Prosecutors and relatives of the victims of a deadly home invasion in Cheshire two years ago are seeking one trial for the two men charged with the crime, saying the sole survivor should be spared the ordeal of two trials.
Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes have pleaded not guilty to capital felony, murder and other charges in the killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela. Hawke-Petit's husband, Dr. William Petit, was beaten but survived.
Komisarjevsky and Hayes could face the death penalty if convicted.
Prosecutors filed a motion last week in New Haven Superior Court seeking a joint trial with a separate jury for each defendant in case they have antagonistic defenses. A joint trial would spare the remaining victim, family members and witnesses the ordeal of multiple trials, prosecutors said.
Joseph and Johanna Ierna, William Petit's aunt and uncle, called for one trial in a letter to the editor published in The Hartford Courant on Monday. They noted that William Petit will testify.
"But how cruel would it be for him to have to testify not once but twice, and to have to sit through two separate trials?," they wrote. "Two trials would be cruel and inhuman punishment for Dr. Petit and the family."
Petit also favors one trial, according to his uncle. A telephone message was left with his attorney.
"We see the pain," Joseph Ierna said. "None of us want to go through this twice, especially him."
Thomas Ullmann, Hayes' public defender, declined to comment. Telephone messages were left Tuesday for Komisarjevsky's attorneys.
Hugh Keefe, a defense attorney in New Haven, said joint trials are rare in Connecticut. Prosecutors prefer one trial to avoid inconsistencies in statements by witnesses, while defense attorneys want to exploit any inconsistencies and, for the defendant who has the second trial, get a detailed picture of the evidence, Keefe said.
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