Petit Family Murders: What Happened to the Connecticut Family?

Disclaimer: The article contains mention of assault and murder. Reader discretion is advised.

The Petit family consisted of Dr. William Petit, his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and their two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, aged 17 and 11, respectively. They lived in Cheshire, Connecticut, U.S., and seemingly had a normal, contented life. Unfortunately, tragedy struck on July 23, 2007, when three of them were brutally murdered by two assailants.

According to People Magazine, in the early morning hours of the fateful day, Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky broke into their home. Reports suggest their initial plan was only burglary. However, the ordeal ended with the deaths of Jennifer, Hayley, and Michaela.

Upon entering the Petit household, Hayes and Komisarjevsky beat William with a baseball bat and tied him in the basement. After this, they restrained the two daughters from their beds. Hours later, Hayes drove Jennifer to a bank and made her withdraw $15,000. After Hayes and Jennifer returned, the former raped the latter and strangled her to death. Komisarjevsky raped the 11-year-old Michaela, and the two goons then doused the girls and the house with gasoline and set it on fire. Michaela and Hayley died due to smoke inhalation. However, William survived this tragedy with multiple injuries.

This horrific case is explored in detail in the 2013 HBO documentary The Cheshire Murders.

Petit family story: Where are Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky now?

For their actions, the court sentenced Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky to death. However, after the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional, their punishment was changed to life imprisonment.

According to NBC Connecticut, they are both currently at a Pennsylvania maximum security prison, which is run by the Pennsylvania Department of Correction. Furthermore, per the New York Post, Hayes came out as transgender in 2019 and began undergoing hormone therapy in prison. In a conversation with podcaster Joe Tomaso, they stated that they were diagnosed with sexual identity disorder at the age of 16. Hayes stated, “I am a transgender. I was diagnosed at 16 with sexual identity disorder and my family never acknowledged it and it was never treated.”

Hayes is currently 60 years old, while Komisarjevsky is 43 years old.

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