Arizona Shooting Claims Life Of 9 -Year-Old Girl Born On 9/11

This beautiful little girl, Chrstine Greene, born on 9/11 of all days, promise-filled little  life was snuffed out by the very same brand of errant hate and violence that dominated this country on the day of her birth.. My thoughts and prayers are with all of the victims and their families of this unbelieavably cowardly act of hate. As one can see when looking at the photograph to the left, hate and evil never win. Goodness kindess, faith and compassion -  these things always prevail when tragedies like this, caused by humn hands, happen.

May the Senator heal from her wounds, may her loved ones find strength within the abundance of  hope and our prayers encircling her, comforting her. May the victims we lost be in a place of comfort and love. And may we find some lesson to carry us through this painful seemingly senseless tragedy.

Years Later, Head Injuries can cause severe disease and Death

Head injury is a common seleleque of partner violence, as well as sexual attacks by predators. Blows to the face, head and neck, as well as choking the victim, (which also damages the brain via "anoxia"- or starvation of oxegen, are the most common injuries involved in violence against women and domestic batterring..

Often, in sexual assaults by strangers, the assailant will immediately seek to incapacitate the victim, and knocking them unconscious, or at least hitting them hard enough in the head to cause disorientation, is a typical method used by predators and batterers. The police and FBI call this a " blitz style attack" and sadly, it is very common in homicides involving sexual assault.

Victims of partner violence, especially multiple episodes of violence, such as those that occur in long term abusive relationships, are so commonly struck in the face and head that they are at particular risk of sustaining permanent injury to their vulnerable brains. And this damage is subversive, as it is not often visible. Seasoned abusers will strike the back of a woman's head- into walls, headboards, floors, trying to inflict pain and damage, and yet not necessarily leave visible bruising.. As such, abused women will often suffer several T.B.I's (traumatic brain injuries) over the course of an abusive relationship, and this means that there is a strong liklihood that these women will eventuallydevelop one or more of a constellation of serious neurological conditions,, some of which can lead to death.

Only within the last ten years or so, has it come to light that repeat "concussions" now termed TBI's, can cause serious medical conditions, often many years after the insult, as the victim ages; Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, including "dementia pugilistica" have long been directly connected to multiple blows to the head, and especially severe or repeated blows to the head , such as boxer's endure. But recently, medical scientists are discovering that other equally serious motor diseases, such as Lou Gehrig's disease ( Multiple Lateral Sclerosis) and Parkinson's disease are being connected to these same type of injuries.

These discoveries have largely been the result of post mortem autopsies of football players, boxers and other athletes, as the brains of victims of head injuries cannot be studied directly until autopsy. thus severally limiting the research possible on traumatic brain injury. MRI'S and Catscans, the two industry standards for brain imaging often do not show the microscopic damage that occurs with TBI;s, and yet that damage can cause serious medical impairment. By this logic, any person that has had either one severe brain injury or a series of of what was once called mild or moderate concussion, or TBI, is at risk of developing serious neurological diseases.

This new information should have major implications in the area of criminal law, particularly in regards to the prosecution of domestic and or intimate violence; For example, at present, in the classic domestic/partner violence prosecution in the state of Connecticut, a defendant that has struck a women head repeatedly causing the need for E.R treatment and protracted medical attention, in all probability will not receive any prison time.

Statistically speaking, this offender will most likely be the recipient of a plea bargain, and what began as an assault in the second degree charge, a felony that requires serious injury to the victim in order for the arresting Police officers to charge the assailent with such. Depending on the town or city, hospital and medical records are often used by police to substantiate this charge. In other words police do not use this charge lightly  as it is a felony and requires proof of  serious injury in order to make the charges "stick once the assailent goes through the court /judicial process.

Unfortunately despite many a conscientious police officers work in backing up thier charges in partner violence/intimate violence cases, what were serious injuries and violent crime charges, will too often  become  lowered to another charge such as "assault in the third degree" which is a misdemeanor charge ( that equates to slapping someone in the face)whose standard sentence is a court ordered domestic violence class for 3 months once a week and possibly probation for a short duration.

Willim Petit Jr.: Person of the Year

While there is certainly no more deserving a man for this title, I personally feel that it might just be a bit of a misnomer. A very humble person who clearly carries himself as a bit of an every-man, William Petit was undoubtedly surprised to find himself thus honored by The New Haven Register this week.

From all appearances of the man however, he might be more apt to graciously accept the title of Most inspiring person of the year, as inspiring others would seem to be at the core of his life mission.

As far as I can see, William Petit. has achieved
something akin to miraculous within the three plus years following the murders of his wife and two daughters. He managed to take one unadulterated act of pure evil and turn it into thousands of waves of hope, and acts of ever-lasting good. And as with most good endeavours, it was a concert effort, with the hard work and support of many people and their efforts both within and outside of, The Petit Family Foundation, a non profit charity created in the wake of the murders. All donations and proceeds from events, such as the annual 5K Road Race IN Plainville, help others. Women who are affected by violent crime, others living with chronic illnesses such as Multiple sclerosis, and several other endeavours, all changing lives for the better.

Most astounding to most of us is that Dr. Petit managed to create and organize this extremely successful Foundation during a time when his own body and psyche were very much still in the process of healing; healing from injuries and post trauma inflicted within the same crimes that took the lives of his wife and daughters; Jennifer, Hayley and Michaela Petit. Those injuries included severe head and brain trauma  and  blood loss that nearly cost him his life: He was hospitalized for five days before being discharged, only to attend the funerals and memorialize his family.


Since those dark days in the summer and fall of 2007, Bill Petit  has been through many, many challenges that would daunt even the most stalwart person of faith. And yet, he  managed to not simply survive a feat within itself, but bit by bit he mustered the strength to make the traverse from victim to survivor, and then purveyor of good, affecting a widespread charitable movement of sorts that began with a handful of words that he made to the crowd that gathered at his family's memorial.

"If there is anything to be gained by the senseless murders of my beautIful family, let it be for all of us to  go forward and embrace a faith that embodies action; help a neighbor, fight for a cause, love your family. Continue the kindness and idelaism that defined these three women's lives"

And the recounting of  eleven year old daughter Michaela's favorite quote on her facebook page:
"You must be the change that you wish to see in this world"  "Be the change" has become the watchword of The foundation and all of the allied community efforts,  to raise money always for those struggling, suffering and in need.


Clearly an exceptionally caring and thoughtful girl, when she chose those words of Mahatma Gandhi, Michaela unwittingly pre-destined the core mission of the future Petit Family Foundation, as well as becoming the spark to an en-masse good works movement that began in the wake of the crimes that stole her young life; Crimes that took place in the suburbs of Hartford but whose ripple effects were felt continents away.

And William Petit Jr.brought all of this to us. He was, and still is, the messenger.Not only a victim of severe brutality and violence, he lost his wife, his daughters and his home within this terrible set of crimes. He could have easily chosen to curl up in the fetal position and give up on life. Few would blame him, many would expect it. But he didn't. Instead, he carried his family forward into this world, by doing what they might do if they were still with us. And he asked us all to try to emulate the kind and giving qualities that these three  people graced this world with.

With Hayes, Here We Go Again

I found this article in my archives today of all places.

Having recalled that this Post generated a lot of controversial commenting,  I thought it  more deserving then residing in dusty old draftswille, in fact I don't know how it wound up there.

From today's vantage point, many months later, as we now enter the penalty phase of Steven Hayes trial, which commences tomorrow morning, the piece has an even bigger punch than it did when first written:

As much as this columnist expressed what seemed a genuine respect for veteran public defender Thomas Ullmann, by doing so within this frame of reference, she almost seemed to be willing him not to pull a redux of the Michael Ross debacle with Hayes ie When Ross, like Hayes, wished to take accountability for his crimes and Ross's over- zealous public defenders, simply and quite literally-would not allow it.

At the same time, the writer seemed resigned to the fact that, her admiration for Ullmann not withstanding, the Hayes case was already heading in the same direction at that very moment.

She was right of course.

Attorney Ullmann and Culligan and their team of tax paid minions, fought tooth and nail to disallow Hayes from doing what was his absolute right to do:plead guilty to the crimes that he was accused of AND INDEED committed.

Every legal parlor trick in the book was brought out: first his competency was questioned, then when he was found to be competent, Ullmann and Culligan threatened that if need be, they would break the attorney/ client privilege and share information with the court that Hayes had made to them, within that pact, that would supposedly influence the court regarding the finding of his own ability to represent himself and declare himself guilty.

He gave in his lawyers in the end and reversed his plea back to Not Guilty and Ullmann got to walk away thinking himself a hero for refusing to" let Steven Hayes' commit state assisted suicide." This after he stated that a life in prison on death row is worse than the death penalty itself.


Which is it Mr Ullmann? Or are you suggesting he deserves worse than the Capital punishment that was in fact LAW when he and Komisarjevsky with full aforethought and Mal intent, set about breaking into the Petit household with their primary motive sexual assault


  ie  their phone texts prior to the crimes had Hayes chomping at the bit to start the evening's rape and carnage"Hold your horses dude:"   HAYES REPLIED Dude my horses are ready to bust out !!!"


This was a clear sexual reference and illustrates beyond a doubt that the two men had discussed raping Michaela and likely Hayley, according to Kmisarjevsky's interviews with writer Mike MacDonald who he surreptitiously met with in prison for "interviews" based on Komisarjevsky;s version of the crimes, he in effect sold Hayes on the home invasion cajoling him and titillating his evil side telling him how attractive the girls and Mrs Petit a young blond shapely mother of both teens. He'd spotted then stalked the family at an area supermarket and followed them home with his pedophilia lust trained upon Michaela only eleven years old.



Tragically all we are left with is a 20 20 hindsight and  a murdered mother and her two young daughters. We cannot continue to forget that Dr Petit was severely assaulted in this so called home invasion which is clearly a set of sex crimes whereupon the family member who poses the most threat is removed first Mr Petit was the only man of the house asleep on the sunporch when the men stalked the house intent upon their mission. Rape pillage and Burn the evidence.

Judge Blue denies Defense request for "reconsideration" motion to Re-try Hayes case

pdf of denial of motion

Judiciary Committee Co-Chairmen Both Tapped By Malloy

This ought to be interesting. At least Mike Lawlor will be off the Judiciary committee and out of the House of Representatives. For this, I am grateful.

Lets see if Mr. Lawlor has any skill with the practical implementation of the myriad of legislation, some of which he has the audacity to "lay claim to" after the political dust settles.. Translation: he has a habit of taking credit for popular new laws and reforms at voting time, when in fact, he, with his considerable influence over the weaker members in the House,(of which there are an abundance) usually crushed the very legislation that he later proclaims is his brain child within his election time advertising. This audacity seems to stem from a certainty that the majority of the CT residents a) don't know what is best for them, and b) don't pay attention to what is going on in the house and senate anyway. Ironically, this the has overtones of the BUSH-ESQUE "fodder units" referrals, and the mindset that accompanies such verbiage.

A classic example;  The hotly debated " three strikes law" that was demanded by the Connecticut public  in the wake of the Petit family murders. Lawlor, an attorney and former prosecutor, did all he could to fight the notion of a standardized sentencing law that would have greatly limited prosecutorial discretion. Instead, when the public temper increased, due to the release of even more details concerning the considerable criminal backgrounds of the two paroled men that killed three members of the Petit family members, emerged, Lawlor mocked the very concept of a three strikes law and stalemated the house on the vote. As a result the state wound up with some mishmash "persistent offender law" that is rarely if ever actually used.

And then to add insult to injury, many months later, Lawlor mendaciously claimed to be the "author of a new three strikes legislation" in his election pamphlet. He did not say "persistent offender law", he actually used the words Three Strike Law, hedging his bets that the average voter wouldn't know the difference anyway. This sneaky lowly maneuver typifies the man the legislator and the human being.

So we the people of Connecticut are left with a persistent offender law that has rarely, if ever since, been actually used in the courts. The only exception is  perhaps as a bargaining tool to encourage a defendant to take a plea for a lesser charge as an incentive to avoid a jury trial and wind up convicted and thus eligible for the already dusty "new" persistent offender sentencing law. Then techinally  the prosecutor or Judge  is alllowed to dole out a stricter sentence based upon a repeat offender status. However, this is only with certain crimes and not crimes that the defendant committed or was arrested. The record then only reflects "convictions" in the past a string of plea bargained down charges that reside on the OFFICIAL criminal record as a result of all of this nonsense.

I would say that Lawlor is the consummate politician, but he is actually more dangerous and morally flawed than that phrase implies. I am actually growing some respect for soon to be Governor Malloy, if in fact he made this move with Lawlor intelligently, with any of the aforementioned as considerations. We'll have to wait and see.

Madison spa founder holds fundraiser for Petit foundation

This is something I like to read about; especially near the holidays, people doing good things to help others in need.

The Crime Report » Archive » CT Gov.-Elect Vows To Fund Delayed Justice Reform Plans

I was quite heartened to read of this today and I can only hope that our new Governor is genuine regarding his commitment to seeing the long-delayed Judicial reforms that were passed by the Connecticut Legislature two years ago, finally become a reality. Those reforms, we were assured by Governor Rell , " were "just the beginning. " This, all in the wake of the Petit family murders and several other tragic sexual assaults and murders in the state, all committed by recently paroled career felons. Seven people were killed in three separate violent crime incidents, all occurring within months of each other in late 2007. The reforms hastily and in some cases, grudgingly passed by a somewhat reluctant and petulant house of representatives, and less so the State Senate.

I have asserted for quite some time that there is no more essresponsibilityesponsibility of our state government than to protect its
citizens from crime.And while this starts with our Police force, the bulk of our state's issues with crime do not exist within law enforcement; These men and women are on the lines doing their jobs and usually doing them well They are often frustrated by the same things that frustrate victims of crime, victims advocates, probation and parole officers and Activists for Domestic Violence and sexual assault.

The state has major issues with such important issues as bail, I recently posted an article about unscrupulous bail bondsmen, and completely inconsistent bail amounts for similar crimes, often leading to men being bonded out too easily and going right back out to commit immediate further violence upon whomever they were placed under arrest for attacking or stalking in the first place. Then there is the issue of our Parole system; inexperienced parole board members with insufficient training, no enough forensic psychologists to assess likelihood of re offending. We have one now on our entire Connecticut Parole board-we had none prior to 2008.

Communication between departments within the judicial arm of the government has been abysmal at best. The Petit murders brought to light an age old issue that unbenowst to the people of the state had been going on for years whiteout resolution, putting hundreds of innocent lives at risk and finally culminating in the perfect storm of one Steven Hayes, and one Joshua komisarjevsky, two recklessly paroled inmates who despite reams of criminal records showing both as high risks to the public were paroled anyway due to a common problem of a lack of complete criminal records that had been going on for years and paroles were still being granted left and right..

A lack of time limits for a violent crime case resolution always always benefits the defendant, and in turn always detracts from the victim's case and the victim them self..The inordinately high plea bargain percentage in Connecticut at 96-97% of all criminal cases

Man Charged With Killing Jasper Howard Scheduled For Trial In January

I am happy to see that the trial for this young man's accused murderer is moving
along so swiftly. What so many Connecticut resident's don't realize is that murder
trials generally don't begin for an average of  3-4 years from the time of the actual murder(s):

We are a state notorious for time- consumptive individual voire dire processes, (the jury selection process whereby the attorneys involved in a violent crime case question each potential juror separately, and ad nauseum, leading to a colossal waste of time, adding more motivation to the court to simply plea bargain a case in order to avoid a trial )Aswell as an over- liberalized system that has become hijacked by defense attorneys, thanks to a Judiciary committee  (comprised largely of attorneys themselves) and a state legislature,whose many members seem to suffer from a reflexive class-guilt that seems to compel them to empathize more easily with chronic offenders than with the victims and future victims of these offenders.

It has gotten to the point where even many Judges expect, and indeed, defend the "norm:" which appears to be a minimum of a three year wait from the date of a crime's commission to the advent of a jury selection. Case in point, Judge Damiani,  currently retired but presided over the early court machinations of the Petit murder case. More aptly, he presided over the barrage of continuances that served as "pre-trial hearings"  for the Petit case. This wait is not exclusive to that case, it is pretty much the norm for all violent crime cases in this state, including rape, murder and capital murder.

This ever widening time berth between a crime's occurrence and its actual Judicial  resolution is one of the few things that is indeed color and class blind. The highly publicized Petit family capital murder case fell victim to it, in effect, a second victimization for William Petit and his family members, this time at the hands of the State's Judicial process,.

Two years after the murders of Jennifer, Hayley and Michaela Petit, the presiding Judge appeared to take it as a personal affront when William Petit dared complain about the length of time that had passed between the crimes that left him with severe head injury and no wife, children nor home, and the slightest signs of a trial being scheduled. He was given what amounted to a tongue-lashing, in open court. This, when the State Victim's Advocate brought Petit's concerns to the Judge. As I recall, when admonishing Petit, the Judge cited that a three year wait for a trial was well within the" normal parameters for a capital murder case"
And, he added," he considered it an insult to both he and his court" that Petit had implied that this wait was ludicrous..

I'm not sure why the Jasper Howard case has moved so swiftly through our court's usually hapless pace.
It could be the young man's celebrity that has helped move our normally sluggish judicial system along faster than it's norm, or perhaps there is an unusually dedicated prosecutor and/or presiding judge involved in the case. Whatever the reason, I am glad to see that it is happening for any victim of violent crime for the sake of their family and thier legacy in this world. They need a voice, their voice has been silenced.
I recently wrote an article about the Connolly murders that took place in Fairfield Connecticut; my home town. The Connolly's were the much loved long-time.married owners of a local Jewelry store, they were shot to death by a repeat felon with his girlfriens acting as lookout. The murders occurred in 2005, the suspects were in custody within weeks, yet for some reason, November 2010 finally marked the completion of jury selection for the defendant in these murders.. Six years after a  brutal double murder, and the trial is just now being scheduled. for 2011.

Something is terribly wrong here.

The Connecticut Legislative body needs to roll up their collective sleeves, pass a crime bill that enforces clear time limits between a crime's occurrence and when it is tried, or resolved by plea bargain. The right to a speedy trial should not be an exclusive right of the defendant. I daresay that a victim of violent  crime and the family of victims murdered or surviving, have as much at stake as the defendant.

 It is time that a legitimate article of victims rights is created and those rights become as rigid and unwavering as the rights of defendants. 

Brett Bednarz "Person of Interest" in Triple Murders Thanksgiving Day East Hartford

I'm sorry to say that my supposition regarding the brutal murders of a 74 year old woman   Bernice Therrian and a couple who cared for her on Thanksgiving day, were correct: It does appear to be a Domestic Violence crime at this time.

The adult son, and possibly the adult daughter of one of the victims, the elderly woman homeowner who was bludgeoned to death, are both being investigated by Police as possible suspects in the slayings. 46 Year old Brett Bednarz had been arrested in October for assaulting his mother and thanks to Connecticuts automatic plea bargaining system he wound up with a a Breach of Peace charge instead of assault and thus did not have a criminal record that reflected the danger that he posed-to both his mother and any other person who he might predate upon.

A home in Manchester, where both Bednarz and his sister reportedly reside together, was served a bench warrant for criminal search and seizure in the days following these murders.Bednarz was subsequently atrrested for marijuana possession and was taken into custody where police said he was cooperating with the investigation.  Police have now informed the public that the Bednarz continues to be a person of interest in the murder of his mother and the two caretakers that were killed along with her in her home on thanksgiving day. All three were killed by severe blunt force trauma of the head with Mrs Therrien being the most severe assault, usually indicating a personal attack with associated rage.

Mr Bednarz has been arrested multiple times in the past, including charges of assault. Apparently the Police had been called to the East Hartford residence where these murders took place at least five times in the months before the murders occurred. I will update as more information becomes available. My guess is that an arrest is imminent.

Jury selection set for Joshua Komisarjevsky - Petit Family Murders

We finally have a date set for jury selection for the Komisarjevsky's trial. Truth be told, although both of these men are despicable and obviously guilty of these crimes, I am more emotionally invested in seeing Komisarjevsky prosecuted. Hayes was tried and recently convicted and sentenced to death after a long and emotionally draining trial..

 Both men were complicit in the assaults and murders of  Jennifer, Hayley and Michaela Petit, However, Joshua Komisarjevsky was the instigator of these crimes, it is he who made certain that the assaults and murders occurred. Because he is significantly younger than Hayes,  many people mistakenly assumed that Komisarjevsky was the proverbial second-hand guy- when in fact the opposite is true; He targeted this family for his own personal reasons, a pedophiles attraction to Michaela Petit. As well, this was Komisarjevsky turf,  He lived in Cheshire his entire life, when he wasn't in prison ie for setting fires (age 14) and breaking into houses where the homeowners were often sleeping in their beds. This was something that Hayes had never done prior to meeting Komisarjevsky. Komisarjevsky was out of prison and living in his parents home, less than 2 miles from the Petit's house at the time of the crimes.

The two men had met at a halfway house on their last leg of a shortened prison sentence, care of early release parole thanks to the Connecticut Parole board. The two men struck a "friendship" for what that is worth between two psychopaths, likely discovering their shared fantasies of sexual violence and their wanton disregard for the rights of others. It's clear that Komisrajevsky basically used Hayes,( as far as one can engage someone who is criminally-minded to begin with) for a night of sexual assault with robbery thrown in as a bonus of sorts.Robbery was not the main intention of these crimes.

In order to make the crime more appealing to Hayes, Komisarjevsky dangled the idea of raping  attractive Jennifer Hawke Petit, who at 48 was close to Hayes age, and reportedly described to Hayes as  " tall blond young- looking attractive Mom". That would be Mom to Michaela Petit, the eleven year old daughter of the Petit's,tragically the true prize that Joshua Komisarjevsky had set his sights on,  after spotting her with her mom at an area supermarket that very same day.

It was not a "chance intersection of three peoples lives" that sparked the beginning of one of the worst set of crimes that the state of Connecticut has ever seen" - as we have all heard over and over in the media..
It was rather one Joshua Komisarjevsky -  sociopath, pedophile, stalker, thief, who "sparked" these
crimes.

It  also drives me crazy when I see that the media and press still refer to the Petit crimes as  "robbery gone awry." One only need read the text messages sent between the men in the hours before the break-in, to see what was foremost on their minds.

Hayes:.'Hey, are we still on for tonight...?!
Komisarjevsky: " Yes definitely."
Hayes " I'm chomping at the bit to get started,  I need a Martguerita !."
Komisarjevsky:  " hold your horses, I'm putting the kid to Bed "
* Yes, this thug had a five year old daughter, who he had just won primary custody of no less. Again thanks to the state of Connecticut family court this time, this after  just getting out of prison for a string of 23 home break ins!

Hayes "Dude, the horses are dying to get loose lol...!

The sexual innuendo is obvious, this is not a reference to a robbery. The two men had been committing home- break ins together, for the prior two nights beginning the very first evening that the komisarjevsky had his Connecticut dept of corrections tracking anklet officially removed.  The decision regarding how long the anklet stayed on Komisarjevsky was determined by the Connecticut Parole board who as we now know were haphazardly paroling dangerous offenders for years. The pair had broken into a total of three houses, all while the homeowners were in bed asleep. But there were signs that the two had been discussing and thinking about going further with those crimes, in the direction of sexual assault and/or violence:

The last house to be robbed the night before the Petit home invasion, had had a butcher knife left stuck into the counter top in the kitchen, as well as several framed photographs of the family members stolen. Those photographs all included attractive women.  It was clear from the small amount of facts leaking out to various news sources before the gag order was placed on the case, that these crimes were motivated by sexual violence, which at its core is about dominance and control. The money that the men managed to procure from Mrs Petit, likely originated as a desperate offer by Mrs Petit, hoping and trying to buy the men's goodwill and get them out of the house, without her daughters being sexually assaulted or harmed.

 She had a lovely 17 tear old  daughter and a  pretty 11 year old girl in the middle of puberty. She may or may not have been aware of Joshua Komisarjevsky attraction to Michael as all three were tied up in separate rooms for the majority of the evening/morning hours. She may have been more worried about their intentions with her daughter Hayley, not knowing that Komisarjevsky was in fact a pedophile. Hayely, a strong athletic intelligent girl was way too much of a threat to Komisrajevsky's lightweight ego. He needed someone he could control emotionally.as well as physcially.

It should be mentioned that all of Joshau komisarjevsky's girlfriends, as well the mother of his then 5 year old daughter, were a maximum of 15 years old when he became sexually involved with them, this meant a 11 year difference with the girlfriend he had at the time of the Petit crimes. This speaks volumes about the guy.Unfortunately, Michaela Petit was tall for her age and appeared  a bit older than her 11 years, perhaps 14 or so,

I do not believe that the men were overt in their sexual molestations or assaults of  the Petit girls prior to Hayes leaving for the bank with Mrs Petit in tow As we know from the Hayes trial evidence, Joshua Komisarjevsky took a series of  nude photos of Michaela at approximately 7 am that morning around the time when Hayes was believed to be at a gas station, filling multiple containers with gasoline, thus a plan was already hatched to burn the entire house down with all of the family members tied up in the house -including the injured Dr Petit, who lay bleeding from his severe head wounds tied to a pole in his basement.

The Photos were taken on komisarjevsky's cell phone and showed Michaela in various outfits, including a school girl outfit consisting of a plaid skirt and a white sleeveless top. She had been taken out of her pajama's that she had been wearing in order to pose her tied in various outfits and stages of undress. The plaid skirt is classic pedophile behavior and it makes me livid that this guy targeted the youngest, most vulnerable person in the house. But this is exactly why she was targeted.

I have speculated that the money that Mrs Petit got from the bank may very well have been a bribe of sorts, and the men pretended to be as harmless as they could up until the point where they received the money. As well we discovered via the Hayes trial, the moment that Mrs Petit left for the bank with Hayes was when Joshua Komisarjevsky chose to fully sexually assault Michaela Petit.

 He had likely been trying to gain the trust and compliance of Jennifer Hawke Petit up until he point where the money was in hand. And  unfortunately that is exactly when both men turned on her, the moment she returned from the bank into her home. As a woman and a survivor of violent crime,it is this moment that I cannot help but imagine and re-live as Jennifer Petit must have.  The thoughts running through her mind, the terror for her family, the fear the shock.  Both men tied her up,including a noose around her neck. She was raped and strangled by Steven Hayes, while Komisarjevsky walked in and out of the room.
This was testimony of Hayes's, which in this particular case, sounds believable. Hayes admits to killing Mrs Petit, although at various times, he gave different reasons for doing so, one of which was at the provocation of Komsarjevsky who said to "get rid of her" I believe that once they broke in and were facing serious charges they soon planned to kill all of the members of the Petit household. Only after sexually assaulting the Mrs Petit adnd the girls. They assumed by burning down the home with the Petit's tied up inside that this  would be rid of all DNA evidence as well as witnesses.

Mrs Petit might have began screaming when she realized the men were going to kill her and her family and Hayes either reacted by choking her to death, or Komisarjevsky  ordered him " to "get rid of her" as Hayes had originally claimed. We will probably never know the entire truth unless Steven Hayes chooses to finally come completely clean now that he has been found guilty and sentenced. This he could do for the sake of the Petit Hawke families and for the successful prosecution of Joshua komisarjevsky
Until now, his attorneys would not allow him to tell the truth just as they wouldnt allow him to plead guilty months before the trial.

Joshau Komisarjevsky, in classic sociopath form, will assuredly never tell the truth regarding these crimes. He is a textbook sociopath,  deceitful manipulative and lacking in any real human conscience. He will do anything to avoid being exposed for what he truly is,.and he will avail himself of whatever and whomever is handy in doing so. In his criminal case, public defender Jeremiah Donovan, has already taken unusually big risks as an attorney for this guy, ie breaking a Court imposed Gag order trying to deflect guilt derived from fiorensic evidence showq during the hayes trial He would have us believe is this is some baby faced kid who simply got caught up in Steven Hayes murderous acts.. The forensic evidence has already shown that this is clearly not the case and that of the two men, komisarjevsky was a further evolved sexual predator.

It is my fervent desire and belief that in 2011, a Jury of twelve of Mr. Komsitrajevsky's peers will find him guilty of Kidnapping, Arson, Murder, Assault, and Sexual assault of a minor child, and sentence him to death. Until then, we will continue carrying on the spirit of the Petit women, by helping others in need through the Foundation that William Petit Jr founded in the wake of this tragedy.
The Petit Family Foundation .

Cheshire Killer Steven Hayes Talks at Sentencing

Motion to "reconsider motion for a New Trial" filed by Hayes Defense Team

Another motion was filed in New Haven Superior Court on Thursday by Steven Hayes Defense Team; The motion requested a recosideration" of  a former motion filed by said defense, last week

requesting a new trial for Mr Hayes. That motion cited multiple factors that the defense claimed caused the Hayes Jury to become biased,

distracted and unduly influenced  by the unusually large media presence among other things.

It should be noted that the defense never objected, formally or otherwise,to the media presence during the entire trial proceedings,themself, nor did they object verbally,or in writing, to the judge or prosecutor, regarding the seating arrangements for the Petit/ Hawke families,an issue that is believe it or not, shamelessly being cited as a reason for the need for a new trial, both within the first and 2nd motion filed by hayes's attorneys. 

The original motion for a new trial was officially denied by Judge Blue six days after it was received by the court. Blue clearly gave the motion due diligence, he offered  extremely succinct counter-arguments for each and every defende claim re how Hayes right to a fair trial was infringed upon ie  by;the media presence, the presence of the Petit's extended family in the Jury's presence, and a host of other objections, many of which bordered on just plain ludicrous..

In the original motion, the defense used the heavy media presence and the "distraction" that it\ had on the Jury, claiming it ultimately affected the verdict,as well as the sentencing during the sentencing phase.
This argument was once again at the nucleus of the motion to "reconsider" The defense team essentially said that Judge Blue's decision regarding the original motion was based upon unsound legal reasoning, and they basically tried to dismantle each point that the Judge carefully laid out in his brief.

This succession of motions is perfect example of why our courts need to begin setting limits on what is clearly abuse of the system by defense attorneys -  public defenders or otherwise.It almost becomes a form of
blackmail, holding the process hostage as it were, which is how our courts got into this mess to begin with.

It is clear that Mr.Ullmann, being an avid anti death penalty propagandist, simply will not let any defeat" stand in any Death Penalty case where he is the defense attorney.

It certainly cheapens Ulmann's vociferous stance when he dons the same  arrogant indigence  over every single case, no matter the brutality of the crimes that his client commits, how many victims lay in his wake and whether they include children, etc..

 In Ullmanns world,  the moral "wrngness of the death penalty" transcends all of these small

insignificant  facts like actual guilt -  the law- how many people suffered as a result of the violence and death..

The contention surrounding the death penalty  gives Attorneys like Thomas Ullmann permission to throw all  considerations out the window;The state is trying to kill his client-that's all he needs,or cares to know; he is thus transformed from a public defender who will defend anyone for anyhting into a self appointed hero for the "underdog."

Never mind that the Dog is rabid.

According to statement made in court during last weeks sentencing, Steven Hayes said that he was glad to receive the death Penalty by the Jury. Indeed he claimed that he" is  tortured by the crimes that he has committed, and that death will be a welcome relief when it comes. He added that he hopes his death will bring some comfort and peace to Dr Petit and the other family members of those he hurt.

.

Family speaks at Steven Hayes official sentencing

The formal sentencing of  Steven J Hayes took place in New Haven Superior Court this morning. The courtroom was packed with the usual considerable media presence, as well as members of the general public fortunate enough to make it into the courtroom, which quickly became standing room only.

All were gathered to witness the official meting out of justice to the man convicted of murdering Jennifer, Michaela and Hayley Petit, and severely injuring sole survivor, Wilium Petit Jr..


Various members of the victim's family spoke prior to the sentencing, some directly addressing the man convicted of murdering their family members. Each statement was filled with emotion packed descriptions of  loss, grief, and anger,  pulling back the curtain in effect on the true devastation caused by this set of violent crimes.

A lengthy video-taped statement made by Jennifer Petit's sister, Cindy Renn, was also played in the courtroom. As Renn pointedly addressed her sister's killer; she described, in vivid detail the life destruction that began in the wake of the murders and continues to this day.

It was within the biggest and the smallest details that Renn shares that the enormity of the consequences of the crimes became wholly appreciated.. Generally speaking , very few family member's of victims of violent crime get the chance to make public the depth and breadth of  the trauma and hardship caused by violent crime such as these; except perhaps within the rooms of crime survivor support groups, that a fortunate few might find refuge in. To me, the words of Cindy Renn and the rest of Petit Hawke family members are the most important ones spoken since the advent of this trial.

.The following is a link to the transcript of  Cindy Renn's videotaped statement.

 renn's statement

Man Previously Convicted Of Murder Arrested In Fatal Shooting

Yet more violent crime resulting from Connecticut's sentencing practices for repeat offenders.. If  I was prone to making puns, I would say that our State's sentencing practices are criminal.

This murderer, or I should say multiple murderer, as it would now appear, was convicted in 1993 for murdering another man and yet here he was clearly out of prison, free to kill yet another person. I'd be interested to know exactly how long Perez had been out before being arrested for this murder and what other crimes, if any, he has committed in the interim.

And just an aside here; why wasn't taking someones life worth at least twenty years in prison in 1993?

Since there was no mention of Perez being on Parole when he arrested for this recent murder, it has probably been a number of years since he's been out.  I can predict with pretty much certainly that the 93 murder case was plea bargained, as plea deals have been the preferred adjudication method for violent crime in Bridgeport Ga2 Court for quite some time. If there was a deal,t this means is that Perez likely  received a much lower sentence than what he would have, should have, received for any murder conviction.

By the very nature of the "deal," charges are dropped down a level or two, and in the case of multiple charges, other charges are dropped entirely, never to be seen again on that criminals official record.
The results of this can be dangerous; inappropriate lesser sentences, lowered criminal charges leading to misleading and inaccurate criminal records, records that fail to illustrate the criminal's true potential for future violence..

As well the plea deal model for serious crime has long wreaked havoc with our Parole Board and their infamously less than- scientific-parole determinations. We've all heard about the disastrous affects of the ill advised early release parole of Joshua Komisarjevsky, co-accomplice believed to be the mastermind of the crimes against Michaela, Hayley and Jennifer Petit. But be assured that the same parole issues have been behind many other crimes committed by inappropriately paroled offenders.

In the Petit case, several  errors within our justice system combined to create a perfect storm of sorts for one of the most brutal homicides that this state has ever seen. A computer based centralized criminal records system was approved in 2008 by the Connecticut Legislature in the wake of gaggle of state murders, all committed by repeat offenders released on early Parole.The system has yet to be implemented,  although the funding for it was supposed to be made available this year.

Plea Deals represent approximately 96% of  Connecticut's criminal case resolutions, They are not made for the reasons that one might think, such as the State having a "weak case,"  as depicted in shows like  Law and Order. No, what we've got in too many of our state's courthouses is rote plea bargaining, bbusiness as usual. The plea deals helps speed things up, move along the daily dockets, and most of all, avoid the need to go to trial.  After all, trials are time-consuming, especially in Connecticut, where our individual voire-dire practice has long been a  prohibitive factor in taking cases to trial. 

It has actually gotten to the point where the ownice is put upon the victim, if he or she must have justice, they are told to pursue such in civil court.

Needless to say, few victims of violent crime have the resources- or the wherewithal, in a post traumatic haze, to pursue a civil suit for the Justice that they did not receive in criminal court.. Not to mention reparations, where applicable. Often the offender has little to nothing to sue, and few attorneys are interested in obtaining an empty civil judgement for the notion of Justice or closure for a victim.

After an average of 9-12 months of fruitless continuances, "hearings" whereupon the perps attorney will ask the Judge for another 4-6 weeks to "review" said case, ie simply drag it out, increasing their billed court time in the process, the deal is officially made between prosecutor and attorney, behind closed doors.
The victim is typically left with his or her case watered down to some obsolete charge(s) that don't begin to resemble the crimes that were committed against them.

Judge Denies Defense Motion For A New Trial In Hayes Case

This morning, the Friday after Thanksgiving day, Judge Blue officially responded to a motion made earlier this week by the Hayes defense team, a motion that in effect asked for a new trial for Hayes,a  man who was found guilty over a month ago of the murders of Jennifer, Michaela and Hayley Petit, and a myriad of other charges related to those capital crimes. Just three weeks ago, Hayes officially received his death penalty sentence, this after an arduous four days of deliberations by the clearly-conscientious Jury.

After pouring over the extremely detailed response by Judge Blue to the rather lengthy motion by the Hayes Defense team) a motion that I also read in its entirety and found akin to a desperate fishing expedition using a giant net with holes) I became even more impressed with Judge Blue, His finely detailed and methodical response to each claim in the Defense's motion, a motion that had at it's core the notion that various happenings and circumstances within the trial itself and the jury's mode of arriving at its sentence, caused an unfair and prejudicial verdict, and retrospectively, (being the key word here)--
Steven Hayes sentence as well,

Point by salient point, Judge Blue made veritable mince-meat out of of each and every one of the Defenses examples of supposed improprieties which they claimed caused their client to be unable to receive a fair trial, both inside and outside of the courtroom. Ffastidiously and patiently Blue responded to the defense claims as if they were valid, While Judge illustrated his signature common sense in his response to this motion,  I got to see another side of him in reading his actual brief; the savvy and methodical lawyer that clearly still resides within.

http://www.courant.com/news/breaking/hc-Steven-Hayes-motion-for-new-trial,0,4556986.htmlpage/

Three deaths under investigation in East Hartford

This sounds like a possible domestic Violence, we'll see as details emerge.

Judge denies Hayes acquittal on assaultt on William Petit/ No answer on request for a new New Trial

Good coverage of the follow-up court-side happenings regarding the recent ridiculous defense motions in the Hayes case 

Thank God there was an intelligent Judge presiding over this case, hearing these nonsensical fluff motions. Judge Blue took it all in stride, and handled it with his usual Judicial commonsense and integrity.

Following denial of delay request, Hayes' attorneys seek new trial

"Sounds like there's no there, there", said Judge Blue regarding the post-verdict motions made by the hayes defense team this week, the first a request to delay sentencing and the second a motion for a new trial.

Mr. Dearington might not have read the second defense motion at the time of this article, but I did and I can assure  that it is more of the same nonsense;: A waste of taxpayer money being spent up by an overly tenacious  public defender with a bad case of sour grapes.It almost appears that Attorney Ulmann shares the same kind of hatred of  perceived affluence that helped fuel his client, and accomplice, to commit and escalate these crimes as they did.. All I know is that we have heard way too much of Ullmann's by now, very tired " special treatment" accusations aimed at the victims of this case, accusations that began shortly after he was "compelled" to take on Steven Hayes as a client.

In fact, these same cries of classism and  racism (I know, of all things) were at the core of a overly personalized,  very unprofessional  tirade made by Ullmann over a year ago in response to prosecutor Dearington's request for two simultaneous trials for The Petit murder co-accomplices, Steven Hayes and  Joshua Komsisarjevsky..

These very same crimes a year later Mr Ulmann  would assurre the Hayes jury,  caused he and his co-counsel " a terrible sadness." On this particular occasion however, Ulmann was bitterly claiming that" it makes me sick"   ie. that the courts were EVEN cconsidering, ( for a seeming nano-second ) the practical viability of trying both men simultaneously.
It "made Mr Ullmann sick. "

Let me give yall a bit of background here; The entire prospect of trying the two defendants in these murders  was being considered for several good reasons; one, in an effort to give some kind of more reasonable timetable for the criminal cases for both the families and sole survivor and witness,William Petit, Petit, by that point, had been waiting over two years with little to no actual movement in the cases. No date for the first Jury selection had been set.

Secondly the state wished to spare the families and William Petit from re-living the horrors of these crimes in two seperate trials, trials likely carried out over years, This would keep he and his family in an emotional stasis, unable to heal from his trauma and grief.due As well as the practical need to retain as much information/memory about the night of the murfers in order to be the best possible witness for the State.
 Petit was in the unusual psosition of being a victim, a witness and a greiving family member.

Seeing as both men had openly admitted that they'd planned and carried out the crimes together, it was undisputed that the crimes were a joint venture, This certainly could have made for an argument that two accomplices should be tried together,and many people in the state assumed that they would. It certainly wouldnt be the first time that this was done., But as criminals are want to do, the two men were trying to pin the very worst of the crimes on each other, ( you know the parts that were eligible for the death peanlty)and this meant adversarial defenses,and any notion of one trial was quickly dropped for that reason.

However, the idea of trying the two men at the same time, in different courtrooms, in order to save adjudication time, spare the family and survivor william Petitt, the considerable emotional toll that two trials spread out over years would bring, this seemed a fair consideration. Although there were some very real practical obstacles to overcome such as Cout size to accomodate the anticupated media and attendees.

No sooner was the State investigating these issues than the objections from Ullmann and his team went from grumbling to a loud roar. Hence,  the" makes me sick " comment used to punctuate a by now familiar refrain. "If these victims were black or minority...the defendents would already have gotten life in prsion in a deal, its only because the father is a doctor and  blah blah blah blah blah"

Needless to say, the idea of simultaneous trials was dropped prosecution pulled the plug rescinded the request,most  likely concerned that it could later be used as fodder for a motion formistrial especially with Ullmann shouting from the rooftops "special treatment!!!!

Hence, the " it makes me sick comment" from Ullmann who used it to punctuate an ugly, and by now familiar, refrain;" if these victims were black or minority my client would already be serving life,via a deal etc....etc

This is absolute crap: Case in point, the tragic murders of Karen and B.J Clarke, both African Americans, for whom state vigorously pursued death sentences for; the shooter, the man who ordered the killing, as well as the person driving the get away car! The murders also resulted in new state legislation for better protection for state witnesses, it is named The " BJ and Karen Clarke law"'

This kind of hate- mongering and attempts to make racial issues where none exist, is truly grotesque.
 I've  wondered if  Thomas Ullmann some kind of issues of his own with what he considers "class," money, or  "affluence"Not that the Petits were,or are  exactly the picture of affluence, power or privilege" as he has tried so tirelessly to project; They lived  a modest lifestyle, in a town that is decidedly middle class  lived simply church and civic minded they put on no airs.
But perhaps this persistant notion of the haves and the have nots is the only way that Ullmann can transform killers, rapists and other predators into pitiful underdogs.

.Then again, maybe it's all hubris and theatrics. .

All I know is that this man's hatefulness's of a victim of his clients crimes, a man who was beaten on the head to within an inch of his life in the middle of the night as he slept, while his client stood guard, led him bloodied and half consicous to a pole in his basement, tied him up, taking time to grab his bloody wallet, this is the ultimate in irony.

William Petit's daughters as we know, were doused in gasoline by Mr. Ullmanns client, along with the body of their mother, whom Steven Hayes admits to strangling, and raping while the girls, tied to their beds were forced to listen to the struggle that ended in silence. Ulmmanns client helped set the girls on fire, running out of the burning house, laughing, with Hayley Petit's school hat on top of his head.

And now...?
Within a recent post -verdict motion, Attorney Ullmann and Co..complained among other things, that the victim's families were given two whole rows to sit in at the trial.. They also strongly resented and formally objected to, the victims families being given a room in the courthouse to gather,where they might be able to digest painful testimony and evidence which seemed incessent at times. pray ad cry  unmolested..A small space away from the  eyes of the media,who had gathered due to no fault of their own.

Clearly a private people, it was  obvious to anyone watching, that this family would have preferred not to have to deal with any of the fan-fare that accompanied this trial. But unlike Mr Ullmann, they managed to remain humble and gracious throughout the ordeal, (and it was a horrible ordeal) despite the substantial pain and daily indignities that the process visited upon them.

"Ode to a Psychopath" by Criminal Profiler Pat Brown

I stumbled across this article by Pat Brown on the web today, it captures quite well the personality features of a psychopath, someone with a personality disorder that often leads to criminal behavior.
Some of the most notorious mass murderers in this country were in fact diagnosed as sociopaths; Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, Richard Ramirez, John Gacy, to name a few.

It is the sociopaths complete lack of conscience that leads him/her to become natural killers of sorts. If one is unencumbered by the ordinary human sense of "right vs wrong", then all bets are off, no rules apply -  To the Sociopath, they are"special",  and they often believe that their victims deserved what they did to them, for either being "stupid" enough to become  a victim, or "weak", or as in the case of high risk victims, homeless or prostitutes etc, sociopaths will often claim that they "were doing the world a favor" "cleaning up the garbage"  These exact words and or sentiment  have actually been used by many a serial rapist killer, including Michael Ross a murderer in Connecticut who murdered mostly prostitutes although in the end he started killing little girls and anyone he could get his hands on.

By using the example of several books written by  "Hurricane Carter", a famous boxer in the 60's imprisoned for murder in Chicago, profiler Pat Brown shows us how Carter, like many sociopaths, can give themselves away via their own words, attitudes and character traits, traits that can readily show themselves even within the writings of these individuals.As Sociopaths are almost always highly  intelligent and articulate, writing is often a natural extension of this and in prison many do so prolifically, oftentimes an exercise in narcissism; Seeing their words printed out, being read, pored over by others, this gives them an ego rush.

Where all of this becomes important is when it relates to intervention, hopefully before the sociopath escalates their crimes to murder. But at the very leas, identifying the markers for this particular dangerous brand of criminal, will only assist the courts, probation/ parole officers, and all social service employees, to identify and  intervene, using whatever means are at their disposal to ensure that this criminal does not get an easy path out of the system -  to harm others, to predate, to escalate their crimes.