Posted on 07/23/2007 2:12:41 PM PDT by Andonius_99
CHESHIRE, Conn. -- A fire in Cheshire that killed three people resulted from an apparent home invasion robbery early Monday morning.
Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Leon Collins reported firefighters remained at the scene as of noon at a house in the 300 block of Sorgum Mill Drive.
Eyewitness News learned that three people died in the fire, two of whom were identified only as females.
Neighbors said that Dr. William Petit Jr. lived in the home with his wife, Jennifer, a nurse at Cheshire Academy; daughter, Halley, who was about 17 years old and had recently graduated from Cheshire Academy; and daughter Michaela, who was about to enter the eighth grade at Cheshire Academy, the Meriden Record-Journal reported. Collins said an intense fire caused extensive damage inside the house and the charred remains of the fire could be seen in the upstairs window.
Investigators said they believe a home invasion robbery took place at about 3 a.m. at a home and the assailants set the house on fire before leaving the scene.
Cheshire police said they learned of a robbery from one of the victims, who said they were held hostage.
State and Cheshire police said that a "suspicious incident" occurred at a bank and said a bank employee alerted authorities, but did not elaborate.
Police said officers arrested two people before they were able to escape the neighborhood.
"(They were) apprehended down the street. When they left, they apparently set the house ablaze," Cheshire police Lt. Jay Markella said.
Two suspects were fleeing the home when police arrived. Police said the suspects rammed one cruiser, went down the street and smashed into two others. The two suspects were arrested.
Three people inside the home died and St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury told Eyewitness News Monday afternoon that Petit was being treated at the hospital and is listed in stable condition.
Police have not released the names of the people in custody.
Petit is the medical director of the Joslin Diabetes Center Affiliate at The Hospital of Central Connecticut.
"All of us at the Hospital of Central Connecticut are shocked and saddened by these tragic events," said the President of the hospital in a written statement Monday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Dr. Petit as he attempts to recover from this unfathomable occurrence. We cannot express the depth of our sorrow."
The medical examiner's office told Eyewitness News that autopsies are planned for Tuesday.
The state police major crimes unit has responded to the scene to assist in the investigation.
CT PING!
More guns, less crime.
A good .12 ga pump might have convinced the robbers to consider another location. (if they survived)
Wait just a sec here...three females die and the guy is in stable condition? Something doesn’t pass the initial smell test..
Yet the police were alerted by a bank employee???
Dad was taken to ATM’s to withdraw cash while family was held hostage?
That way, all the pressure is on the perp, who probably has few clues as to what he's getting into (and whose job is becoming more risky every day).
You wouldn't believe how many people who have come to this conclusion after having something along this line, happen to them.
* Personal advice regarding home invasion/theft etc.: watch the small stuff that's happening. They won't announce their intentions with parades and flags. They will try to slip in "under the radar" and being lax about your home's security is what they are counting on.
That’s a possibility, except that the perps would be more likely to take the wife..or one of the daughters..easier to control...we shall see..but I’m suspicious.
“Wait just a sec here...three females die and the guy is in stable condition? Something doesnt pass the initial smell test.”
If you read it again, two females died.
Plus two suspects were apprehended after ramming into three cruisers. What’s suspicious about it?
I wondered about that myself. Didn’t they have a dog or a security system? Very fishy.
If only Connecticut had stronger gun control laws, tragedies like this could be avoided.
/sarc
In the middle of the night...the perps supposedly break in..the three females..wife and two teenage daughters..are killed, but the male..the husband..is only slightly wounded..????<P.
There may well be a perfectly logical explanation..but IMHO, something’s not quite right.
It says three died...maybe the doc paid the two to break in..kill the family..but just wound him..
“Police have not released the names of the people in custody”...nor their race, nor their immigration status.
Those wacky physicians...
Here ya go.....
“Authorities surrounded the home after a woman was taken by one of the suspects to a bank and somehow alerted an employee that her family was being held hostage....”
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290460,00.html
Watch..it’ll turn out that the doc has a girl friend who just happens to be the sisters of one of the perps..
William A. Petit Jr., M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.E. Dr. Petit is the medical director of the Joslin Diabetes Center Affiliate at The Hospital of Central Connecticut. Dr. Petit also serves as director of the Section of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes at the hospital. He is board-certified in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism.
Dr. Petit received his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He completed an internship and residency at Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, N.Y. His post-doctoral fellowship was in endocrinology and metabolism at the Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Petit is involved with numerous clinical research studies. He is a past president of the American Diabetes Association, Connecticut Affiliate, and was elected to the ADA Hall of Merit in 1994.
Thanks..my faith in mankind has been reaffirmed...for today..prayers for him and his family..
This is a very confusing story. It would help if they used names, first and last. I am not sure which Petit was in stable condition, or if the father was even in the home. I’ll read it again, though.
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