Hayley Petit freed herself from where she was tied, then fought through the smoke and soot of her burning home, apparently in search of her sister. Her body was found lying face down in the hallway, where she collapsed at the top of the stairs.
The state’s Chief Medical Examiner H. Wayne Carver gave that testimony in New Haven Superior Court on Thursday, day six of Steven Hayes’ trial in the 2007 Cheshire murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her daughters Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17.
Suffering has been a pervasive presence in this trial — it’s there in the testimony and photos, in the video clips and 911 calls, and on the faces of the Petit family, especially Dr. William Petit, the grieving father and husband who survived the attack. But Thursday, as the state entered the final stretch in its prosecution of Steven Hayes for capital murder and other charges, the degree and nature of suffering took center stage. Hayes, who has already admitted to sexually assaulting and strangling Hawke-Petit, faces the death penalty.
The state emphasized the suffering for a reason — it sought to prove there were aggravating circumstances in the crime, and procure the harshest penalty.
Here is what the prosecution sought to make the jury to understand:
Hayley Petit was found lying face down in the hallway of her home, dead of smoke inhalation. Coroner Carver testified that she freed herself from being tied up, probably tried to reach Michaela, suffered heat burns, and was finally overcome by the smoke and soot. Her terror and pain was seared into the jurors’ minds.
We heard testimony that Michaela Petit was most likely sexually assaulted and bound to her bed with cable ties. Like Hayley, she was alive when the fire began, but could not escape the painful bindings or deadly carbon monoxide released by the flames. This child suffered, too.
And a bank manager testified that Jennifer was petrified. A state police investigator testified that Jennifer was raped by Hayes; and Carver on Thursday confirmed Hayes’ admission that he strangled her. Jennifer’s larynx was fractured. Carver estimated that it takes 8 to 15 seconds for a person to lose consciousness upon strangulation. Her body was burned beyond recognition, but we were left with the haunting image from last week’s bank video clip of her steady determination to keep her family alive, undoubtedly realizing after withdrawing the cash and returning home with her captor that she would not succeed. Through the coroner’s testimony, the state attempted to establish that Jennifer felt a heightened level of distress and panic before she died.
The state also submitted text messages showing Hayes eagerly anticipated the robbery that kicked off what became an eight-hour crime spree of violence and torture. The text messages came from an analysis of the cell phones of Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky, who has also been charged in the crime and is awaiting trial.
“Chomping at the bit to get started,” Hayes wrote in a text message to Komisarjevsky. Komisarjevsky replied that he was putting his kid to bed — “hold your horses.”
“Dude the horses want to get loose. lol,” Hayes wrote back.
Over the defense’s objection, the state also sought to admit a recent study examining the pain and anxiety a victim feels when deprived of oxygen. Judge Jon Blue declined to admit the evidence.
Why is the prosecution delving deeper into the degree of suffering experienced by these women? Why did it want to admit the study?
“I know why the State will want this ultimately,” said Judge Blue. So did everyone else. It is so the jury can factor in aggravating circumstances when determining the life or death of Steven Hayes.
Hayes is accused of murdering two or more persons at the same time, of murdering persons while committing other felonies, and of killing a person under 16 years of age, so the capital felony charge applied. If found guilty of these charges, the jurors will be asked to weigh aggravating and mitigating circumstances during sentencing. These factors must be supported by the evidence presented during trial. We have heard some testimony, pursued by the defense, about the circumstances of the crime that may allow a juror to vote for a lesser sentence. If only one juror refuses to impose a death sentence, opting instead for life imprisonment without parole, then the death penalty is off the table.
But those circumstances that make a sentence of death appropriate — the aggravating factors — were pursued with fervor by the prosecution Thursday.
Proving that Hayes committed robbery, kidnapping, rape, and arson while murdering Jennifer Hawke-Petit would constitute an aggravating factor. Proving that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, cruel, or depraved (or involved torture) would also establish an aggravating factor.
If the state convinces the jury of Hayes’ guilt, and most assume it will, then the jury would be left to determine which of the competing circumstances outweigh the others. And, if convicted, the jurors would then decide if the suffering inflicted on the Petit family warrants the death of the person who created both.
Previous installments of the Petit Trial Court Diary:
• Day One: Deceptive Calm
• Day Two: It Was All About “The Girls”
• Day Three: Defense Strategy Emerges: Spread The Blame
• Day Four: Pieces Fall Into Place
• Day Five: Numbers Tell A Story