text: cheshire , connecticut , home invasion murders the cheshire , connecticut , home invasion murders occurred on july 23 , 2007 . jennifer hawke - petit and her two daughters were raped and murdered , while her husband , dr. william petit , was injured during a home invasion in cheshire , connecticut . the hartford courant referred to the case as " possibly the most widely publicized crime in the state 's history " . in 2010 steven hayes was convicted of the murders and sentenced to death . his accomplice , joshua komisarjevsky , was found guilty on october 13 , 2011 , and sentenced to death on january 27 , 2012 . in august 2015 , the state of connecticut abolished the death penalty , and both hayes and komisarjevsky had their death sentences commuted to life sentences . background late in the afternoon of sunday , july 22 , 2007 , 48 - year - old jennifer hawke - petit and her 11 - year - old daughter michaela petit went to a local grocery store in cheshire , connecticut . they picked up food for jennifer 's pre - birthday meal that michaela planned to prepare for her . during their trip to the grocery store , they attracted the attention of joshua komisarjevsky , who followed them home . steven hayes messaged komisarjevsky : " i 'm chomping at the bit to get started . need a margarita soon . " hayes then texted , " we still on ? " komisarjevsky replied , " yes . " hayes ' next text asked , " soon ? " , to which komisarjevsky replied : " i 'm putting the kid to bed hold your horses " . hayes then wrote : " dude , the horses want to get loose . lol . " home invasion according to hayes ' confession , the two men had planned to rob the petit house under cover of darkness leaving the family bound , but unharmed . hayes attributed the outcome to a change of plan . upon their arrival in the early hours of july 23 , they found william petit sleeping on a couch on the porch . komisarjevsky struck william on the head with a baseball bat found in the yard and then tied him up at gunpoint in the basement . the children and their mother were then bound and locked in their respective rooms . hayes said that he and komisarjevsky were not satisfied with their haul , and that a was found which showed an available balance . a gas station 's video surveillance shows hayes purchasing $ 10 worth of gasoline in two cans he had taken from the petit home . after returning to the house , and unloading the gas , he took jennifer to the bank . the prosecution later claimed that this was evidence of premeditated murder . hayes convinced jennifer to withdraw $ 15 , 000 from her line of credit when the bank opened . bank surveillance cameras captured the transaction which shows jennifer hawke - petit , on the morning of july 23 , as she informed the teller of her situation . the bank manager then called 911 and reported the details to police while jennifer was still with the teller . the manager reported to the 911 dispatcher , in real time , as jennifer left the bank and was picked up by hayes , describing his clothing as he drove away with her . the manager stated that jennifer had indicated the assailants were " being nice " , and she believed they only wanted money . the cheshire police response to the bank 's " urgent bid " began with assessing the situation and setting up a vehicle perimeter . the police used up more than half an hour taking these preliminary measures while the assailants were raping and murdering the women inside the house . the police made no effort to make the assailants aware of their presence . during this time , hayes and komisarjevsky escalated the aggravated nature of their crimes : komisarjevsky raped the 11 - year - old michaela . komisarjevsky , who had photographed the sexual assault of the girl on his cell phone , then provoked hayes into raping jennifer . while hayes was raping her on the floor of the living room , komisarjevsky entered the room and announced that william petit had escaped . hayes then strangled jennifer , doused her lifeless body and parts of the house , including the daughters ' rooms , with gasoline . while tied to their beds , both daughters had been doused with gasoline ; each had her head covered with a pillowcase . a fire was started , and hayes and komisarjevsky fled the scene . hayley and michaela both died of smoke inhalation . william petit had been able to free himself , escape his confines , and call to a neighbor for help . the neighbor indicated that he did not recognize him due to the severity of petit 's injuries . in court testimony , william petit stated that he felt a " jolt of adrenaline " coupled with a need to escape upon hearing one of the perpetrators state : " don 't worry , it 's going to be all over in a couple of minutes . " petit then told the jury , " i thought , it 's now or never because in my mind at that moment , i thought they were going to shoot all of us . " hayes and komisarjevsky fled the scene using the petit family car . they were immediately spotted by police surveillance , pursued , and arrested one block away . the whole invasion lasted seven hours . the scenario was revealed in a confession by hayes just hours after the killings . detectives testified that hayes smelled strongly of gasoline throughout the interrogation . each perpetrator blamed or implicated the other as the mastermind and driving force behind the spree . there were even attempts to blame william petit as an accomplice . komisarjevsky later kept a diary , entered into evidence , in which he chose to call petit a " coward " and claimed that he could have stopped the murders had he wanted to . victims jennifer hawke - petit ( born september 26 , 1958 ) was a nurse and co - director of the health center at cheshire academy , a private boarding school . she met her husband , william petit , in 1985 on a pediatric rotation at children 's hospital when he was a third - year medical student at the university of pittsburgh and she was a new nurse . their eldest daughter hayley ( born october 15 , 1989 ) had just graduated from miss porter 's school and was scheduled to attend dartmouth college . hayley had been an active fundraiser for multiple sclerosis research , following jennifer 's diagnosis with that disease . daughter michaela ( born november 17 , 1995 ) attended the chase collegiate school before her death . william petit , the sole survivor of the home invasion , is an endocrinologist in cheshire . he survived when he escaped via a direct external exit from the basement despite his injuries . he has not returned to his medical practice since the murders , stating his desire to be active in the foundations set up to honor the memory of his deceased family . he contemplated running for congress as a republican , but later decided against it . perpetrators steven j. hayes ( born may 30 , 1963 , in homestead , florida ) was found guilty on 16 of 17 counts related to the home invasion murders on october 5 , 2010 . on november 8 , 2010 , the jury returned with a recommendation for him to be executed . he was formally sentenced to death by superior court judge jon c. blue on december 2 , 2010 . hayes is an inmate of the connecticut department of correction . his criminal history shows him sentenced for his first offense at the age of 16 . he is incarcerated in the northern correctional institution , which houses the state 's death row for men , in somers , connecticut . the method of execution employed by connecticut was lethal injection , and the state execution chamber was located in the osborn correctional institution in somers . this sentence became an automatic life sentence when connecticut abolished the death penalty in 2015 . joshua a. komisarjevsky ( born august 10 , 1980 ) was hayes ' co - conspirator in the home invasion and murders . he was born in 1980 to a 16 - year - old girl impregnated by a 20 - year - old mechanic and was adopted by benedict komisarjevsky , the son of theatrical director theodore komisarjevsky and dancer ernestine , and his wife jude ( née ) . komisarjevsky remained incarcerated at the walker reception center in lieu of a $ 15 million bond until his conviction . his trial began on september 19 , 2011 , and on october 13 , 2011 , he was convicted on all 17 counts . on december 9 , 2011 , the jury recommended the death penalty . on january 27 , 2012 judge jon blue sentenced komisarjevsky to death by lethal injection . his sentence also became an automatic life sentence when connecticut abolished the death penalty in 2015 . trials hayes ' trial the jury in hayes ' case was composed of seven women and five men . following the completion of the trial , the jury deliberated for about four hours to reach its guilty verdicts . the second phase of the trial began on october 18 , 2010 , during which the jurors had to decide if hayes should be executed or imprisoned for life . the second day of these deliberations began on november 6 , 2010 . attorney thomas ullman told the jury that a sentence of life in prison would be the harshest possible punishment for his client hayes , because he was so tormented by his crimes and would be isolated in prison . " life in prison without the possibility of release is the harshest penalty , " ullman said . " it is a fate worse than death . if you want to end his misery , put him to death , " he added . " if you want him to suffer and carry that burden forever , the guilt , shame , and humiliation , sentence him to life without the possibility of release . " on november 8 , 2010 , the jury returned with a recommendation that hayes be executed . the jury recommended a death sentence on each of the six capital felony counts for which hayes was convicted . in the sentencing phase , the jury had deliberated for about 17 hours , over the course of three and a half days , before reaching a decision . hayes had attempted to negotiate a life sentence in a plea bargain . after the verdict , his defense attorney stated : " hayes smiled upon hearing the jury 's recommendation of a death sentence . " he then added : " he is thrilled . he 's very happy with the verdict . that 's what he 's wanted all along . " for the first time in state history , the connecticut state judicial branch offered post - traumatic stress assistance to jurors , who served for two months on the triple - murder trial , because they had been required to look at disturbing images and hear grisly testimony . on december 2 , 2010 , hayes apologized for the pain and suffering he had caused the petit family and added that : " death for me will be a welcome relief and i hope it will bring some peace and comfort to those who i have hurt so much . " judge jon blue formally imposed six death sentences , one for each of the capital charges ; blue then added a sentence of 106 years for other crimes hayes committed during the home invasion , including kidnapping , burglary , and assault , before finishing with , " this is a terrible sentence , but is , in truth , a sentence you wrote for yourself in flames . may god have mercy on your soul . " the judge also gave hayes an official execution date of may 27 , 2011 ; blue said that this date was a formality , because if hayes appealed his case , his execution could be delayed for decades . his death sentence became a life sentence in august 2015 when the state abolished the death penalty . komisarjevsky 's trial komisarjevsky was found guilty on october 13 , 2011 . on december 9 , 2011 , the jury recommended the death penalty . on january 27 , 2012 , komisarjevsky was sentenced to death by lethal injection . during the hearing , komisarjevsky insisted that he did not intend to kill anyone and spoke about the shame , hurt and disappointment he had caused : " i will never find peace within . my life will be a continuation of the hurt i caused . the clock is now ticking and i owe a debt i cannot repay . " he said that forgiveness was not his to have , " and he needs to forgive his worst enemy – himself . " blue set july 20 , 2012 as komisarjevsky 's execution date . like hayes , komisarjevsky 's death sentence was turned into a life sentence in august 2015 . subsequent developments in connecticut capital punishment law in 2009 , the connecticut general assembly sent legislation to abolish the state 's death penalty to governor m. jodi rell ostensibly to be signed into law . however , on june 5 , 2009 , rell vetoed the bill instead and cited the cheshire murders as an exemplary reason for doing so . on november 8 , 2010 , rell issued the following statement regarding the jury 's recommendation of a sentence of death for hayes : the crimes that were committed on that brutal july night were so far out of the range of normal understanding that now , more than three years later , we still find it difficult to accept that they happened in one of our communities . i have long believed that there are certain crimes so heinous , so depraved , that society is best served by imposing the ultimate sanction on the criminal . steven hayes stands convicted of such crimes – and today the jury has recommended that he should be subjected to the death penalty . i agree . on april 11 , 2012 , the connecticut house of representatives voted to repeal capital punishment for future cases ( leaving past death sentences in place ) . the connecticut senate had already voted for the bill , and on april 25 governor dan malloy signed the bill into law . in august 2015 , the connecticut supreme court declared all capital punishment inconsistent with the state constitution , effectively commuting the killers ' sentences to life imprisonment . aftermath in 2007 , john carpenter , an employee of the chase collegiate school , ran the new york city marathon , raising $ 8 , 554 for the " miles for michaela " campaign - a scholarship benefit . the same year , william petit established the michaela rose petit ' 14 scholarship fund of the chase collegiate school . he also established the hayley 's hope & michaela 's miracle ms memorial fund . on january 6 , 2008 , over 130 , 000 candles were lit in front of thousands of homes across cheshire in " cheshire lights of hope " , a fundraiser for multiple sclerosis and a tribute to the petit family . founded by a local couple , don and jenifer walsh , the event raised over $ 100 , 000 for hayley 's hope and michaela 's miracle memorial funds . the murder , and its aftermath , were featured on the news magazine show dateline nbc , in a segment entitled " the family on sorghum mill drive " , and on december 9 , 2010 , william petit appeared on the oprah winfrey show in a full - hour episode about the murders of his family and the work of the petit family foundation . on august 5 , 2012 , petit married christine , and moved to farmington , connecticut . he met her when she was volunteering with the petit family foundation . hbo broadcast a documentary by filmmaker david heilbroner called the cheshire murders about the murders on july 22 , 2013 . on august 1 , 2013 , petit told station that he and were expecting a child together . the baby who was revealed to be a boy and named william petit iii was born on november 23 , 2013 . in october 2013 , petit announced that he was considering running for congress for the republican party after being approached by the national republican congressional committee , who had asked him if he would be interested in running . petit ultimately decided not to be a candidate . petit condemned the state 's decision to abolish the death penalty in august 2015 , saying he believed the court had overstepped its powers and urging it to give greater consideration to the " emotional impact , particularly on victims and their loved ones " that death penalty cases generate .