the sole survivor of the break-in, Dr. William Petit Jr., in the head with a baseball bat.

    After Petit was beaten, he was tied to a pole in the basement. Hawke-Petit was strangled. The house was doused with gasoline and set on fire. Hayley and Michaela, who were left tied to their beds, died of smoke inhalation. Before Hawke-Petit was killed, she was forced to go to the bank with Komisarjevsky's accomplice, Steven Hayes, and withdraw money to give to the intruders. Hayes raped her after they returned to the home.

    Petit, who was unconscious for most of the seven-hour ordeal at his home, escaped from the house shortly before the fire was set and sought help from a neighbor.

    Police arrested Hayes and Komisarjevsky as they fled the burning home in one of the Petits' vehicles. Last year, Hayes was convicted of the slayings. He now sits on death row.

    Jurors have heard 12 days of testimony thus far in Komisarjevsky's penalty phase. At its conclusion, they will decide whether Komisarjevsky should join Hayes on death row or be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    One issue that could be discussed at Monday's hearing is whether Komisarjevsky will be present in the room where his daughter is testifying.

    This has been an issue in Connecticut when child victims, particularly minor victims of sexual abuse, are called to testify against their attackers. Though the circumstances are different in the Komisarjevsky case — his daughter is not the victim of the crimes of which he has been convicted, and she has been called by the defense, not prosecutors, to testify — the issue could still be taken up by Blue.

    Norris said if a judge determines Komisarjevsky's presence would undermine the trustworthiness of her testimony, then Komisarjevsky could be kept out of the room during questioning. Defense attorneys could fight to keep him there.

    If Komisarjevsky's right to confrontation becomes an issue, the judge could look to the landmark 1989 State v. Jarzbek decision, which establishes the standard by which the court considers whether to exclude a defendant.

    In that case, the state allowed the videotaping of testimony from a 5-year-old girl who had accused the defendant, Charles Jarzbek, of sexual abuse, rather than have her testify in person in court, outside the presence of Jarzbek. Connecticut law at the time said a defendant could be removed from court and face-to-face confrontation was not considered.

    At the heart of Jarzbek's appeal to the Supreme Court was the defendant's right to look the accuser in the eye and have that witness face the jury. The court ruled to permit victims of sexual assault to testify without the presence of the defendant only if it could be shown that the child otherwise would not testify fully.

    Testimony from children became an issue in the high-profile 2003 criminal trial in U.S. District Court of Philip A. Giordano, the former mayor of Waterbury, who was later convicted and sentenced to 37 years in prison for sexually abusing two girls, 8 and 10.

    During the trial, the two girls testified from a remote location within the federal courthouse, with audio and video relays back to the judge and jury. The judge in that case stated his concerns about minimizing the trauma to the children.

    The girls could see images of Giordano in the courtroom relayed to a computer laptop screen on the conference table in the room where they testified.

    Trial observers recalled how attorneys on both sides dreaded questioning the girls, dread that was made a little easier by the children not being questioned in open court.

    Legal experts say lawyers forced to question children have to weigh doing effective questioning or cross-examination for their case or client against making sure they don't come across as a bully.

    Andrew Bowman, Giordano's defense attorney, who legal experts say had the unenviable task of cross-examining the girls during Giordano's trial, admits it was not easy.

    "If a lawyer is perceived by the jury as browbeating a child who is 9 years old, that is something you have to be careful of," Bowman said. "But my job there was to do the most effective cross-examination for my client."

    http://www.courant.com/community/che...0.story?page=2

  3. #73
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    Komisarjevsky's Daughter To Testify Via Videotape

    Jurors weighing whether convicted triple murderer Joshua Komisarjevsky should live or die will hear evidence via videotape from his 9-year-old daughter, but she will not be questioned by attorneys in the case.

    Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue closed the courtroom Monday morning to hear arguments about possible testimony by Komisarjevsky's daughter. According to an order the judge issued, he will hold a hearing Thursday on whether to "close the courtroom during the playing of a videotape of the evidence of the minor child."

    Sources said the girl would be "spoken to," probably next week at a facility other than the courthouse.

    Raymond M. Hassett, the attorney for the girl's guardian, filed two motions Monday — one to close the courtroom to the public when the jury views the videotape of the girl, another to seal any evidence related to or depicting Komisarjevsky's daughter, including the videotape of her testimony.

    "The emotional, psychological, and physical safety of the Minor Child overrides the public interest in viewing such materials," Hassett wrote.

    After Monday's hearing, Hassett said the girl's guardian "wants to preserve the anonymity of the" girl.

    Komisarjevsky, 31, of Cheshire, was convicted last month of the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, during the July 2007 nighttime home invasion and arson at their Cheshire home.

    Children's Testimony

    Hassett had asked that the courtroom be closed Monday while he presented his arguments to quash a subpoena from defense attorneys calling on the girl to testify. Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys objected to the courtroom being closed.

    Earlier this month, Hassett said he is interested in protecting the girl's privacy but also in making sure due process is followed. He said he had "concerns … about the parameters of the testimony."

    In late March, an attorney was hired to represent Komisarjevsky's daughter because her legal guardian had indicated that the child could be subpoenaed to testify at her father's trial. The girl is currently living with a maternal aunt.

    Testimony from children became an issue in the high-profile 2003 criminal trial in U.S. District Court of Philip A. Giordano, the former mayor of Waterbury, who was later convicted and sentenced to 37 years in prison for sexually abusing two girls, 8 and 10.

    During the trial, the two girls testified from a remote location within the federal courthouse, with audio and video relays back to the judge and jury. The judge in that case stated his concerns about minimizing the trauma to the children.

    The girls could see images of Giordano in the courtroom relayed to a computer laptop screen on the conference table in the room where they testified.

    Judge Won't Testify

    Also Monday, Blue ruled that Superior Court Judge James Bentivegna — who called Komisarjevsky a "cold, calculating predator" when he sentenced him to prison for a series of burglaries in 2002 — will not have to testify.

    Defense attorneys had subpoenaed Bentivegna, hoping to put him on the witness stand so they could ask him about his remark. Jurors have heard testimony about the sentencing and the judge's remark. Bentivegna moved to have the subpoena quashed.

    Blue said that under the rules of jurisprudence, a judge cannot be called to explain what he meant when speaking from the bench.

    Blue also said he did not know if Bentivegna's testimony would have been helpful to the defense. He said the "testimony could be quite devastating" to Komisarjevsky. Bentivegna sentenced Komisarjevsky to nine years in prison in 2002 after Komisarjevsky pleaded guilty to a series of nighttime residential burglaries. Komisarjevsky was paroled in April 2007, several months before the Cheshire killings.

    Jurors — who will decide whether Komisarjevsky should be put to death by lethal injection or sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole — thus far have heard 12 days of testimony in the penalty phase of his trial.

    Testimony in the trial was put on hold Monday as Blue listened to arguments on the series of motions. Evidence is expected to resume Tuesday when Komisarjevsky's former drug counselor retakes the witness stand. A mental health expert is also slated to testify.

    http://www.courant.com/community/che...,2536463.story

  4. #74
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    Judge Will Allow Media, Spectators to See Testimony of Komisarjevsky's Daughter, 9

    Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue ruled Thursday that he will allow media and spectators to be in his courtroom when the videotaped testimony of Joshua Komisarjevsky’s 9-year-old daughter is played.

    But in a concession to attorneys representing the child’s guardian, the judge said only the jury initially will be able to both see the videotape and hear its audio. Blue said his courtroom will be configured in such a way that media members present and any spectators will be able to hear the audio portion of the videotape and report on it, but won’t be able to see the visual elements.

    Credentialed reporters later will be able to see and hear the videotape, which hasn’t been recorded yet. Blue said this will be offered "at the earliest possible time — if at all possible, later that day." But they will not be able to make copies of the video or disseminate it, the judge said, and courtroom sketch artists will not be permitted to replicate it.

    Blue agreed to the compromise during a hearing in Superior Court in which lawyers and representatives for several media organizations, including the New Haven Register, sought to have the videotape presented in open court.

    Raymond Hassett, a Simsbury attorney representing the girl’s guardian, initially had sought to have a portion of Thursday’s hearing held without reporters present.

    But after pleas from Blue, who said any delays associated with such a move "run the risk of torpedoing the jury trial," Hassett ultimately agreed to the compromise, saying it addressed the primary concern of he and the guardian: keeping images of the child from being broadcast and published.

    "Our primary concern is for the safety of the child," Hassett said, adding that she has received three death threats since proceedings associated with the trial started at the beginning of the year. Komisarjevsky was found guilty Oct. 13 and the trial is now in its penalty phase, with the defendant facing death by lethal injection, or life in prison.

    The trial started Sept. 19. Komisarjevsky was found guilty of all 17 counts against him resulting from a July 2007 home invasion in Cheshire that led to the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17, as well as the beating of Dr. William Petit Jr. with a baseball bat.

    Petit survived the beating when he escaped as Komisarjevsky and an accomplice, Steven Hayes, tried to burn down the family’s Sorghum Mill Drive home before they fled. Hayes is on death row.

    Attorneys representing WFSB-TV, as well as reporters from the New Haven Register and Hartford Courant, addressed the judge in an effort to keep the courtroom open when the videotape is played for the jury.

    "We don’t believe sufficient evidence has been presented showing that the interests of the child are at risk (by showing the tape in open court)," said Jeffrey Mueller, an attorney with the Hartford law firm Day Pitney, which was representing the television station.

    Beach, who is covering the trial for the New Haven Register, said the Register "believes the public has a right to continual coverage of the judicial process through complete reporting on the trial." Alaine Griffin, the Courant’s primary court reporter, said her publication "does not want to have to report second-hand accounts."

    Both reporters said their publications will not use the child’s name in ongoing accounts of the trial nor seek to obtain a copy of the videotape. WFSB, however, sought to have copies of the videotape disseminated to the media, but Blue stuck by his compromise.

    "There is a concern as to what some members of the public might do," Blue said. "If after this ruling issued, your client still wants a copy of the video, I am appealable. If you’ve got a strong enough legal argument, you’re eventually going to get it."

    http://www.countytimes.com/articles/...mode=fullstory

  5. #75
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    Jury hears testimony Conn. killer's daughter, 9

    Jurors have seen a videotape of the 9-year-old daughter of a Connecticut man facing a possible death sentence for a home invasion that killed three people.

    The daughter of Joshua Komisarjevsky giggles a lot as she talks to a child welfare expert about her dogs and other animals and her toys. At one point she says she used to play with "this man's son Josh" and says he went to jail for something.

    Komisarjevsky's attorneys played the video over his objections as they try to persuade the jury to spare him the death penalty.

    Komisarjevsky and his co-defendant, Steven Hayes, were convicted of murder in the killing of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters at their Cheshire home. Hayes is on death row.

    http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...c2091eca787011

  6. #76
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    Defense rests in sentencing of Conn. man convicted of killing mom, 2 girls in home invasion

    Defense attorneys rested Tuesday in their efforts to persuade a jury to spare a Connecticut man the death penalty for killing a woman and her two daughters in a 2007 home invasion.

    Attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky ended their defense in New Haven Superior Court, The Hartford Courant reported. Prosecutors began a brief rebuttal before the jury that convicted Komisarjevsky decides whether he should get life in prison or a death sentence.

    Closing arguments are expected Friday, with jury deliberations starting Monday. The sentencing phase began Oct. 25.

    Komisarjevsky and co-defendant Steven Hayes were convicted of capital felony and other charges stemming from the killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, at their Cheshire home.

    Hayes is on death row.

    Jurors were shown a videotaped interview of Komisarjevsky’s 9-year-old daughter last week over his objections. Komisarjevsky said he didn’t want his daughter to feel compelled to help “one of the most hated people in America.”

    Prosecutor Michael Dearington reminded jurors that Komisarjevsky was convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a girl less than two years older than his daughter.

    Komisarjevsky was repeatedly sexually abused by his older foster brother as a young child, according to testimony. His defense argues his staunchly religious family didn’t get him proper help as he developed psychological problems.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...y8N_story.html

  7. #77
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    Two Views Of Komisarjevsky: 'Predator' Or 'Damaged'

    Ten years before he would commit one of the worst crimes in recent state history, convicted triple killer Joshua Komisarjevsky wrote his mother an apology letter.

    "I'm sorry I wasn't the son you wanted me to be. I'm sorry for being a failure in your eyes," 15-year-old Komisarjevsky wrote in the letter, read aloud to jurors Friday by defense attorney Walter C. Bansley III during closing arguments.

    The statements capped the defense team's effort to win over the jurors who will decide whether Komisarjevsky lives or dies.

    The crowded courtroom then grew silent as a series of snapshots of Komisarjevsky from infancy to adulthood appeared on a movie screen, picture-perfect scenes that depicted busy, loving parents sharing milestones with their smiling children.

    Minutes later, New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington let jurors know what he thought of the photos of the man convicted of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit, beating her husband, Dr. William Petit Jr., and killing their daughters, Hayley and Michaela.

    "As I looked at those photographs, I thought, Dr. Petit has no photographs," Dearington said dryly. "They were all burned in the fire at his home. He has no photos, no family."

    Later, when court ended for the day, Hawke-Petit's sister, Cindy Hawke-Renn questioned why jurors were allowed to see the Komisarjevsky photos and hear friends testify on his behalf when snapshots of her sister and nieces and statements from her family were not a major part of the penalty phase.

    Unsworn statements from a victim's family, known as victim-impact testimony, are allowed at sentencing proceedings in murder cases in Connecticut, but not during the penalty phase of capital cases.

    "We don't have any bearing on what will be decided," Hawke-Renn said. "Giving the victims a chance to speak is very important. It could be used to educate them."

    Victim-impact statements will be heard at Komisarjevsky's sentencing. But by then, the jury, which could begin deliberations Monday, already will have made its decision. Jurors will go through a series of steps to reach a verdict on each of the six capital counts they convicted him of on Oct. 13, which make him eligible for death by lethal injection.

    When asked to comment on defense attorneys' closing remarks, specifically about the "terror" that Bansley had said Komisarjevsky must have felt when he was sexually assaulted as a boy, Hawke-Renn grew emotional.

    "Joshua Komisarjevsky does not understand the terror we live with every day," she said.

    'No Bit Player'

    Prosecutors Friday attempted to move juror's minds away from the evidence defense attorneys say warrant a sentence of life for Komisarjevsky, and back to the terror inside the Petit home on July 23, 2007.

    Prosecutors described Komisarjevsky as a predator out for "greed, sex, death and destruction" who deserves the ultimate punishment — death.

    Senior Assistant State's Attorney Gary Nicholson said Komisarjevsky, 31, played a major role in the home invasion and slaying. He stalked Hawke-Petit and Michaela as they exited a local supermarket the evening before the home invasion and followed them home, Nicholson said.

    "The defendant is no shrinking violet, no bit player. He played a starring role," Nicholson said.

    The home invasion was about more than money, Nicholson said, as black-and-white video surveillance photos were displayed, showing Hawke-Petit and Michaela strolling through the market, pushing a shopping cart.

    "He wanted a cute, vibrant, innocent 11-year-old," Nicholson said.

    Komisarjevsky and Hayes were convicted of breaking into the Petit home and attacking and tying up the family for hours as they searched the home for cash and valuables. At one point, Hayes forced Hawke-Petit to drive to a bank to withdraw money. When he returned, he raped and strangled Hawke-Petit before the home was set on fire with gasoline.

    Petit was badly beaten but escaped. His daughters died of smoke inhalation.

    At one point Nicholson displayed a photo of the three murder victims on a screen and asked the jury to imagine the physical and psychological pain they suffered.

    Nicholson said they had the pain of wondering what would happen next, the pain of the torture and "having to cope with two unknown strangers in their home wearing masks, one holding a gun, the other a baseball bat."

    Petit and several members of his family were seated in the front row of the courtroom gallery. During the home invasion, Komisarjevsky brutally beat Petit in the head with the bat.

    Nicholson focused on Michaela, reminding jurors that evidence showed Komisarjevsky sexually assaulted her while she was tied to her bed. He told jurors to imagine the psychological pain she suffered while Komisarjevsky forced her to pose in sexual positions with a pillowcase on her head as Komisarjevsky took "cellphone trophy pictures."

    Nicholson said Hayes and Komisarjevsky "created the ultimate house of horrors lasting about seven hours and ending in a hellish inferno."

    And, he said, Komisarjevsky could have stopped the home invasion when Hayes left to buy the gasoline used to start the fire and when Hayes took Hawke-Petit to the bank to withdraw money.

    "How many times, ladies and gentlemen, how many times could he have walked out of that home and saved the family?"

    Nicholson showed the jury surveillance photos of Hawke-Petit in the bank.

    "What do you think was going through her mind?" the prosecutor asked jurors as Hawke-Petit was captured on film apparently talking to a bank teller. She eventually persuaded bank officials to allow her to withdraw $15,000, which she gave to Hayes and Komisarjevsky.

    Petit looked up at the photos as Nicholson added, "She was an extremely brave woman who did everything she possibly could to save her family."

    Nicholson said Komisarjevsky played a major role in pouring the gasoline to enrage the fire around the Petit girls.

    "It's just unbelievable…to think that they were thinking what they were about to go through — an extremely painful and horrible death, but there was nothing they could do about it."

    Nicholson urged jurors — regardless of their feelings about the death penalty — to choose the ultimate punishment for Komisarjevsky.

    "The ultimate punishment is reserved for the ultimate crimes," Nicholson said. "In this case, this is the worst of the worst."

    He said the "fairness and mercy" Komisarjevsky is asking for from the jury was not shown to his victims. Komisarjevsky and Hayes acted as "judge, jury and executioner" on the Petit family, Nicholson said.

    "What fairness and mercy did they show to their victims?" Nicholson asked.

    'Josh Will Die In Prison'

    Bansley looked to the gallery when he began his arguments Friday, focusing on Petit and his family. He said he and his two fellow defense attorneys would never understand what it is like to lose a loved one to murder. He walked toward the gallery where Petit and his family were seated and said:

    "There's not a thing we can do to ease the pain. We are so sorry for their loss. So sorry."

    But he urged jurors not to give in to the "mob mentality" and "thirst for blood" by choosing exection for Komisarjevsky.

    "Josh will die in prison. This is an absolute certainty. Josh will never walk free among us. Frankly, he doesn't deserve to."

    Bansley displayed a quotation from former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis: "Knowledge is essential to understanding; and understanding should precede judging."

    He said the job of the defense over the past six weeks has been to help jurors understand Komisarjevsky's past: "How did Joshua Komisarjevsky get involved in the killings? That's what the penalty phase is all about."

    In his arguments Bansley reviewed the extensive testimony given since Oct. 25, centering much of his argument on the sexual abuse Komisarjevsky said he endured as a young boy at the hands of his teen foster brother.

    Bansley showed a photograph of a staircase leading up to young Komisarjevksy's bedroom. On one hand Komisarjevsky's foster brother was an older brother Komisarjevsky looked up to, Bansley said. On the other, that older brother was raping him.

    "Think of the terror of Josh being raped," Bansley said. "Consider the conflict Josh had to have suffered, wondering, is he going to come in my bed tonight … the terror when he heard him come up the stairs in this old home."

    And what made it worse, Bansley said, is that Komisarjevsky's mother knew about the sexual abuse and did not address it. Komisarjevsky never felt safe at home, he said.

    "He was raped in his formative years," Bansley said. "You have to ask yourself, what effect did that have on his future?"

    For years, Bansley said, Komisarjevsky struggled with an untreated genetic mood disorder made worse by the sexual abuse, a series of concussions and a strict religious upbringing that left him feeling he was damned to hell. He later took drugs, became depressed and had suicidal thoughts but because of his family's Christian beliefs and rejection of traditional forms of psychological treatment, Komisarjevsky's problems went untreated.

    Komisarjevsky's parents pulled him and his sister out of school and other outside activities after Komisarjevsky told his mother he had sexually molested his younger sister. The family then began an ultra-conservative rule-driven Christian home-schooling program that some say is abusive.

    "The only option he had was to go through life damaged," Bansley said, looking at Komisarjevsky who sat emotionless throughout the day's closing arguments.

    Bansley said that at age 7 Komisarjevsky would sneak out of his bedroom in the middle of the night and run through the woods, sometimes naked.

    "What child leaves their home in the middle of the night for the dark?" Bansley asked. "Most children run to the safety of their home."

    Bansley said no witnesses testified that Komisarjevsky was ever violent with them and he said records of his prison behavior show "he doesn't pose a danger to anyone." Bansley urged jurors to make a decision they could live with "for months and years to come. There's no do-over."

    Bansley asked, "Why is it so necessary for the state to kill Joshua Komisarjevsky?"

    'A Wonderful Family Destroyed'

    Dearington attempted to answer that by saying Komisarjevsky was fully aware of what he was doing when he entered the Petit home and did not have a mental impairment as the defense states.

    Dearington criticized the conclusions of a mental health expert who testified that Komisarjevsky suffered a mood disorder since childhood.

    Dearington said that other than an interview with Komisarjevsky, the expert relied on an anonymous letter that said Komisarjevsky, who was adopted when he was two weeks old, was born to parents with psychological problems.

    Dearington asked how the expert could have given credibility to the letter and he noted that the writer misused the word "unanimous" for the word "anonymous" in the letter several times. His question prompted laughter from the gallery.

    Dearington asked jurors to "consider the source" of some testimony, saying that it was Komisarjevsky who told mental health experts he was raped. That information was repeated over and over again and used by the experts for their conclusions.

    "It was like ill-founded gossip," Dearington said. "That repetition does not make it necessarily true."

    Dearington said the more than 40 non-statutory mitigating factors the defense claims are an attempt to "blame everyone but the defendant." Dearington said Komisarjevsky's parents provided a good life for him.

    Dearington said when he watched a videotape of Komisarjevsky's 9-year-old daughter played for jurors, he was reminded that Michaela was just a few years older when she was raped and killed. Michaela had been sleeping with her mother when Hayes and Komisarjevsky entered their home.

    "Who would be so evil to do something like that after taking her out of the loving arms of her mother?" Dearington asked.

    Dearington said as he watched Komisarjevsky observe his daughter on the videotape, again, he thought about Petit.

    "Dr. Petit will never be able to see his daughters again," Dearington said. "Two beautiful girls, one loving mother, a wonderful family destroyed because Joshua Komisarjevsky wanted what the Petit family had and because Joshua Komisarjevsky wanted most of all an 11-year-old girl, Michaela."

    When court concluded Friday afternoon, Komisarjevsky turned to look for his father in the courtroom gallery, mouthing the words, "Where'd he go?" to a member of the defense team. Ben Komisarjevsky had left the courtroom early.

    http://www.courant.com/community/che...0,124320.story

  8. #78
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    Warning Graphic Content


    Photos



    In the trial evidence photos you can see Komisarjevsky at an ATM machine inside the Stop and Shop with Michael Ranno who was withdrawing money to pay Komisarjevsky for a roofing job. The photo puts Komisarvesky at the store the same time the Petits were grocery shopping. It's mortifying to think a simple errand could put you in the path of pure evil.

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    Jury deliberations to start in Conn. home invasion

    A Connecticut jury will soon begin deliberating whether a man convicted of killing a woman and her two daughters in a brutal home invasion should get the death penalty or life in prison.

    Jury deliberations are expected to begin Monday in the sentencing phase of Joshua Komisarjevsky's trial in New Haven Superior Court.

    Komisarjevsky and co-defendant Steven Hayes were convicted of capital felony and other charges stemming from the killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and daughters, Hayley and Michaela, at their Cheshire home in 2007.

    http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?se...rbs&id=8454921

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    33,217
    Jury sends first note in Conn. home invasion case

    A Connecticut jury deciding whether a man should get the death penalty for killing a woman and her two daughters in a home invasion asked its first questions Wednesday as jurors sough guidance on how to weigh his role against that of his accomplice.

    The jury, its third day of deliberations, asked if that argument is satisfied for one of six capital felony counts if Komisarjevsky played a relatively minor role in only one of the three killings. The judge said yes.

    Jurors also asked how to determine if Komisarjevsky played a minor role in the mother's death. Hayes was convicted of strangling Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and the jurors asked if they should only take into account the strangulation or actions leading up to her death.

    Judge Jon Blue referred jurors back to their guilt finding, in which they determined Komisarjevsky intentionally aided Hayes in causing her death during the kidnapping. He said jurors must determine if Komisarjevsky played a relatively minor role in helping Hayes in causing her death during the kidnapping.

    http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/07/410...e-in-conn.html

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