Free Republic

Here’s a True Crime post and we’ve some old ones and some new ones. Seems the Marines finally remembered that Maria Lauterbach was one of their own. A dog mercilessly thrown from an overpass recovers, an Aunt kills her niece and nephew heartlessly, a fine fellow killed his parents now wants a plea deal, a hypocrite caught having sex with 14-year-old for money, Drew Peterson’s “date” contest, a circumcision case goes to court, a baby’s body sent to the cleaners and this man vowed to die like a man defending his family. We compare him to that great Connecticut hero,...

New Haven (AP) _ A law enforcement official says Cheshire police responding to a fatal home invasion in July delayed entering the home because of assurances from a 911 caller who was told no one would be hurt if police were not notified. But as officers waited outside, the home erupted into flames, killing two girls. Their mother was strangled, and their father was badly beaten, but survived. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because authorities have not discussed details of the case, says the assurance that no one would be hurt was one of the reasons police...

CHESHIRE, Conn., Oct. 25 — The United Methodist Church here is the kind of politically active place where parishioners take to the pulpit to discuss poverty in El Salvador and refugees living in Meriden. But few issues engage its passions as much as the death penalty. The last three pastors were opponents of capital punishment. Church-sponsored adult education classes promote the idea of “restorative justice,” advocating rehabilitation over punishment. Two years ago, congregants attended midnight vigils outside the prison where Connecticut executed a prisoner for the first time in 45 years. So it might have been expected that United Methodist...

The woman killed in a horrific home invasion Monday in Cheshire was strangled and her daughters died of smoke inhalation, the state medical examiner's office said tonight. Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her daughters, Hayley, 17 and Michaela, 11, were killed in the attack. Their deaths were ruled homicides. A fourth family member, Dr. William A. Petit Jr., was beaten but survived, stumbling to safety as the home was consumed by a fire allegedly set by the suspects. Two recent parolees who apparently met at a halfway house for nonviolent offenders were arraigned Tuesday. Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, of 840 North Brooksvale...

ADT Security Services Inc. offended a handful of people by leafleting a Cheshire neighborhood after a mother and her two daughters were slain. But it made a bigger blunder by ceding to the state unconstitutional authority to restrain commerce and limit free speech when it agreed to donate, on orders from the state, $1,000 to charity for its perfectly legal solicitation practices. Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. was (sanctimoniously) outraged when he learned ADT was trying to drum up business in Cheshire after Jennifer Hawke-Petit and Hayley and Michaela Petit were killed July 23. Though he agreed "one cannot...

New Haven (WTNH) _ The two men accused in the murders of a Cheshire mother and her two daughters will be back in court September 18 for a probable cause hearing. Under heavy guard Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes were whisked into a New Haven Superior Court Tuesday morning to be arraigned on capital murder charges in the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters Hayley,17, and Michaela,11. They did not enter pleas and spoke only to yes or no questions. Komisarjevsky and Hayes, both convicted burglars with long criminal histories, were out on parole at the time of...

 Sleepless On Death RowAugust 2, 2007 Last week two career criminals on parole invaded a Cheshire Connecticut home and murdered three of its four occupants...after sexually pleasing themselves with the victims. The local news kept repeating that politicians, community leaders and average citizens wanted to know “Why?”.   How could anybody do something so “Unfathomable” to such nice people?  The answer lies with the supplicants. Give me a good reason not to be a murderer...especially if you live in a liberal State? Look at a sampling of murder...Connecticut style. Wikipedia sums it up the best, “Connecticut has executed one person since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed...

I don't know if there is a thread for this already. If there is, I am sorry for the carbon copy. I did do a search and came up empty, so I am assuming that a prayer thread for this man has not yet been posted. The other day, when I picked up the NY Post, I almost choked up. I didn't realize until I saw this photo how much this triple murder would effect me. Until I saw this, it was just another senseless murder in America. Seeing this filled me with rage - as well as extreme compassion...

The two men accused of a brutal Connecticut home invasion may not have had violent crimes in their long lists of prior convictions, but sources tell local newspapers the pair's record changed when they invaded the home of a prominent doctor early Monday morning. "This is everyone's worst nightmare," Lt. Jay Markella, Cheshire police spokesman, told the Waterbury newspaper. "It's by far the worst thing any of us have ever seen." Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, of Cheshire, and Steven Hayes, 44, of Winsted, were arraigned Tuesday on charges of assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, arson, larceny and risk of injury...

CHESHIRE, Conn. - Two parolees with long criminal records were arraigned Tuesday on charges alleging they broke into a doctor's home, forced a hostage to withdraw cash from a bank and set fire to the house several hours later, killing the doctor's wife and two daughters. The suspects were caught Monday in the family's SUV as they fled the burning home, which they apparently had torched to cover their tracks, authorities said. Dr. William Petit Jr., 50, a prominent endocrinologist, was the only survivor and was severely injured in the attack. Joshua Komisarjevky, 26, of Cheshire, and Steven Hayes, 44,...

A judge getting ready to send Joshua Komisarjevsky to prison in 2002 called him a "cold, calculating predator." Equipped with night-vision goggles and armed with a knife, he would slash his way through screens into houses around his hometown of Cheshire, stealing mostly electronic equipment and petty cash to pay for a drug habit. Steven Hayes had a record more noteworthy for its length than the severity of the crimes - decades of larcenies, burglaries and check forgeries. Hayes committed most of his crimes in the northwest corner, near his home in Winsted - far from Sorghum Mill Drive in...

HARTFORD, Conn. - Two men with long rap sheets were on parole when they broke into a doctor’s home, strangled his wife and killed the couple’s two daughters in a fire they set to cover their tracks, authorities said... Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, of Cheshire, and Steven Hayes, 44, of Winsted...arraigned Tuesday on charges of assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, arson, larceny and risk of injury to children. Bail was set at $15 million each, which Judge Christina G. Dunnell said was warranted because of the men’s criminal histories. State officials are re-examining their policies after learning two convicted burglars...

CHESHIRE, Conn. — Three people were killed after thieves broke into their home, held them hostage for several hours and ultimately set the house ablaze before being nabbed by police while trying to flee the scene.. Connecticut State Police said in a statement issued Monday that officers went to the residence after bank officials notified them of a "suspicious withdrawal."

CHESHIRE - Police have identified a 26-year-old Cheshire man and a 44-year-old Winsted man, both with long criminal histories, as suspects in a horrific home invasion in which a mother and her two daughters died Monday.