Killer in Connecticut home invasion slay says William Petit was 'coward' who could have saved family

BY Meena Hartenstein
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, October 20th 2010, 8:20 PM

It's been three years since Dr. William Petit Jr. survived a brutal home invasion that left his wife and daughters dead, but the pain of the gruesome crimes his family endured is far from over.

The latest twist? One of the attackers claims Petit could have saved his loved ones, but didn't because he was a "coward."

Steven Hayes, convicted two weeks ago for the grizzly torture and murders of Petit's wife Jennifer Hawke-Petit and their two daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, is now at the mercy of a jury to decide what his fate will be.

He faces execution or life in prison for the killings.

But lawyers for Hayes, trying to get their client a lighter sentence, argued this week that he was no murder mastermind and simply acted on the orders of partner-in-crime Joshua Komisarjevsky, according to CBS News.

To prove that Komisarjevsky was the architect of the crimes, diaries seized from him in jail were read aloud to the jury this week, including one entry that places blame on Petit himself for not stepping in to save his wife and daughters.

"Mr. Petit is a coward, he ran away when he felt his own life was threatened," Komisarjevsky wrote in diary entries obtained by ABC News. "Time and time again I gave him the chance to save his family."

"If you don't want to defend your family, then take your chances with the criminal while police sit outside and follow protocol," he continued, referring to the fact that law enforcement arrived on the scene and were roping off the area outside the home while the two assailants were still inside committing the horrific murders.

The entries also include sickening passages in with Komisarjevsky admits to molesting Michaela, though he wrote he "resented" the accusation that he raped the 11-year-old.

In diary excerpts presented in court and posted online, Komisarjevsky wrote that he "spared her that degree of demoralization" but that "in a vulgar display of power, I ejaculated onto her."

Komisarjevsky will be tried next year.

Authorities have said he spotted Jennifer and her daughters at a grocery store, followed them home, and then returned to the scene with Hayes.

The criminals separated Petit from his family, tied him to a pole in the basement, and beat him savagely. They then forced Hawke-Petit to take out money from a bank before raping and choking her to death.

Komisarjevsky and Hayes tied the daughters to a bed, placed pillow covers over their heads and poured gasoline on them before setting the house on fire, according to police.

In court on Wednesday, psychiatrist Dr. Paul Amble testified that Hayes is suicidal and has tried to kill himself multiple times while behind bars.

"[Hayes] described his persistent desire to die were because of his feelings of guilt, remorse and his condition of confinement," Amble said, according to ABC.

Amble told the jury Hayes is hoping to be executed rather than face life in prison.

From: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/10/20/2010-10-20_killer_in_connecticut_home_invasion_slay_says_william_petit_was_coward_who_could.html