George Huguely Found Guilty of Murder in the Second degree- Sentence recomendation shows backward thinking re Dating Violence

This crime hits so close to home that I was barely able to glance at
Yeardley Love's autopsy report. Right down to her MRI, the report  so closely parallels injuries inflicted upon me in an eerily similar assault - it all comes rushing back and in the end I am left questioning how I managed to survive and poor Yeardley, did not.

The Jury's decision to convict George Huguely for Murder in the second degree offers little solace, especially considering that one of the original charges was felony murder, (murder committed in the pursuit of a felony ) This would be the theft of Yeardley's computer which contained incriminating threatening e-mails from Huguely saying in part, " I should have killed you" in reference to Yeardley's dating another young man.

For some reason, that email evidence was not allowed to be shown to the Jury and that was a miscarriage of justice:  Those emails showed beyond a doubt MOTIVE and PREMEDITATION.

In the end the Jury decided to convict Huguely of merely two of six charges that the State was seeking.
To make matters worse, after announcing the four not guilty verdicts and the two guilty verdicts,the Jury rather swiftly recomended a twenty six year sentence 25 for the murder and 1 year for the
nded a twenty six year sentence for George Huguley

It should be noted that the two charges that the Jury did find Huguely guilty of, allowed for a sentence of up to sixty years. Clearly this jury didnt feel that Mr Huguley deserved a senetnce that resembled life in prison for taking a life. I have seen far more severe sentences for vehiclar manslaughter. ie accidentally taking a life while driving drunk.

I cannot help but wonder' if Yeardley had not known her attacker, would he have received  the life sentence that he clearly deserves ?  I am certain that at the very least , the sentence would have been far more appropriate than 25 years for a 23 year old. Huguley will still have almost half of his life left when he gets out of prison! This is obscene, and an insult to the victim,  her family and everyone that cared for her.

It almost seems as if society, if  we are to consider this jury a representitive slice, is saying.... "well, we can see how things like this can happen in a relationship, especially with emotionally immature young people and drinking involved...

This is in fact how Huguely's defense attorney depicted this brutal crime: 'a moment of poor judgement by an emotionally immature boy"  This thinking is archaic and the sentence obscenely inappropriate for the violent taking of a life.

Mind you the aforementioned lawyer for Huguley who was in effect saying " boys will be boys .."
is a woman. She was  no doubt  shrewdly chosen for her gender,with her reputation a close second.

I am also bothered by by this Jury's decision to find Huguley not guilty of breaking and entering.
 Although it doesn't carry the biggest of sentences, it is the principal and what that act -and crime - connote
The assertionof power- and control through brute force. The apartment where Miss Love lived was shared by a few fellow female U V. students. The front door was supposedly unlocked, which could have been any of the roommates doing, but Yeardley's bedroom door was locked that night.

This is very telling it speaks of a young woman who was afraid of something. That something was George Huguley. He kicked Yeardley's bedroom door in, proving at once that his intention from the start was violence.

That bedroom was in effect Yeardleys home, her sanctuary, this wasnt the common area's of an apartment shared by others. Huguey had invaded those with probably a minumal look around to ensure noone was around.

My eductated guess is that he'sstalked yerardlyand the apartment, choosing just the right time when noone but Yeardley was home to have his revenge - he did not want witnesses to hear nor see what he was up to.

She locked her door against intruders, and Mr Huguley kicked that door in.  This is breaking and entering. Huguely's hairs were even found in the gaping hole on Yeardley's door.

When I think of this Bully kicking in that door, and Yeardley's shock and fear, I feel an immediate sense of empathy, knowing well what she experienced, as well as an intense anger. My mind skitters to my own assault, where my reaction time was non existent due to surprise, but realizing since that I never should have allowed that space between myself and my attacker to have been crossed. This I learned years subsequent in a good quality self defense class, which included teaching the students to respond defensively even with the "adrenalin dump" that accompanies any real attack.

This class taught me retrospectively how I could have saved myself from incurring life-long injuries and what could have been and should have been death at my assailants hands,.

Knowing how many women and girls are " blitz - attacked" like this, I personally would like to see every young women taught this basic self defense at the earliest possible age. It should be part of a school curriculum, more essential than any sport orr P.E class - While we like to think our children wont ever be faced with such things, statistics say that one of five will and rather than deal with trying to change things at the court level, I suggest as a society we put our efforts into prevention; Self-defense will save lives, as well as change the way our young women of the future think about protecting themselves and living safely and defensively in general.


Yeardley Love died senselessly. She died terrified, surely in pain, from multiple blows from a brain injury inflicted by a young man who had a history of violence. This history included an assault against a Virginia Police woman that resulted in Huguely pleading guilty to resisting arrest in a plea deal. This arrest and  conviction should have resulted in disiplinary action from the School's athletic Department, most likely pulling Huguely from the Lacrosse Team. Despite the incident being public knowledge among teammates and adults on the periphery, no action was taken as the coach's claimed complete ignorance. This undoubtedly added to George Huguley's sense of invincibility and bravado.

Tragically we all learned after her murder that Huguley's history of violence included at least one unreported assault\ against Yeardley herself.

According to a bevy of witnesses after the fact, George Huguley grabbed his then - girlfriend by the neck, choking her in front of an entire party full of students, literally having to be pried off of her by a group of male Lacrosse players who witnessed the attack.

Badly Shaken, Yeardley returned home to distance herself from Huguely immediately after this assault.
This reportedly occurred  months before Huguely murdered her. Tragically, no one reported the incident to police. There is no evidence that Yeardley confided the attack  to her mother, an aunt uncle or perhaps even a counselor of some kind ( Yeardley's dad had sadly died of cancer years before).

Worst of all no one at the party reported the incident which was in fact a  serious crime to Virginia Police, Campus Police, either lacrosse team coach, or any adult at all.

Strangulation is thankfully now considered a felony in most States, as it has finally been recognized as an act of serious violence, and  dangerous batterers and predators will think nothing of grabbing a woman, or girl by her throat.  It is in fact a threat of possible imminent death.  "I can kill you"  they are saying to the victim, " This is how easy it is."  Men that choke are a breed onto themselves, baring a serious instability, volatility and misogyny. The moment this rears it's head is time for the offender to be arrested and put behind bars.

A question we must ask, as a society and individuals is " Why were Yeardley's friends and all of the other young people at this party not aware enough or traumatized enough to report the choking assault?

Was it ignorance? Did they simply did not understand the major red flags that they had just become privy to, as well as the fact that a serious crime had occurred and as witnesses they thus had a responsibility, morally and legally to report it?

Perhaps they felt that this kind of behavior, especially when drinking was involved, was upsetting yes, but just a fluke - the result of  of an extremely passionate couple?!

This is what scares me the most.

In this day and age, our young women and men need to so much more astute and aware of the potential for extreme violence and death, when they see this kind of behavior in any form as part and parcel of a relationship, or any union that has ended recently.

Too often, the violence is behind closed doors, and friends and acquaintances are then shocked when their family member or friend is discovered to have been the victim of ongoing abuse, silently for months, and even years. When a man or a boy actually commits violence in front of witnesses, this is the time to act as a witness, you will quite possibly be saving a life.
 The answer to this epidemic must start with awareness of what abuse is and where it can - and often does, lead in specific terms, as our youth especially suffers from a sense of unrealistic immortality "oh that will never happen to me, that happens to other people..."

But in Yeardley Loves case, as college and college athletics are a highly social atmosphere, the signs were there for many people on the periphery of both Yeardley and Huguely's life, boys and girls and even some adults who needed to step up and get involved, before a life was brutally taken.

None of the dating violence services were apparently used,  although we may never know if Yeardley reached out anonymously to one of the various hot lines or websites for teens and young women in her home town of Baltimore. These services would have surely explained to her that George Huguely's behaviors were not normal nor reflective of  his love. although she felt it difficult to completely break free of him at times, this was part of the abusive cycle, including the " honeymoon phase" that follows an assault, or even threats such as the emails she recieved shortly before her murder.

And that the extra loving and caring attention would soon be followed by a return to the jeolousy and rages which considering the history in this relationship, might result in her being gravely injured or murdered.

There is no doubt in my mind that Yeardley Love was caught in the terrible plight of a battered women's syndrome, and at such a tender age she was even more ill equipped to discern the symptoms of extreme jealousy and possessiveness (which can be mistaken at first by a young girl as intense love) from Socio-pathology. Huguely clearly illustrated that he was a Sociopath when he carefully took the time to unplug and steal Yeardley's computer, after smashing her head into a wall repeatedly,and tossing her face down on her bed, dying from bleeding in her brain stem.

Huguely was aware that Yeardley computer contained threatening emails that he'd written in the days prior to his final murderous act. And he knew that these emails would point Virginia Police straight into his direction as well as serve as hard evidence that he was likely the man who murdered her.

This alone proves that George Huguely was not some panicked young man that accidentally ( isnt it always?) banged his on - again-off again girlfriend's head into a wall, within an " altercation".

Interestingly, this word altercation is an extremely common description of what transpired during partner murders, and severe assaults, especially involving assailants with higher intelligence and articulate personalities. They realize that the word implies an exchange of violence  ie "alter"

The word is chosen most purposefully, as it  intimates that the male assailant was not simply beating upon a much smaller, weaker, lighter person ie a woman, but rather fighting with her, (as huguley tried to claim he "wrestled with his victim" ) taking at least some of the ownice off of himself, if only via the careful use of that word and others: This can actually have a subconscious effect on less savvy Police officers or even Jury members.

As is often the case with what police and FBI call " blitz style attacks" there was no signs of damage to Huguely or defense injuries on poor Yeardley's arms or hands, nor was any skin found beneath her nails. Like me, she probably never saw that first terrible blow coming and was rendered semi- conscious or unconscious immediately, making a perfect rag doll of a victim, even a strong athletic young woman cannot overcome the sudden shocking insult to our brains when so brutally struck against a hard surface.

To this day I myself get angry that I did not fight back during my assault or at least try to block the succession of  blows to my head from my assailant that just never seemed to end.

But the truth was that I couldn't. My brain wasn't fully engaged, it was all I could do to not relent to the darkness that was threatening to envelop me.  I somehow knew that I would not return if I allowed myself to lose consiousness.

Bleeding and bruising in Yeardley Love's brain in the temple areas showed multiple blows to the sides of her head; although those did not kill her, according to the state medical examiner. It was a hard slam or several slams to the back of her head into something hard and immovable, like a wall, that caused bleeding into her brain stem, the area  that controls respiration and heart function.  THIS this is what ultimately killed Yeardley Love.

Huguely's first version of the events that night made to police had zero credibility and only showed the ease with which he lied and his emotional distancing from the fact that he had just taken a life.  Huguley first claimed that he'd only shaken Yeardley during an "altercation" but when he left, she was alive and perfectly "fine"

This story is so ludicrous that it leaves no room for how or why he took Yeardley's computer, left a giant hold in her door where hed kicked it  inif he had not mortally wounded her, why would he be so anxious to remove all evidence of his threats to Yeardley?



Many people on the periphery of Miss Love' Life were privy to previous physical violence committed against
this young girl by George Huguely, including the serious choking incident at a campus party; Not one of the young people who witnessed the assault or pulled Huguely off of Yeardley, reported the crime to anyone. This is unacceptable. It is at these points that a victim's life can be saved. There is a predictable pattern of escalation of violence within such relationships, and it is up to everyone who is aware of threats, physical attacks, or stalking, to report it to Police. No if's ands or but's!

 Seemingly less serious issues within relationships such as extreme jealousy, possessiveness name calling taunting ie emotional abuse, these all need an open forum on every college campus.  This should be readily available for students and trained partner violence/ intimate violence counselors should be part of every schools and peer  on both C,ollege campuses and at the high school level. A deeper awareness & education campaign for all of our young people covering the intricacies of  predators and all of the signs of abuse both within dating relationships and elsewhere-this is where the changes must begin in earnest.

Ramping up our outreach programs and making them as accessible as possible, including informal dialogue sessions about dating behaviors that cue possible future violence, what steps to follow if even seemingly small acts of violence, such as pushing or blocking someone from leaving a room, happen or have happened within a  relationship.

We need mandatory Comprehensive, in depth College  and High School level programs that teach our young women about physical, emotional and sexual violence, be it committed by peers or adults in thier lives. They must grow up fully understanding exactly what it not acceptable and why,  as well  how to get real help, if  they, or a friend has experienced anything from a threat to a full blown assault.


Please Get involved.

R.I.P  Yeardley Love

Connecticut crime lab's accreditation restored...finally.

This is a perfect example of our States terrible marks in it's Criminal/ Judicial system. Once again egos and apathy loom large behind the scenes wherever change or improvement is sought. The crime lab debaucle is but a symptom of an entire state-wide attitude of keeping the status-quo, and dont tell us how to do our jobs.

The only way that change is going to happen is from outside agencies that have power, and even here we see the amount of resistance that just such a powerful agency has run smack into, at a terrible cost to the people of this state. And you'll notice it has not gotten a whole lot of media coverage either, considering the magnitude of a State like Connecticut losing it's crime lab accreditation.

In the meantime...for the most part, the Police keep doing their jobs, putting their lives on the line, getting a first hand view of the carnage, only to see our courts render their hard work moot, as the revolving doors continue to turn for violent offenders and predators.

More on this later..

Connecticut crime lab's accreditation restored- The New Haven Register - Serving New Haven, Connecticut

Joe Biden: Together we must end dating violence

This is an excellent piece by our Vice President, Joe Biden, who is in large part a major founder, author and dogged proponent of the Violence against Woman act  (VAWA) which incidentally needs to be reauthorized by this coming spring. Please visit the NCADV website link on the right to learn if your State Senator has signed the reauthorization bill yet; If not there are form emails on the site to put pressure on the hold outs, Please get involved.

As I've been writing about the Yeardley Love Murder trial in Virginia, the issue of dating violence among teenage and college age girls is heavy on my mind and in my heart.

I agree with Mr. Biden that laws are very important but the essential issue of awareness and involvement, education for our young people, this is going to be where the change is most needed if we are to end this life and death societal epidemic of crime.

Prevention and awareness, literally the entire way we all look at and act upon, any abuse against another human being. Anything.Including a push or a threat.  The involvement and action needs to be made very clear to our youngsters, it  transcends seemingly heroic acts, such as when Yeardley Love was seriously attacked, grabbed by her throat at a party, and other young men at the party stepped in immediately pulling her boyfriend  off of her and protectively  walking her home.

While that was the most basic involvement we need from our young men, more action was necessary and sadly no one at that party informed police or even College Police or any adults. The choking assault happened months and months before George Huegely kicked in Yeardleys off campus bedroom door and murdered her by slamming her head into a wall repeatedly, leaving her unconscious, then grabbing her computer which contained threatening emails from him. He erased the emails and threw her computer in a dumpster and went home, playing Golf the next day.


There is a very well established pattern for men and boys that physically and or sexually abuse - there are classic personality disorders that are usually at the core of the batterer or potential batterer. We need our young people to know and understand  these warning signs of these disorders, as well as the typical evolution that the abusive relationship follows - And it does not usually begin with violence, but rather inordinate amounts of caring and charm which sequeways into possessiveness that might first seem flattering to a girl, who doesn't understand the implications of that excessive jealousy. Especially young women who have self esteem issues who could mistake the jealousy as a sign of extreme love.

These are just some of the things that we need to teach our young people about in depth, inside and out,  if we are to rid ourselves of this social disease that kills and maims so many good human beings, most of them women or girls.

Below is VP Biden's article specifically written for Teen dating violence awareness month:



More than twenty years ago, I read a study of junior high school students in Rhode Island that included one finding I’ve never been able to get out of my head. Students were asked if a man who spent money on a woman during a date was entitled to force her into sexual activity. An astounding 25 percent of the young boys said yes – and even more astounding, 17 percent of the junior high school girls agreed.

You may think that sounds like a long time ago – and it was. But, sadly, dating violence remains a very real problem in our country – especially on college campuses.

My dad used to say that there’s no worse sin than the abuse of power. Whether it was raising a hand to someone weaker, or using any advantage to push people around, he taught me that if you saw abuse, you had an obligation to attempt to stop it. It’s a lesson to remember every day, but especially this February, during Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.


Awareness is the first step to pushing back against a problem this big. When I held Senate hearings on violence against women more than two decades ago, domestic abuse in American society was rarely spoken about in public. I’ll never forget the stories of abuse I heard in over a thousand hours of hearings. The brutality of family members, acquaintances, and strangers against the women in their lives was absolutely devastating.

It was those hearings that led to the Violence Against Women Act, and since then annual incidents of domestic violence have dropped by more than 50%. But for women in college and younger today, the risk is still much too high.


That’s why I joined with Education Secretary Arne Duncan last April to announce historic new guidelines for colleges and universities about their responsibilities under Title IX to prevent sexual assault. Under the federal civil rights law, schools have an obligation not only to respond appropriately when an assault occurs, but also to create a climate on campus that makes such violence unacceptable.
I also started an initiative called 1is2many to help reduce dating violence and sexual assault among teens and young adults. We harnessed the power of technology to get our message out, launching a national contest to develop “Apps Against Abuse.” The two winning apps – which will be available later this spring – will let you get in touch with your friends quickly and safely so you can call for help if you need it and stop violence in its tracks. We’ve also made sure the National Dating Abuse Helpline can be reached by text, online, or phone 24/7.


Last month, the FBI changed the way the federal government defines rape. The narrow, outdated definition – unchanged since 1929 – said the assault had to be forcible and against a woman’s will to be classified as rape. It’s just not true, and it’s a point that I make on college campuses all across the country. Rape is rape and no means no. No means no whether drunk or sober. No means no whether in the dorm room or on the street. There is never an excuse. Young women and men alike need to understand this. Under the new definition, rape occurs when there is no consent, and it also includes sexual assault against boys and young men in national law enforcement reporting.


These are important changes, but ending dating violence and sexual assault isn’t just a matter of laws and legislation. It’s about education. It’s about attitudes. It’s about your participation. I need your help to address this issue in your dorms and on your campuses. Studies show that men’s ideas about what other men think is one of the strongest determinants of how they act. So guys, you need to speak out.

Today, while in college, nearly one in five women will be a victim of sexual assault and one in ten teens will be hurt on purpose by someone they are dating. These aren’t just statistics, these are people you know: your roommates, your friends, your sisters, your classmates. This is a problem we all have to face.


The ultimate measure of a civilized society is how its laws and culture treat the abuse of women. Attitudes can change. Violence can end. But it can’t happen without universal understanding that dating violence and sexual assault will never be tolerated anywhere, at any time, for any reason. Period. That’s all of our responsibility.



Joe Biden

 Together we must end dating violence UWIRE

George Huguely, suspect in U-Va. murder case, accused of slamming Yeardley Love's head into wall during fight

The brutal murder of this young College Lacrosse player by her ex - boyfriend in 2010  is more than tragic - it is a cautionary tale for all young women and girls of dating ages.

Statistically,it is bears out over and over again, that the period following a break up, separation (or divorce)especially the break- up instigated by the woman, is a dangerous time for any relationship with a partner who has a history of threatening, aggressive or violent behavior.

In this case, George Huguely, the 21 year old ex beau who slammed Yeardley Love's head into a wall multiple times until she died from bruising to her brain, had a history of violence that included several assaults and a serious incident that resulted in arrest with The Virginia Police department over a physical scuffle with a female police officer, which ended with charges of resisting arrest and attacking a police officer.

This is very telling; men that are prone to physically assault women or girls often take particular umbrage to females in positions of power or control, and seeing all of this retrospectively is the true tragedy as it paints such a classic evolution, with signposts everywhere, but no one understood just how dangerous they were.

Particularly tragic in this 2010 case was the fact that many of Miss Loves team mates were apparently aware of a series of threatening emails that Hugely had sent to Yeardley in the days preceding the murder. Some were also aware of a previous attack where Heugley had choked Love at a party resulting in other men present having to physically intervene  in order to pull him off of a gasping Love. This episode caused  Love to break it off and return home to get distance from her clearly mercurial and dangerous ex beau. No one reported the attack to Police, campus police, School staff or Loves family.

The choking attack had occurred months prior to Love's murder and Huegley had tried in typical abuser fashion to apologize profusely and win back his now very wary ex-girlfriend. They dated on and off a short while, but soon enough another incident occurred where Heugly assaulted a boy who he heard had walked love home from a party. That assault also was never reported to campus police or police, although many students and team members were aware of it and the word was that it was an extremely brutal attack on the other young man and Heugly spent months bragging about it to anyone who would listen.

More recently, just  days prior to the murder a scuffle had ensued at Huegley's apartmen between he and Love and it resulted in Yeardley's purse contents being scattered onto the floor at Huguely apartment, resulting in Huegely coming into possession of his once again ex girlfriends cellphone. A friend had to retrive the purse contents for her and yet the phone was "missing"


The common themse running throughout the tragic evolution of this crime is that there were a fair number of friends, teammates and other people in this young girl - and young man's life, that could have and indeed should have intervened - on Yeardley's behalf, perhaps preventing her brutal murder. Police, campus police, College personnel, even her Lacrosse team coach, should have all been made aware of the many instances of violence volatility and the most recent events, including the email threats.

Cyber- stalking and electronic abuse within dating relationships is a growing problem and presents a whole new set of issues for young girls and women in today's world. In this murder, the first thing that Hugely did after smashing Love's head into the wall multiple times and throwing her down on her bed, was to grab her computer which contained the threatening emails that he had been sending her.

This certainly proves that he had a clear presence of mind, he knew that she was dead and he was trying to get rid of evidence that would point to him as the suspect. He later admitted to throwing Loves computer into a dumpster where police soon retrieved it, however, Hugely emails had been "mysteriously" deleted.

This proves an even more sinister post murder clarity where this guy actually went out booted up the computer somewhere, found and deleted his emails from his just slain ex girlfriends computer.

Hugely's lawyer claimed in Court that his client didn't mean to kill Love, that it was a tragic "accident" and would have the Jury believe that Hugely didn't realize Miss Love was dead

However, all evidence disproves any depiction of Hugely as some panicked young kid who accidentally banged his ex-girlfriends head and fled. Hugely had one thing on his mind after he had just taken this girls life - and that was evading arrest and prosecution.

Police managed to procure fragments from the deleted files but not the complete emails, but Fortunately there were multiple witnesses who had seen some of the emails as Yeardley had shown them to various friends and they fortunately testified to the specific threats within the letters.


Every College should have an accessible on campus agency with a protocol for students for dealing with suspicion of dating violence, stalking and/or abusive relationships, and our young people need to be taught just how serious these symptoms are. Sadly University of Virginia learned this lesson that hardest way imaginable and a sweet loving young woman's life was violently extinguished in the process.



George Huguely, suspect in U-Va. murder case, accused of slamming Yeardley Love's head into wall during fight

The “Valentine Against Violence” Campaign « The Pixel Project

This is a great project and a great gift for Valentine's day that's helping an important cause!

The Pixel Project is sponsoring The "Valentine Against Violence Campaign" as a fun, painless and affordable way to raise money and awareness about partner and dating violence.
Check it out at the above link!

Each purchased V-day I-Tunes song comes with an informative tool-kit about Violence against Women, and offers small and large scale ways to get involved.

It’s time to stop violence against women. Together.

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

February is National Teen Dating Awareness Month!-

In order to help our youth understand the warning signs of abusive relationships and how to deal with any dating situation that even seems unhealthy, as adults, we would all do well to get involved!

Follow the link on the NCADV website for ways that we can help our youngsters date and relate with each other safely. Lots of down-loadable information that make great pass-outs at community events and school functions.

Please Let's help extinguish dating and intimate violence from a pro-active and preventive standpoint. My personal desire is that every young girl and young man are taught in depth about the nature of abusive relationships as well as how to keeping safe from adult predators, at the earliest possible age!

We have amassed far too much experience in these areas, lets start really teaching our youth, so that they may be empowered with awareness and knowledge as they embark into their lives!

NYPD Cop from Long Island Shot, miraculously survives and recovering

This story is a bit of a better about a NYPD police officer who was shot on the head while on patrol just days ago, and miraculously, he is cognizant and alert asking for his newborn baby to be brought to him in the hospital!

Doctors are saying that David Brennan, just 29 years old, is doing remarkably well after a life threatening gun injury to the back of his head. The young man was just married last year and his baby girl delivered weeks ago. Family and friends are ecstatic that he not only survived but is so alert and speaking lucidly.

He is having pain naturally, but trying to deal with it with medication and lots of prayers from family, friends and the caring public.

Man Accused Of Hammer Attack To Appear In Court

I am sorry to report that this article in the Courant also centers around an intimate violence crime that happened last month in New Britain Connecticut.

The man who was wanted for attempted murder, multiple felony assault and a slew of other charges, assaulted with a hammer his ex girlfriend, her 16 year old daughter and an 18 year male family friend, who  happened to be at the home, with a hammer.!

The man sustained serious head brain injuries and the two women also sustained serious blunt force trauma from the man beating them with the hammer. All three have had difficult recoveries and continue to need constant medical care. TBI's or traumatic brain injuries are usually permanent, and the results can be devastating to ones daily life.

The charges ranged from attempted murder to assault in the second degree, which I found inappropriate as hitting someone with a hammer should qualify for at the very minimum, assault in the 1st degree ie with a deadly weapon - the hammer.

If not attempted murder for all three victims. It has been my observation that often times police departments are conservative with certain charges in a multiple crime case fearful that just one charge that the court considers inappropriately severe might damage the entire case, or rather damage the chances of obtaining convictions on all of the charges.


I cant say that I am a fan of this practice - it is dangerous in fact as it leaves shorter sentences for crimes of lesser severity than what were actually committed; I am aware of where it stems from and that is the Polices experience with the prosecutorial efforts or lack thereof, and the realistic results of most of the violent crime cases that as first responders, they see the carnage of as opposed to the states attorneys that basically administrate justice in the form of lenient plea deals or even outright dismissals and Nollie's for first second and even third time offenders.


These deals involving no prison time whatsoever are doled out daily in what our states would have us believe are Courts with Domestic Violence specialists. This basically amounts to that particular court having been given grant monies for said domestic violence dockets, grants that were intended to infuse awareness of partner violence and its often life and death consequences, especially if ignored or treated lightly,

In the recent past there have actually been training sessions for Connecticut Police men and women by what amounts to a prosecutorial liaisons that in effect pass on a their own personal brand of misogynistic apathy and frustration for dealing with pardner and domestic violence and thus these police many of them rookies are actually being brainwashed to go easy on the sentencing of anything that can be considered a domestic crime, unless of course three people are almost dead from hammer blows. It is as this point when a weapon is involved and the violence has become life altering and people have been literally maimed that the police at least will take it seriously. It still remains to be seen whether or not the prosecutors handling the crimes will do the same.


My educated guess is that this man who committed these assaults and attempted murders, had a history of arrests, and calls out to the home of former wives and/ or women he was simply dating.

I will also bet that those "brushes" were likely treated lightly in Court, with the man serving no prison time, and quite possibly not even winding up with a criminal record, and or his record ie his convictions if they happened were watered down versions of what he actually committed in terms of severity.

Indeed having a crime like this one, labeled domestic violence does it a distinct disservice, at least in this state, for the victims of these statistically very dangerous crimes.

In this case, this was an ex husband of some duration, who just decided he didn't want his ex wife to be with any man other than him and as such, he would kill or maim her and her new beau, and any innocent other people who happen to be in the house at the time of his attack.

The term domestic violence has become ever widening in this state and this is part of the reason we are seeing this deluge of so called domestic/partner/ex partner crimes. If a woman simply knows the man who assaults or kidnaps her, this crime will likely be placed under the domestic violence docket" which more and more Connecticut courts have installed. And instead of following the national trend, which to take these crimes as seriously or more seriously as their non "domestic counterparts" based upon what this country has learned at both the criminal level the forensic levels and the psycho-social implications connected therein.

Connecticut is actually doing the opposite; there are still too many prosecutors that not only embrace the idea that if an assault is committed by anyone from a boyfriend to a person that a woman once dated or knew, the crimes should be treated more leniently from a sentencing standpoint. They are in fact effectively training our Police professionals to "go easier" with the actual charges that these men are charged with.

There is in fact a completely different scale that exists for a crime committed by someone that a female victim either knows, dated or was married to -  and it is this disparity starting with the very first crimes committed by these men,  treated with veritable slap's on the wrist, that are leading to  escalating violent assaults, and murders by men emboldened by the ease in which they traversed through an apathetic, almost apologetic court system. Case in point this hammer wielding ex boyfriend. This man had a history of assaulting his ex wife and her children. She actuallycommented in a Cournat article about the crimes when they were first committed, warning women everywhere to be on guard agaisnt this charming at first classic predator of women.  When we dig up this mans criminal records I will gurantee that when arrested his crimes were fairly serious and by the time the court was done with him, he did little or no actual time- he probably should have been behind bars in fact making his next crimes imposssible, But alas this rarely if ever happens in Connecticut save a few courts where either a tough judge prevails and controls the sentencing, or the random committed criminal states attorney.


I am certain that he had some kind of police involvement with the woman that he most recently attacked with the hammer along with her teen daughter and a male friend. This all took place at 6: 30 in the morning, when the defendent broke into the home probably hoping to catch the household asleep and off gurad,

These men often have personality disorders to begin with, ie Anti-social PD Narcissistic PD, etc., and the last thing an authority entity such as our Judicial system need do is show these men that there aren't going to be any real consequences unless their victim s is very nearly dead or close to it.

Our State needs to clean up its sentencing issues with all violent crimes NOW. We have an abysmal record for plea dealing Nollie's, A.R's and dismissals in the state of Connecticut. Some Superior courts are admittedly worse and some better than others. But almost without exception, the bulk of the sentencing culpability lies with the prosecutors in these courts as they almost always determine the sentence that an Violent crime offender winds up, care of the Plea deals that they make with  the attorneys for the "defendants".

At a rate of 97 percent of all criminal cases,  the plea deal is Connecticut  adjudication method of choice-and this is actually one of the better outcomes.

Dismissals Nolle's and A.R's ( which equates to a freebie first nolle for crimes as serious as punching a woman full in the face) also occur daily and much more frequently than they should,  leaving men who have committed dangerous violent crimes without criminal records at all or criminal records that do not reflect the actual severity of the crimes theyve committed.

And this doesnt begin to address the sentencing itself. These men, and occasionally women, belong in prison if they have committed a violent crime of any substantiality. We have learned that violent crime and partner crimes such as stalking criminal restraint escalate.


Man Accused Of Hammer Attack To Appear In Court - Hartford Courant

A deluge of violent crime in Connecticut

Over the course of this one week in the State of Connecticut::

A homeless man was murdered by an insane Florida  man

A man was arrested in Trumbull for knocking his estranged wife to the ground and punching the responding police officer in the face and engaging in a violent brawl with the officer and another off duty policeman who happened to be driving by the scene. The man was wanted on a previous warrant for punching the same woman in the face while driving in a car over a month ago.

A clip from a handgun was found in the assailant's pocket and Police finally located his handgun which as a convicted felon as well as a person listed on a restraining order he was not allowed to own, even had the weapon been registered which of course it was not. Three Policemen were injured by the battering husband who was not injured at all.


Two women in Cheshire Connecticut one 18 and another 41 were sexually assaulted by a man who threatened to kill them. Thankfully police later found the perpetrator via the women's descriptions of the man, and traced him to a home in Seymour where he was arrested and the court put a 500,000 bond on the man.

It should be noted that the Trumbull woman who was stalked and slammed to the ground by her husband, who was already wanted for punching her in the face in a moving car and breaking a restraining order was given a 60,000 bond - which equates to 6,000 to a bail bondsman to be freed from jail and back out where statistically many men seek out their wives and attempt further harm or murder in such situations.

One can only assume that this disparity in Bail amount is because this crime was considered a domestic violence crime, and as such our courts or our police do not consider these violent crimes as seriously as violent crime committed by a stranger. In this day and age, with all of the knowledge that we have amassed regarding 'partner /intimate violence, this is simply unacceptable, especially when one considers that domestic crimes account for  the majority of female homicides.


http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/crime/cheshire-man-arrested-for-sexual-assault/


Officers injured in violent brawl in Trumbull WTNH.com Connecticut

Vigil for victim in Bridgeport Homeless Man's murder

This is a heartbreaking story and a classic case of a our States failure to protect it's most vulnerable citizens.. The man who committed this murder was clearly certifiably insane and extremely dangerous; from what has been reported about the crime it  sounds as if he is schizoid or one of the many sub-types, and he was walking the streets ( of Bridgeport in this particular case) glaringly belonging in a high security mental facility at the very least.

Signs of schizophrenia and related disorders where people hear voices and cannibalize their victims, show signs of severe mental illness for years before committing a brutal murder on a vulnerable person. The man arrested for this crime was well into his forties, I cannot fathom that he had not come to the attention of Police and or social service mental health agencies prior to committing this horrible crime.

When will our Connecticut state agencies begin to take a pro-active role in preventing all of these unnecessary violent crimes. It almost always comes back to the same issue, legislators and the State's latest official bean counters weighing what one murder will cost the state to prevent, via plucking these offenders off the street at the first  violent offense: stricter sentencing and a revamp of of current priority's within said justice system. We have the right to expect and demand a system where Police, Prosecutors,
Parole//Probation, A criminal records department and related Social service agencies are are all easily able to communicate via one computerized network.

 If a brutal crime befell the family of a legislator, and he or she had to deal with the system that is in place, you can be sure that "defendant" would wind up with a considerably higher bail, stricter sentence, and liberal plea deals would be out of the question.
Therin lies part of the problem - elitism. The very people we vote to put into that legislators seat are by and large not getting it done. With the exception of the larger inner city assemblymen, the majority of legislators do not place crime prevention and public safety at the top of their list of priorities.  And yet some of these inner city Reps have a major conflict of interest as they are representing minority's, whom they have expressed in sessions that they believe are treated unfairly by our States judicial system.

This presents a real conflict in expecting these legislators who comprise a fair number of lawmakinng votes, to vote upon crime bills without that particular prejudice.

And then there is the general  rule of thumb that has long guided our States House of Representatives; They are playing the same old boy network IE "hop on board with us on this one, and we''ll help you out on that one, that nearly every political machine embraces. Politics as usual.

As a people we have come to expect this from our politicians, but high has the time come where we let our legislators know that this is not acceptable in matters of life and death, such as violent crime and predation of human beings..


The worst part is that it needn't cost the state overtly additional funds, there are monies that we are already spending willy - nilly, creating a revolving door for repeat offenders. A safer State, a better judicial system, requires a re-grouping, a new age prioritizing of our crimes, including using what we know through experience are pre-cursor crimes for predators moving up the predatorial ladder. I personally would rather see any violent offender in a Connecticut prison cell (and this includes breaking and entering/potential
violence!) than the thousands of inmates whose only crimes have been possession of, or procuring a drug that they are addicted to.

This is but one single change in law and judicial sentencing that would save the State millions of dollars and free up resources for prosecuting and housing violent offenders.


Instead of shaking our heads and feeling awful for the latest victims, I suggest we use our collective power to vote in our own legislators jurisdiction, against any lawmaker senator or assemblyman who is not making his/her vote on crime bills reflective of what we as citizens want. This includes the upcoming death penalty abolishment bill where repeated polling has shown that the residents of Connecticut want to reserve the right to pursue the Death Penalty as we traditionally have, conservatively cautiously and only in the most egregious capital murder cases.


Vigil for victim in homeless man's murder

Joshua Komisarjevsky: Cheshire Home Invasion Killer Sentenced To Death Friday

Again,  no adequate words to truly capture the culmination of heartache and loss felt within the Petit and Hawke family's victim impact statements at today's formal Sentencing for Joshua Komisarjevsky.


United in deep and abiding empathy for these victims, and their family, the people of Connecticut have waited nearly five years for Justice to be served to the two men who ended the lives of  Jennifer Petit and her daughters Hayley 17, and Michaela 11, in July 2007. William Petit Jr was severely assaulted within the home invasion but managed to survive, losing his wife and children..


Today, the final reckoning was formally bestowed upon the second man tried for these crimes, and  long-considered the instigator, initially targeting the Petit girls at a local supermarket  and following them home.  Judge Blue, who presided over  both men's trials, officially sentenced Komisarjevsky to death, noting that  while "it is a terrible sentence, It is a sentence that Komisarjevsky wrote for himself with deeds of unimaginable horror and savagery."


Thankfully, the Petit and Hawke families left the courtroom while  Komisarjevsky made what amounted to a lament to the open court. Expectedly, there was not an ounce of genuine regret, remorse or accountability within his statement.
   .
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"You must be the change that you wish to see in this world."


 Michaela Petit's
Favorite quote on facebook

Petit Family Foundation

Petit Women: Friends Point To Cheshire Home Invasion Victims' Real Legacy

Good overcomes evil; That is the  what we have learned through this tragedy, and the struggle for Justice and healing that followed.

Jennifer, Hayley and Michaela's legacy of  light will continue to shine. And just as the sun feeds and nourishes the flowers in this garden, their kindness and altruism illuminates our hearts, inspiring us to be just a bit more like them.

Petit Case prosecutor gives rare interview

This is a rare interview by Prosecutor Michael Dearington, the lead States attorney in both the Steven Hayes and the Joshua Komisarjevsky trials.

Both men were convicted and sentenced to death for the capital murders of Jennifer, Hayley and Michaela Petit. Dr Wiliam Petit Jr was beaten with a baseball bat, but managed to escape by breaking his hand binds hop up the bilco cellar steps and roll to a neighbors yard, just before his house was engulfed in flames.

The fire was fueled by Gasoline which both Komisarjevsky and Hayes used in an attempt to destroy DNA evidence of multiple sexual assaults which both men had committed during the home invasion.

Dearington apparantly would only answer some questions, which was smart of him, citing that he did not want to enable any grounds for future appeals,( particularly when one considers how many times Jeremiah Donovan has mentioned laying the groundwork for future appeals....)

I found the part about Dearington walking through the crime scene very emotional and it brought me right back to the days weeks and months following the media coverage of these crimes.

It is definately worth the read.

Police Overseas Nab Suspect in Conn. Jewelry Store Robbery, Killing | NBC New York

I can't tell you all just how glad I am that they finally found this murderer and thief.

I am from Westport and the victim  was a beloved local jewelry shop owner, a father, a grandfather and a friend to many. His business partner was also shot during the Robbery but by the grace of God, he manged to survive his gunshot wound.

 Let this be the beginning of Justice for both men and thier families the traums

Komisarjevsky puts bid in to speak in court,

If this isn't classic sociopath behavior, I don't know what is. This man has been convicted and subsequently sentenced by a conscientious jury of his peers.A jury, who incidently, his own lawyers chose, using up all of  their regular and  preemptory challenges well before the opposing prosecution had even begun running out.

These same Jury members later admitted to "crying" when they ultimately voted for the death penalty for Komisarjevsky, because the law and judicial requirements pointed them straight into this decision.
Never mind their individual moral compasses, which interestingly  none of them referred to, except ironically - when speaking about how they'd exhausted every strategy trying to find something valid, within the many would be mitigators presented in order to find a way to "save Josh's life." 
This piece of related information from members of the jury , coroberated that this was the only correct and Just sentence.

As much as I was reluctant to waste space on my blog and draw attention to this latest attention seeking behavior from Joshua Komisarjevsky, I simply had to omment upon this latest ploy in a series of ploys that have littered this case, all the way from the long pre-trial discovery phase to the Hayes trial and finally throughout his own trial and penalty phase.

And now Komisarjevsky is apparently angry and bitter over getting the death penalty, placing him in a tougher prison without as many niceties and he wants to make a statement dammit.

Henow resides on death row in the same prison as his former accomplice and someone he used to describe as a" friend" , before he sold him out as the planned fall guy,  immediatelly distancing himself from Hayes, the moment the Cheshire Police had him in custody.

 His scheme of playing the innocent and Dumbstruck accomplice, like a deer caught in the headlights as all of the murderous preparations went on around him, are ridiculous especially when reading his journals and interviews with writer Brian Macdoanld.  I sat on the floor of a drug store reading the book simply to gain perpective on Komisarjevsky's official version in order to punch holes in it as it compared to his taped statement made to Cheshire Police.  

Even his various versions given to police varied with one version admittting he poured gasoline, and another claiming steve poured all the gasoline. It was said that by the time the men reached Michaela's room they'd used up almost all of the gasoline having literally doused Hayley Petit's bed with her tied in it,  likely due to the fact that she "remained defiant throughout the crimes, according to Komisarjevsky, always with" defiance flashing in her eyes,"unlike her gentler mom and sister who clearly were more to his liking as compliant victims .

In the meantime, some folks might have forgotten these terrible details of the crimes ..but I for one cannot. I will live with these details forever etched within my heart and my soul, hopefully I will relive them less s time wears on.

They say time heals all wounds and while I have seen time take the sharpest edges off of learning about  painful memories and the accompanying feelings of trauma, for me the anger remains. Especially when the man convicted of such atrocities will not accept even the slightest bit of accountability. Such is the evil of the sociopath.

Mr Komisarjevsky I propose had you not locked eyes upon a pubescent girl in a supermarket skipping through the aisles with nary a care in her world, had YOU not then proceeded to follow the little girl who you quickly ascertained was with her mom, an attractive older woman in her own rite, back to her car and then to thier home, they would all still be alive today.

Woman Found in Westport Reportedly Identified | The Daily New Canaan

I have been scrounging around for information about this poor woman found dumped on the side of I95 in Westport near exit 18 which is the Sherwood Island Connector exit, which lead to Westport's Sherwood island beach. Not that that information is pertinent, as the Police believe the woman's body was randomly dumped

There is a lot of conflicting information being released. They are releasing a possible ID on the victim but the State police are not confirming anything at this point. This usually means that family members have not yet been notified or the Police have strategic reasons for withholding information concerning details of the crime IE whether it appears to be a murder and/or a possible sexual assault etc.

We do know that the woman was in her early forties, god rest her soul and my immediate thought is that this is a homicide.

This linked article contains just a smattering of information, however, Connecticut's Channel 12 News has the story and an accompanying tip-line as well. I suggest reading the basic information for anyone that was traveling in the general vicinity of I95 last night, even if it was farther north or south than Westport.

The Police even suggested that the person or persons who dumped this women's body might have been traveling from out of town or even out of state, and randomly chose Westport on 95 to dump the victim's body I personally don't believe that this perp and the crime were happened our of state, and if this is in fact murder, then I can tell you we have a very dangerous person on our hands.

Anyone capable of treating a human beings dead body in such an overtly carteless or hateful manner, has got serious issues with women and they are very dnagerous, though likely do not appear so at first.

This is a very serious situation. This person, who statistically is likely to be male, could very well be walking and living among us. Keep the doors to your cars locked the very moment that you get into the car - during daylight shopping hours or otherwise. Be very careful about who you speak anywhere especially at bars nightclubs, even coffee shops and innocuous seeming places like supermarkets and bookstores. Predators troll for victims and the ones who are most successful - meaning they do not get caught. are expert at blending in, In Fairfield county at least, this means sounding relatively intelligent and looking the part.

Recall that the Westport Jewelry robber/ murderer was described as very collegiate looking had a soft spoken articulate manner etc etc. This man is still out there likely because he is intelligent enough to blend in generally speaking and to change his appearance just enough to deflect suspicion. Perhaps he gained some weight on purpose. Perhaps he had lost weight on purpose prior to the robbery.

I did note that in one photo it appeared that the Jewelry store Murderer had something stuffed under his upper lip, similar to what Brando did in the Godfather( Brando stuffed his lower lip and jowls, this man seemed to stuff under his upper lip in one of the photos) He also appeared to have some kind of layers or stuffing, perhaps even a bullet proof vest beneath his very blue bulky coat, giving him the appearance of being a stockier man.

Whereas in the Philadelphia camera shots and the NYC videos, the thief, unaware that he would be later scrutinized in the video photos on the street, probably resembles himself, his "real" appearance a bit more unless he was extremely wily and already considering those stores for possible heists. I did notice that he kept his head down the entire time whilst in a jewelry shop. Clearly he knew there were cameras in the stores ands didn't want to be photographed too closely.

Suspect in Violent Hammer Attack Remains At Large

RANDY BRETON WANTED/DANGEROUS

Randy Breton, age 41 is still at large for breaking into a home and attacking his former girlfriend, her 16 year old daughter and an 18 year old male friend of the family with a hammer. Breton caused severehead and brain injury to the young male and somewhat less severe injuries to both women, although all three were considered seriously injured with one critically so.
I had already assumed Breton had been arrested in the past for partner or domestic violence, and thus when I saw this mugshot of him, I was validated but not pleased as he undoubtedly received some kind of light sentence in the past, if he was sentenced at all. Many Connecticut courts will give what amounts to scads of .
" free fist offenses to assailants involved in anything dubbed "Domestic violence" Accelerated Rehabilitation or AR is a common first time method of basically erasing a crime or set of crimes where  assault and or stalking and or criminal restraint threatening etc is involved. AR is really a form of nolle in that the perp gets a 13 month period whereby if they don't commit any other violent crimes inthe interim, the original charge or charges will be erased, dropped from their criminal record, meaning they will have no criminal record.
Then there are the outright dismissals and nolles, depending on the court, that may occur daily in DV dockets especially, if the prosecutor is of a certain ilk whereby if a case becomes even slightly difficult due to a frightened or Brain washed victim( ie a Stockholm like syndromes which is very common with battered women) the case is simply dropped or nolled depending on how serious the crimes were.

This also leaves a dangerous violent offender typically male - with either no record or a record that is so minimal watered down thanks to standardized plea deals. that involve no actual prison time and the assailant of course feels emboldened by this utter lack of  criminal judicial accountability, and thus, they return to the abuse and battering with certainty that no real consequence will come of it.

Until they either kill someone or almost kill someone. And to the latter in reality even many a maimed victim has watched her assailant walk out of a courthouse without serving a day in prison or even being convicted of the charges he so rightly earned This happens almost without fail  because the crimes were labeled "Domestic" and the judicial slide rule for such crimes in the state of Connecticut, supposedly a progressive intelligent state with one of the highest per cpiat incomes and education levels in the country, is considerably more liberal than their already too liberal sentencing standards vs the criminal protocol on paper.

In reading the linked article I scanned the comments and found one by Breton's ex wife who claimed terrible abuse to both she and her children by this man. She wanted readers to know that he was extremely dangerous as he is still at large, which means he may hurt yet another woman -  or man - or child.


Suspect in Violent Hammer Attack Remains At Large

Part 2 Komisarjevsky Lawyer's bid for new Trial; more of the same....

Note: This Post is continued from a previous post which can be found below it. The two part series began after a motion for a new trial was entered by convicted murderer Joshua komisarjevsky's attorneys.


Traumatized and Morally disgusted, the finally sated residents of Connecticut and other states, were just beginning to heal  after reading about and watching nearly 5 years of legal abuses by the gaggle of defense attorneys involved in this case, We have made it clear that we are equally disgusted and angered by Attorney Donovan and co.perpetual abuse of Connecticut's court processes. The notion and the word disbar has reared its head quite often among many a learned person within the comments sections of all levels of  online publications.


Donovan's latest motion http://www.scribd.com/doc/78266992/Komisarjevsky-Lawyers-Motion-New-Trial-2012  elaborated ad nausea regarding the definition of predator, indicating the predation as in as animals involved killing their prey, insisting that it was unfairly cast upon his client and colored his good name. He further states that at that time prior to the Petit rapes and murders, JK was merely a non violent thief, despite having admitted within his own penalty phase procession of witnesses that this same client was stealing panties off clotheslines, peeping into windows frequently, breaking into houses before he hit his teens.


One needs to point out to attorney Donovan that before an animal kills or maims, it stalks its prey...many do, as do sexual offenders or other human predators that do not neccesarily follow the laws of nature when it comes to sexual assault, voyeurism, arson, thievery, trophy taking  and serial murderers they all start out with their first rape robbery or murder.

As we we all know by now that no sexual predator is made overnight, they escalate as do murderers especially murderers of women and children who often kill at first strictly for practical reasons- to silence their victim, and destroy evidence of their crimes.


 So lets not parse definitions attorney Donovan.  I don't know who this lawyers is playing to with his absurd Webster Miriam definitions within this latest motion -  first defending his repeated use of the word Petit Posse citing this as a like minded group of people with a common goal or intention (ring any bells Donovan Komisarjevsky Bansford etc?)

 And then they defined predator for "the court" within this very same motion for a new trial, insisting that being called a predator by his last sentencing judge and having it oft repeated in the press negatively affected his clients ability to get a fair trial.

Attorney Donovan's over zealous and inappropriate motions and feigned indignation  eerily similar to his sociopath client.

 Komisarjevsky has a long history of objecting to being called whatever derogatory term that accompanied the dangerous and incessant crimes that he simply would not stop committing; first he was called an animal by that last prosecutor, and then later in an indirectly by Dr Petit who mentioned the animals that stole my family in his yearly memorial faithfully placed in the local papers.

Petit, who survived Komisarjevsky's baseball bat brain bashing attack as he slept on his sun porch only to have this scum co-write a book while languishing in protected prison cell, calling this sole survivor of his entire family's murders -  a coward, for not breaking loose of his zip tied hands sooner, despite massive blood loss brain injury shock and the mistaken belief that two men one well over 200 lbs were armed with a 9 mm gun. in his yearly memorial to his slain family whereby he simply says something to the effect of the animals that killed my family..."

JK actually demanded a forum in court whereupon he could have a debate with Bill Petit over his choice of wording, pretending to be utterly insulted by the implication of being called an animal. This after a 4 hour taped statement to police re how he cut off the clothing and bra of a tied up 11 year old whom he actually made re dress into a schoolgirl outfit from her former pajamas that shed worn to bed that July night!


 J.K.'s lawyers would have the jury and all of us believe that nothing was done properly for "josh" a rather innocuous sounding nickname for a cold blooded convicted child rapist arsonist torturer, bat wielding assailant,   and in the end the man who not only was shown on tape targeting a vibrant 11 year old girl and her mother as the girl skipped through the produce section like any other 11 year old would - no sign of woman about her.

Michaela Petit, as seen through the lens of the stop and shop security cameras looked eerily like a baby deer being stalked by a cretinous slouching bitter looking man..


Within this latest motion - see Scribd laurelo account for the actual motion my link is not working for a new trial, these lawyers went so far as to offer a dictionary definition of the word Posse for us, apparently to "prove" it's "accuracy" and relieve them A bit for calling of looking like the cretins that they are for name calling the victims family within the defense of a rapist and murderer.

If only they were to look at that Websters definition again and hold up a mirror to themselves and their client, they would perhaps understand the irony of them using this word.
Besides which, it's just plain bad lawyering to taunt to resort to name calling surviving victims and the victims family who have lost their family to horrific violence.

Beyond the harassment of victims and the waste of time is the purposeful exorbitant waste of state resources that this troupe of special state "public defenders" continue to consume within their inherently
evil antics.

The fact that the regular public defenders for the state were used up by Steven Hayes defense, because both men were naturally blaming each other, therefore establishing "adversarial defenses"


Connecticut was thus obliged to hire "Special public defenders" for Komisarjevsky, who, as private attorneys on call for the state, are allowed more billable hours and funds to engage the very same state in what amounted to an elaborate "show." A show designed first and foremost to bring attention to Attorney Donovan et al. ie In the rare event that he "won, like Casey Anthony's public defender, shot into stardom after pulling a rabbit from a hat with a child's blood on his hands, Donovan might just make a huge career leap. Winning" in this case however would have been obtaining a life imprisonment for his client where he could perhaps kill again within prison or like ted Bondy escape only to rape and kill again while on the run.


It should be noted that Donovan also claims to be an avid anti-death penalty proponent, no matter how dangerous the convicted, nor how much torture they inflicted upon their innocent victims. And it is
always under this false umbrella of " saving" a child predator rapist murderers "life" that the Donovan Posse rationalizes every grievous word and action, hoping he will appear noble to at least himself, if he uses the words " save a life"

In the meantime, the Komisarjevsky defense pre-trial forward, has literally bankrupted our states judicial resources. Single- handedly shutting down Connecticut courthouses to pay for the Donovan led "defense" as well as the 24 hour security that both Steven Hayes and Komisarjevsky were given in the first several years following the murders and currently en route to and from court appearances. Both men had permanent guards on sentry outside their cells for a very long time to protect the prisoners who were in solitary cells, from attempts upon their lives by other prisoners.

The Komisarjevsky defense has been nothing but the epitome of waste, following in the footsteps of the finally becoming archaic "sleazebag defense lawyer" whose arsenal consist of attack of the victims (and in this case, the family's of the dead) All in an effort to shift the jury's attention away from their clients barbarism, deflect blame and culpability and wear down the court with endless motions that although vapid and beyond rickety, must be answered by our Country and our States judicial rules.


I have watched and listened to Jeremiah Donovan say things and take actions that are the antithesis of professionalism and he does so with the same impunity as his client who targeted rape and murdered a vibrant 11 year child. Although admitting to writer Brian MacDonald to targeting the family in a supermarket because he" liked the way the younger Petit girl looked" summed up the crimes in his journals this way:

"So I hit a guy with a bat, emotionally scarred a child and robbed a family of 15,000...."

He left a raped 11 year old doused in gasoline tied to her bed to be burned alive in hopes of destroying his DNA.

He hit William Petit Jr at least 8-10 times in the skull "as hard as I could as if chopping wood"

The sole survivor Petit broke his zip tied hands from a pole in his cellar rolled to a neighbors yard yelling for help. He sustained Brain injury massive blood loss and even knowing Petit had escaped and that a policeman was hiding in the bushes, he ran back into the Petit home from their car to insure that the fire that killed the Petit girls was lit before trying to escape with his accomplice Hayes in the Petit family car.

Like Komisarjevsky, Attorney Donovan also seemingly believes himself utterly immune from basic legal moral or ethical culpability that govern us as human beings., not to mention the Connecticut State Bar.

In Komisarjevsky case we know he is a sociopath, and thus we understand exactly why he believes he needn't adhere to law, be it moral or literal. Mr Donovan however, is supposed to be an officer of the court and thus we will assume not a psychopath... yet we have watched his deceitfulness manipulation and utter dis-ingenuousness play itself out in front of media cameras and in the courtroom.

He sputtered and revised his declared reasons for such serious actions that they led to a contempt of court hearing in front of Judge Fasano, for breaking a gag order that had been on the case for years at that point.

Like his client Joshua Komisarjevsky, Donovan is as boldly deceitful and obvious with his deceit and manipulation, first claiming he carried on his own mini press conference on the steps of the Steven Hayes trial, in an effort to " spare the Petit family from believing that their 11 year old daughter, komisarjevsky's
target and motivation for the home invasion) to have been sexually assaulted in the most violent of ways as had just been uncovered within that days testimony from the child's forensic medical examiner. And after having a day to think about it, he quickly revamped his entire elaborated upon reasons for basically lying to the media in hopes of undoing the harm that the days testimony did to his clients "image" (and jury pool)


Donovan now claimed that he held the impromptu illegal press conference as a way of petitioning the gag order which he'd felt was unfair from the beginning, yet ironically and  maddeningly his own client
broke the gag order with certainly at least his lawyers knowledge, when JK met with a writer in prison
having the man added to his official visitor list which Donovan Bansford and the other lawyer saw every week for they were the only ones on the list besides komisarjevsky parents.

In the meantime....within the illegal press conference Donovan denied outright in a purposefully humble voice that his client had sexually assaulted the 11 year old child as had just been announced by the medical examiner at Hayes's trial, alluding that there would be more to back this up at his client's trial ( in the meantime the aggravated sexual assault committed by Komisarjevsky was never challenged by Donovan nor any of his partners at his trial - It was irrefutable forensic evidence that Komisarjevsky had sodomized little Michaela Petit, so instead he switched gears claiming his client was sodomized at age 4-6, something komisarjevsky himself never claimed once despite telling a writer months prior that he been raped at 14 despite claiming to police that his was 13 when caught for setting fire to the gas station.

The age that Komisrajevsky claims to have been raped - then molested have been as capricious as his versions of these horrible crimes, and his lawyers have followed suit with their own mendacious attempts to fabricate and manipulate the public, and the Jury with lies and manipulation, with Donovan leading the way, panting and frothing at the mouth like some kind of rabid dog, hell-bent on a mission,  with his moral compass stuck in the wrong direction, charged by Satan himself.


While I am reluctant to regurgitate this particularly ugly piece of history, both regarding the assault of little Michaela and Attorney Donovan's despicable professional and personal carriage,  I must point out one last bit of idiocy that sums up well the situation; whilst in front of national TV cameras which he had gathered round for his "announcement",  Donovan went so far as to spell his name for the Journalists,


" Jeremiah Donovan...that's D-O-N-O-V-A-N " he said to an obviously confused journalist who had asked him; "Who exactly are you, again?"

Komisarjevsky lawyers Request New Trial - Donovan's Stunts Redux...

Note; This Post has been broken down into part 1 and 2 due to my tendency to be extremely comprehensive especially for any new readers who do not know the basic background of the Petit family crimes and Joshua Komisarjevsky's role in these crimes.




Part 1



The Komisarjevsky trial ended with his conviction on all 16 counts and a death sentence. However the public and the victims family had to endure a six week long penalty phase of the trial; a tortuous show by defense attorneys grasping at any straws, trouncing out every 'witness" that their client didn't rob stalk or harm in some way.en route through his life of crime, and even some whom he had.

This expensive and unnecessary ruse was all orchestrated in an attempt to paint a false image of their sociopath client who indeed was the man who targeted the Petit's, with Michaela Petit his own interest for sexual predation. His lawyers called him a "damaged lad" whose life was "doomed at birth."

Rather presumptive and insulting to their own client as well as his well meaning middle class parents who never beat him nor neglected him nor locked him in the cellar.

A duplicitous, conniving lot led by Jeremiah Donovan , these lawyers unnecessarily consumed more of the states money and resources, abusing the Connecticut judicial system with every dirty trick in the sleazy lawyer hand- book, including purposeful deluge of motions, like this latest fodder, designed alternately to delay, use up time, frustrate the prosecution. Judge Survivor and the victim's family.


The penalty phase is supposed to be a little "Trial within a trial" but in this case it was a ridiculously lengthy, utterly irrelevant procession of pre-rehearsed defense character style witnesses, who in the end,  ironically helped the prosecution show the jury that Joshua Komisarjevsky had very long, clearly defined and escalating history of  ignoring the rights of other human beings. adhering to even the basic rules and laws that govern us as people and a society, despite being given chance after chance to clean up his act.

He set fire to an abandoned gas station at age 13, this was arson a serious felony.  He would later tell a church minister that it was an accident and blamed it on the boys that he was with citing that they were only throwing matches into the empty service station cubby.


This budding sociopath also told police that he'd been depressed and suicidal, not the first or the last time he would use this claim to attempt to alleviate scrapes with the law, his parents, church camps, and even a short stint in the army reserves,where he was tossed out for a slew of breaking and entering charges.


He was thrown out of a christian based camp for bomb making and breaking into other peoples cottages -This at a spiritual live in retreat which his mother had uprooted the entire family for, in an effort to geographically solve the Josh problem which was gathering momentum with each day.  She testified that she hoped to  move JK  from the  influences of some"satanic worshiping teens"he had fallen in with,after finding satanic drawings on JK's bedroom wall.


Oh yes, and the defense would have us all believe that Komisarjevsky's father was a rigid controlling strict domineering father. Please. If your kid is sneaking out of his window every night to hang out with hoodlums, drawing satanic symbols on the wall of his bedroom and setting fire to abandoned gas stations, that boy is hardly intimidated by any parental influence.


Like too many mothers of notorious criminals,  Komisarjevsky's mom was a complete enabler in the long run, despite decent intentions. This was a woman that gave great thought to how best approach her troubled son's issues.


Yet her own son' lawyers used his mothers decision to not put her teenage son on Thorazine, a powerful anti-psychotic, at an age where he was claiming to abuse drugs, as well showing no indication that he'd adhere to the out patient regimen for the drugs as an excuse an attempt at a mitigating factor in fact, claiming that had his parents put him on the drugs that the state psychiatrist recommended after diagnosing Komisarjevsky as the teen version of a personality disorder, instead of trying natural faith based options  such as change in living situation and lifestyle, he would stopped his life of  arson breaking and entering, stalking and voyeurism,  intimate trophy stealing ie panties found first on clotheslines, then in women's dressers in the many many houses he broke into.


 Later he would refer to the tireless breaking and entering as a form of " extreme sport."  It was clearly the invading of other peoples boundaries privacy that excited this young man the power and control he felt were at the core of every break in. Sexual assault was a natural evolution, or an accidental run in with A home owner possibly ending in violence as it was evidenced from his bashing Dr Petit's head with a baseball bat, and that wasn't a run-in but a pre-meditated attack motivated by neutralizing the only threat in a house full of girls and a slender women with M.S.


Komisarjevsky bragged to girlfriends friends and acquaintances that breaking into houses was simply too boring if no one was home at the time, And thus he developed a system- laying in wait ( ie preying upon the residents Mr Donovan) waiting until they were definitely in their house, ensuring this in fact by stalking them, eventually through binoculars, and later night vision goggles, but as a young boy he had already been caught clambering up trees outside middle class homes in Connecticut Vermont - and whatever state his beleaguered parents had moved him ) first merely peeking in windows, then emboldened when he wasn't caught, he began watching for hours as the unsuspecting homeowners went about their most personal activities.


Soon enough. he was breaking in  and listening to the residents sleeping from inside what they thought was  their sanctity or watching television or likely in the case of females bathing and changing clothes, after all this is the same young man who had been stealing women's panties first off of clotheslines, then cabins at camp, he clearly was sexualizing his invasions into these peoples private sanctity and more than likely it was in the hopes of  spying upon a women or girls that motivated the entire habit when it began.


He even listened as they ate their meals one room away from where he crouched or stood.or rifled thru drawers grabbing easy stuff like billfolds purses jewelry etc. The stolen items were incidental and finally one Conn judge saw this within one of his many many warrants for breaking and entering and gave him a nine year sentence with six years of special parole. The judge intended for JK to be done with the dept of corrections when he was 37 providing he made use of the time stayed out of trouble.


He actually served less than two years in prison being moved to a halfway house for the last year or so of his 3.6 year sentence. His ankle bracelet was off two nights before he committed the Petit home invasion. On the two nights prior to this he and his same accomplice friend Hayes made practice runs with him showing Hayes how easy it was to get into his local hometown Cheshire houses. The men broke into two homes where both families lay sleeping with children in the houses. Joshua was found with a framed photo of a pretty woman who lived in one of the houses they robbed.

This is an ominous sign and in illustrates well the natural evolution of this mans criminal need; first stealing panties off lines, then peeping tom behavior no longer thought to be nuisance crimes as flashing is also not a nuisance but a proven pre cursor to full blown sexual assault. The photo stealing is in fact trophy-ism and it suggests a pathology of sexual predatory behavior. One of the men also left a butcher knife stuck into a kitchen counter in another home, also a sign of power and sadism - enjoying another s fear and intimidation in their own invaded space.

Of course, when caught with the framed photo in his possession, he made up a quick lie to the detective who he was taking a helpful stance with, hoping it would curry him favor and heap all blame for the serious crimes on his hand-picked accomplice/ friend- Steven Hayes.. He claimed that he held up the framed photo to show Hayes how many people were in the house in case they woke up.

The photo was a young couple, an attractive wife and small children.  As far as his explanation regarding the knife he naturally blamed it on Hayes saying Hayes was" playing around with the knife..." implying that hayes must have stuck it in the counter unbeknownst to him.

 Interestingly, within this latest motion for a new trial attorney Donovan cites the repeatedly referred to the term predator which Komisarjevsky had been called by his clients former sentencing judge, a fact that the newspapers got a hold of once finding out that the parole board had none of Komisarjevsky's records including that sentencing report, in their possession when making the monumental decision to grant him early release, after serving substantially less than half his sentence behind  actual bars.

He also took Latin classes and computer courses before being sent to a halfway house where he was free to come and go and mix within the public sphere.


 This is the same halfway house where he met Steven Hayes. It is also when he would meet his new teenage girlfriend for sex in a mall bathroom whilst taking cell phone photos of the girl and the acts. He was 26 she was 15 or 16 at that time. The mother of his child was 15 when he impregnated her making him a certifiable sex offender as he was 22 at the time.. Had this statutory rape been reported by anyone, Komisarjevsky would be right alongside his foster brother Scott Reese, as a registered sex offender.

 Never put on the stand, nor subpoenaed, Reese a borderline retarded barely verbal almost middle aged man had been interviewed by the defenses paid psychiatrist and asked if any of the claims that JK was suddenly making that he'd been sexually assaulted and penetrated between ages 4-6 by foster brother Reese, supposedly answered  " something like that might have happened..." And this untapped unsubstantiated conversation became the defenses core reason for claiming their client should get life rather than the legally mandated death penalty.


In the meantime, Komisarjevsky's parent's testified at his trial how proud they were of Josh for getting a job while he was in the halfway house, also a benefit of the State sponsored " help a felon find a job program."

On that particular string of robberies which topped 27 houses total in one county, Komisarjevsky told police about his night vision goggles and was caught wearing surgical gloves dark clothing with hoods, and moreover stalking his victims prior to breaking into their home. As mentioned, Donovan had the audacity as did komisarjevsky to pretend to be insulted by being referred to as a predator by the judge who made a small sentencing speech before giving Komisarjevsky his official sentence.