Petit Family Foundation Holds First Ride to Honor Mom and Daughters Slain in Home Invasion
Petit Family Foundation funds education and supports the sick and victimized.
Sept. 26, 2010— -- A fundraiser in honor of mother and two daughters who were killed in a violent Connecticut home invasion drew more than 3,000 Harley-Davidson riders today.
Proceeds from the Petit Family Foundation Ride for Justice will benefit the Petit Family Foundation, which honors the memories of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela.
The 48-year-old Cheshire, Conn., mother and her daughters were killed in a brutal July 2007 invasion of their home. Hawke-Petit and her younger daughter were sexually assaulted.
Dr. William Petit Jr., the girls' father and Hawke-Petit's husband, was beaten and tied up in the basement. He escaped before the suspects, 30-year-old Joshua Komisarjevsky and 47-year-old Steven Hayes, allegedly doused the house with gasoline and set it ablaze.
Today, the 50-year-old Petit thanked supporters who turned out for the ride that started in Bristol, Conn., and ended in Cheshire.
Organizers this evening estimated that they raised more than $65,000 for the Petit Family Foundation, a nonprofit that was established to honor the memory of the slain Petit women.
The foundation uses donations to foster education, help the chronically ill and protect those whose lives have been affected by violence.
Jim Oake, a Farmington area resident and one of the participants in the ride, told ABC News that he participated in order to bring something positive to the tragedy.
Today is Hawke-Petit's birthday. She would have been 52.
In graphic testimony last week in the murder trial of the two suspects, jurors learned that Komisarjevsky took cell phone pictures during the alleged crime. His cell phone allegedly contained pictures of a young girl that included a close-up of her underwear, along with a photo of an older woman with her legs splayed.
At one point during the alleged assault, Hayes took Hawke-Petit to the bank to withdraw money. She reportedly hoped that her $15,000 withdrawal would appease her assailants.
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