Parole Procedures to Be Reviewed After Grisly Conn. Home Invasion

July 25, 2007 — -- Connecticut officials have promised to review parole procedures that put two accused killers on the street, after a horrific home invasion and arson left three family members dead, a father badly beaten and the small town of Cheshire reeling.

The state medical examiner confirmed Tuesday evening that Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, was strangled to death and that her two daughters Hayley, 17, and 11-year-old Michaela died of smoke inhalation. Cheshire Police Lt. Jay Markella told ABC's "Good Morning America" that additional charges would come. "I'll fully expect murder charges to be added," he said.

Prosecutor Michael Dearington said he had not yet decided whether to pursue the death penalty. "I know the public consensus is they should be fried tomorrow," he told The Associated Press.

So far, the two suspects, 44-year-old Steven Hayes of Winsted, Conn., and 26-year-old Joshua Komisarjevsky of Cheshire, Conn., have been charged with various counts of aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, burglary and arson. They are being held on a $15 million dollar bond.

Both men were on parole at the time of the killings and they both have extensive criminal records, mostly for burglary. But Robert Farr, chairman of the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Parole, said neither man had a record of violent crime. He promised a review of parole procedures.

"Three people died," Farr told The Associated Press. "We're not going to say, 'Those things happen.' We've got to see if there is anything we can do that would reduce the likelihood of this happening in the future."

Police expressed frustration with the parole system in Connecticut. "That is troubling," Markella told "GMA."

"I understand the court system and prison system is overburdened. … As a police officer, it's frustrating," he said.

The crime has jolted this quiet neighborhood of half-million-dollar colonials. Deborah Raducha lives around the corner from the Petits. "We're terrorized right now because we don't know if this was random or if there was some connection, some workplace thing." Raducha has lived in the neighborhood for eight years and she has two children. "This could have been any one of us."

Even in the dog days of summer here the lawns are a lush green — a testament to the diligence of various landscaping services that seem to be everywhere. Wooden swing sets and trampolines fill the backyards. And even one day after a triple murder, children can be seen riding their bikes in their driveways. Signs remind drivers to slow down and "Keep Our Children Safe." Quite simply, it's the kind of neighborhood where people say this kind of crime "just couldn't happen here."

But it did happen here. And the community as a whole is still trying to absorb the terrifying timetable of events.

According to police, around 3 a.m. Monday, two men entered the Petits' house at 300 Sorghum Mill Drive planning to rob it. Police have not said why the the Petit house was selected. The men allegedly tied up the mother and her daughters and assaulted William Petit. Around 9:30 a.m., officials said, one of the men drove Hawke-Petit to a Bank of America branch nearby and forced her to withdraw a large amount of money and drive back to the house. Bank officials then called police. A short time later, at the Petit house, the two men tried to leave, but not before setting the house on fire, police say.

By then, police, had swarmed the area and the suspects rammed into several police cars trying to escape. Police say the men jumped out of the cars and ran down the road. Police gave a short 200-yard chase and grabbed them. By this time, Petit, beaten on the head and bloodied, had escaped from the house.

"He's up and walking. He had some serious head injuries and he's medicated, but they do expect him to make a full recovery," said the Rev. Stephen Volpe of the Cheshire United Methodist Church. "He's obviously very distraught."

Volpe has spent an emotional two days with Petit at St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury. "When I first heard the news, it felt as if the earth gave out from under me. The police took me outside of my home so my children couldn't hear and told me about Jen and the girls and at the time they didn't think Bill was going to make it. Then I saw him yesterday in the emergency room. … We have been praying a lot."

Volpe has known the family since he became pastor at the church two years ago. "When we first came here, the whole family helped us move in. You've just never met a more loving family … so faithful to each other and to their church and to their jobs, so aware of other people's needs." Just last week, according to Volpe, Petit helped a fellow parishioner who had fainted during the service.

Petit is a prominent local physician specializing in diabetes and endocrinology. He is the medical director of the Joslin Diabetes Center Affiliate at The Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain. Hawke-Petit was the co-director of the health center at the Cheshire Academy.

Hayley Petit was following in her father's footsteps and heading to Dartmouth in the fall. Michaela Petit was about to enter sixth grade.

"They were very quiet young ladies, each one of them with a great, big smile. They were so well-loved and such a big part of the youth group here. Hayley was part of the Methodist Mission that spent a week repairing and renovating facilities for the disabled."

After their mother's diagnosis of multiple sclerosis eight years ago, Hayley also became quite active in raising money to fight the disease with a charity called Hayley's Hope. Michaela was just about to take over her sister's fundraising efforts, Volpe said through tears.

"There are now three young ladies who have already offered to take Michaela's place and raise money. That's a measure of the kind of influence these girls had and the love we all had for them."

The Cheshire United Methodist Church has been open for three straight days and parishioners have been arriving at all hours. Volpe said friends and family members of the Petits packed the church Tuesday night for a candlelight service and prayer vigil — looking for comfort and support.

"I'm looking for the same answers and I have no answers and no words to make it all make sense," Volpe said.