Detective: Hayes Gave Account of Break-In, Beating, Rapes By ALAINE GRIFFIN, agriffin@courant.com
NEW HAVEN — Steven Hayes, on trial in the killings of a Cheshire mother and her two daughters, told police he was desperate for money and made the phone call that set in motion the deadly events of July 23, 2007, state police Detective Anthony Buglione testified today.
The detective was one of a number of witnesses Wednesday. The list included the state medical examiner, whose appearance later in the day to discuss the victims' autopsies prompted the only survivor of the home invasion, Dr. William Petit Jr., and other relatives to leave the courtroom.
At the end of the day, Petit left the courthouse quickly, stopping briefly to say,"It was another tough and painful day for the Hawke and Petit families."
Buglione's detailed testimony was based on Hayes' statements gathered during a 70-minute interrogation that took place soon after Hayes' arrest.
"He said his life sucked — no money, not enough to eat," Buglione said.
His mother said told him he could not use the car and gave him until the end of the week to move out, Buglione testified.
Hayes said he called Joshua Komisarjevsky — someone he met at a halfway house and who went to AA and NA with him — and told him he was desperate for money. When asked how serious he was, Hayes said "very serious."
Komisarjevsky has also been charged in the July 23, 2007 killings and will be tried once Hayes' trial is done.
The two men hatched a plan: Break into a house, tie people up, get money and get out as fast as possible, Buglione said.
They met at Stop and Shop in Cheshire and drove to Wal-Mart, where they bought a BB gun to "scare" the people, the detective said.
They went to a bar Sunday evening, had a beer and a shot, drove around in Komisarjevsky's mother's van until about 2 am until they came to a neighborhood.
They parked the van and went into a backyard. He saw a light on a back porch.
Komisarjevsky entered the house through the basement and Hayes watched him strike a man four or five times with a baseball bat, Buglione said.
Hayes said the man was screaming and there was a lot of blood. Hayes said they told Petit to be quiet and that they were "only there for the money."
They tied the man up with rope and searched the house.
Not finding enough money, they went upstairs and found a woman and girl sleeping in the master bedroom.
They told them to be calm and quiet and that they were there for the money. They tied the mother to her bed and the girl in another bedroom and tied her up. They put pillow cases over their heads. They did the same to another girl in the house
During their search in which they drank beer, they found a bank book saying the Petits had about $30,000 in the bank
With that, the plan changed. They would take the woman to the bank to get the money.
Buglione continued with his account of Hayes' statement:
About 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., Hayes said, he found containers in the home and went to a gas station in Southington where he bought gas and put it into the containers. He returned to the home and put the containers on the porch.
When Hayes returned, he saw the man was now in the basement, where Komisarjevsky put him.
Hayes said the plan then was for him to take the woman to the bank. Komisarjevsky would then take the rest of the family in a vehicle and burn down the house.
Hayes said the woman drove them to the bank. He said he got in the driver's seat and waited in the lot. He said he thought the woman was taking too long. He called Komisarjevsky, who, according to Buglione's account, said to just wait, "'it would all work out.'"
Once Hayes returned to the Petits' home, he and Komisarjevsky argued, and Komisarjevsky said he did not want to do any of the "dirty work," Buglione said.
During the interrogation, Buglione said, Hayes was "was flat. It was a lack of emotion."
The three people killed in the home that day were Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11. Dr. William Petit Jr. was in the house that day and was beaten, but escaped.
Hayes said Komisarjevsky told him that he had sexually assaulted Michaela and that Hayes would have to have sex with the mother "to square things off," according to Bulgione's account.
Hayes said he laid the mother on her back and raped her in the living room. Hayes said Komisarjevsky was walking in and out of the room with a baseball bat during the rape.
After Michaela was raped, Hayes told Buglione, he saw her dressed in different clothes and it appeared she had taken a shower.
Hayes told the detective "things got out of control. Things just got out of control," Buglione said.
At one point, Komisarjevsky said the man had escaped and that police were coming and they had to get out.
Hayes said they fled the home, crashing into vehicles as they exited in the Petits' vehicle.
Bulgione was asked: Did Hayes ever tell you anything about a fire being set?
"No," Buglione said.
He said Hayes told him money, guns and mask would found inside the vehicle.
The police station interview then ended.
Police took Hayes to a hospital, where a doctor took samples from him to determine if a sexual assault had taken place, Buglione said. He said Komisarjevsky underwent the same tests.
Those samples, and Hayes, were taken back to the Cheshire Police Department.
When asked if Hayes was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Hayes said no, Buglione testified.
At the beginning of his testimony, Buglione, of the state police central district crime squad, said he went to the Cheshire Police Department about 12:25 in the afternoon to interview Hayes.
A handcuffed Hayes walked into the 8-by-10 room. Buglione said he had the handcuffs removed and read him Hayes Miranda rights.
"I noticed a strong odor of gasoline emanating" from him, Buglione said.
New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington displayed on a movie screen a Notice and Waiver of Rights form that Buglione said he read to Hayes. He said a signature on the form was Hayes'.
By signing it, Buglione said, Hayes was aware of his rights and agreed to talk.
Buglione said Hayes was alert and coherent. "He appeared lucid," Buglione said. He was offered pizza and use of the bathroom.
Hayes told Buglione he could read and write and obtained his GED.
During the 70-minute interrogation, Buglione said, he took three pages of notes.
Under cross-examination, Buglione said he did not take urine samples from Hayes, prompting Thomas J. Ullmann, one of Hayes' defense attorneys, to ask whether that was an indicator of whether someone is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Buglione said that it is an indicator but that police never took urine samples.
Autopsy Report
Wednesday afternoon, Dr. Wayne Carver, the state's medical examiner, was called to the stand to testify about autopsies of the victims. The announcement of his name prompted William Petit and several members of his family to leave the courtroom.
Jurors looked confused as the family members left. Judge Blue told them they would soon view horrific photos. Two jurors dropped their heads.
Carver said he performed an autopsy July 24; his colleagues examined Hawke-Petit and Hayley.
Carver said Michaela's body was burned. The body was found with the wrists bound together and tied to a bed in an upstairs room. Carver said he carefully removed ligatures on her ankles and wrists. He examined her for a sexual assault with ultraviolet light. He said semen and saliva can glow under the light. He said he found a spot on her thigh that glowed, but he also said no semen or saliva was found in an external exam.
Carver seemed to try and prepare jurors for what they were about to see. He opened his testimony very bluntly, saying he opens up chest cavities and other parts of the body during post-mortem exams. He talked about weighing organs and dissecting them searching for causes and manners of death.
Carver said Michaela's skin was damaged by heat, not direct flames. He said she died of smoke inhalation so he was unable to determine whether any of the skin injuries by heat occurred while she was still alive.
Some of Michaela's skin was a pinkish color. Smoke is a "soup" of many chemicals, Carver said, including carbon monoxide, which causes tissue to turn pink.
Carver said during the internal exam of Michaela, he found soot in her voicebox, airways and lungs, meaning she was inhaling smoke.
He measured Michaela's blood to test her level of carbon monoxide. It registered at 75.6 percent. A level of 30 percent is fatal, he testified. Most smoke inhalation deaths measure about 50 percent, he said.
He said when people breathe in a high concentration of carbon monoxide, they can develop headaches, nausea and eventually unconciousness. Smoke inhalation can cause fear and panic, he said.
When asked about whether pain comes with it, Carver said, "These are highly toxic chemicals on highly sensitive membranes." He said it would take someone "several minutes" to die from carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation.
Selma Haddad, an employee at the Cheshire Citgo station on July 23, 2007, testified that surveillance videos prosecutors showed in court — from the gas station, filmed about 7 a.m. on that day — were from the station.
The videos showed a stocky, bald man paying for $10 worth of gas. She said Hayes paid with a $20 bill.
According to the video, the man is also seen pumping gas into a vehicle. Under cross-examination, Haddad said she could not remember if she gave police footage from all eight cameras posted at the station.
Forensic Scientist
John Brunetti, a forensic science examiner for the state, compared photos of the Petit's Chrysler Pacifica with still photos taken from the gas station video. He said there were several "points of commonality" between the two vehicles therefore suggesting that the Petits' vehicle was the one at the Citgo the morning of the killings.
Brunetti also compared a photo of a T-shirt Hayes wore the day of the killings with a still photo of the man at the gas station. He said there were consistencies between the two shirts.
Then, he noticed in the surveillance photos that the man at the gas station had a marking on his right forearm. Brunetti said the marking — a tattoo — was "consistent" with a tattoo Hayes has on his right arm.
During cross-examination, Brunetti said he also reviewed photographs taken on Komisarjevsky's cell phone: photos of Komisarjevsky and Michaela.
He was asked to bring up detail in the photos by investigators. Brunetti said he was able to identify linens on a bed in the photograph.
Patrick J. Culligan, one of Hayes' lawyers, pointed Brunetti to a report that included information about the photos found on Komisarjevsky's cell phone and crime scene photos.
Brunetti said his job was to link the images of the crime scene to the cell phone images. Brunetti said he lightened up the darker cell phone images and was able to link four of them with crime scene photos of Michaela's bedroom.
Robert Powers, who works in the state police forensic lab, said an analysis of the blood of both Hayes and Komisarjevsky showed there was no alcohol or drugs in their blood. He said the only drug present was caffeine.
Under cross-examination, Powers said he could not recall when the samples were tested and whether the lab examined any urine samples.
Judge Says He's OK
As today's session began this morning, Judge Jon C. Blue told a crowded courtroom this morning that he was hospitalized Sunday and underwent precautionary tests. The tests were done Monday and he passed "with flying colors," he said.
Blue, 61, did not say what the tests were examining.
Blue was hospitalized briefly Sunday, prompting a two-day delay in testimony.
Testimony was suspended Monday and Tuesday as a result of Blue's condition. Blue said he regretted the delay
Box Cutter, Cell Phones
As testimony got underway, cell phones, clothes, a box cutter and other evidence was shown to the jury.
With state police Sgt. Karen Gabianelli on the witness stand, prosecutor Gary Nicholson showed a series of black 5-gallon paint cans and plastic bags containing evidence police found during the police investigation.
The evidence included:
•The jeans, hooded sweatshirt, tube socks and size 8 1/2 work boots Komisarjevsky was wearing.
•A cell phone belonging to Komisarjevsky outside the vehicle the intruders used to flee the scene.
•Latex gloves Komisarjevsky was wearing at the time of his arrest.
•A box cutter.
•Size 8 sneakers, socks, T-shirt, sweatshirt, jeans and Miss Porter's School crew baseball cap Hayes was wearing.
•$100 and a BB gun Hayes was carrying.
•A key to a pickup truck Hayes was borrowing from a man who had hired him to paint.
•A cell phone Hayes was carrying.
Komisarjevsky's voicemail messages were erased because his account was not paid. Gabianelli said she did listen to messages from Hayes' phone but they did not contain information about the July 23, 2007, home invasion.
During cross-examination, Culligan showed Gabianelli a photo of the crashed-in Chrysler Pacifica that showed a Bud Light beer can laying on the street beside the vehicle. She said the can was taken into evidence.
Another photo showed a Bud Light can inside the vehicle, but Gabianelli said that was the same beer can that had fallen into the street.
He also showed a photo of a 100-count bag of 8-inch cable ties in a Wal-Mart bag that were in the back of a vehicle owned by Jude Komisarjevsky, Komisarjevsky's mother. Another photo showed a bag of cable ties police found inside a drawer at Komisarjevsky's parents' home.
Culligan asked Gabianelli about what type of communication the two men had via cell phones. She said they corresponded between 7 and 7:45 a.m.
Hayes placed a call within the area of the town of Southington, according to the 7:45 a.m. call, she said.
She was questioned about search warrants she sought for land line phones at the home. While at least one land line was disabled, another line was still intact.
She said she believed one call was made from the Petit home during the time of the break-in.
Gabianelli testified that the BB gun had no BBs in it, and that no BBs were found on Hayes.
She said there were containers of beer and wine in a basement refrigerator. Two cans were missing out of a six-pack in the basement refrigerator, she said. No fingerprints were taken from the beer can.
Looking at records of land line calls, two phone calls were made from the Petit home to the Bank of America about 7:20 am. Gabianelli said it was not known who made the calls. The bank opened at 9 a.m.
The detective was one of a number of witnesses Wednesday. The list included the state medical examiner, whose appearance later in the day to discuss the victims' autopsies prompted the only survivor of the home invasion, Dr. William Petit Jr., and other relatives to leave the courtroom.
At the end of the day, Petit left the courthouse quickly, stopping briefly to say,"It was another tough and painful day for the Hawke and Petit families."
Buglione's detailed testimony was based on Hayes' statements gathered during a 70-minute interrogation that took place soon after Hayes' arrest.
"He said his life sucked — no money, not enough to eat," Buglione said.
His mother said told him he could not use the car and gave him until the end of the week to move out, Buglione testified.
Hayes said he called Joshua Komisarjevsky — someone he met at a halfway house and who went to AA and NA with him — and told him he was desperate for money. When asked how serious he was, Hayes said "very serious."
Komisarjevsky has also been charged in the July 23, 2007 killings and will be tried once Hayes' trial is done.
The two men hatched a plan: Break into a house, tie people up, get money and get out as fast as possible, Buglione said.
They met at Stop and Shop in Cheshire and drove to Wal-Mart, where they bought a BB gun to "scare" the people, the detective said.
They went to a bar Sunday evening, had a beer and a shot, drove around in Komisarjevsky's mother's van until about 2 am until they came to a neighborhood.
They parked the van and went into a backyard. He saw a light on a back porch.
Komisarjevsky entered the house through the basement and Hayes watched him strike a man four or five times with a baseball bat, Buglione said.
Hayes said the man was screaming and there was a lot of blood. Hayes said they told Petit to be quiet and that they were "only there for the money."
They tied the man up with rope and searched the house.
Not finding enough money, they went upstairs and found a woman and girl sleeping in the master bedroom.
They told them to be calm and quiet and that they were there for the money. They tied the mother to her bed and the girl in another bedroom and tied her up. They put pillow cases over their heads. They did the same to another girl in the house
During their search in which they drank beer, they found a bank book saying the Petits had about $30,000 in the bank
With that, the plan changed. They would take the woman to the bank to get the money.
Buglione continued with his account of Hayes' statement:
About 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., Hayes said, he found containers in the home and went to a gas station in Southington where he bought gas and put it into the containers. He returned to the home and put the containers on the porch.
When Hayes returned, he saw the man was now in the basement, where Komisarjevsky put him.
Hayes said the plan then was for him to take the woman to the bank. Komisarjevsky would then take the rest of the family in a vehicle and burn down the house.
Hayes said the woman drove them to the bank. He said he got in the driver's seat and waited in the lot. He said he thought the woman was taking too long. He called Komisarjevsky, who, according to Buglione's account, said to just wait, "'it would all work out.'"
Once Hayes returned to the Petits' home, he and Komisarjevsky argued, and Komisarjevsky said he did not want to do any of the "dirty work," Buglione said.
During the interrogation, Buglione said, Hayes was "was flat. It was a lack of emotion."
The three people killed in the home that day were Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11. Dr. William Petit Jr. was in the house that day and was beaten, but escaped.
Hayes said Komisarjevsky told him that he had sexually assaulted Michaela and that Hayes would have to have sex with the mother "to square things off," according to Bulgione's account.
Hayes said he laid the mother on her back and raped her in the living room. Hayes said Komisarjevsky was walking in and out of the room with a baseball bat during the rape.
After Michaela was raped, Hayes told Buglione, he saw her dressed in different clothes and it appeared she had taken a shower.
Hayes told the detective "things got out of control. Things just got out of control," Buglione said.
At one point, Komisarjevsky said the man had escaped and that police were coming and they had to get out.
Hayes said they fled the home, crashing into vehicles as they exited in the Petits' vehicle.
Bulgione was asked: Did Hayes ever tell you anything about a fire being set?
"No," Buglione said.
He said Hayes told him money, guns and mask would found inside the vehicle.
The police station interview then ended.
Police took Hayes to a hospital, where a doctor took samples from him to determine if a sexual assault had taken place, Buglione said. He said Komisarjevsky underwent the same tests.
Those samples, and Hayes, were taken back to the Cheshire Police Department.
When asked if Hayes was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Hayes said no, Buglione testified.
At the beginning of his testimony, Buglione, of the state police central district crime squad, said he went to the Cheshire Police Department about 12:25 in the afternoon to interview Hayes.
A handcuffed Hayes walked into the 8-by-10 room. Buglione said he had the handcuffs removed and read him Hayes Miranda rights.
"I noticed a strong odor of gasoline emanating" from him, Buglione said.
New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington displayed on a movie screen a Notice and Waiver of Rights form that Buglione said he read to Hayes. He said a signature on the form was Hayes'.
By signing it, Buglione said, Hayes was aware of his rights and agreed to talk.
Buglione said Hayes was alert and coherent. "He appeared lucid," Buglione said. He was offered pizza and use of the bathroom.
Hayes told Buglione he could read and write and obtained his GED.
During the 70-minute interrogation, Buglione said, he took three pages of notes.
Under cross-examination, Buglione said he did not take urine samples from Hayes, prompting Thomas J. Ullmann, one of Hayes' defense attorneys, to ask whether that was an indicator of whether someone is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Buglione said that it is an indicator but that police never took urine samples.
Autopsy Report
Wednesday afternoon, Dr. Wayne Carver, the state's medical examiner, was called to the stand to testify about autopsies of the victims. The announcement of his name prompted William Petit and several members of his family to leave the courtroom.
Jurors looked confused as the family members left. Judge Blue told them they would soon view horrific photos. Two jurors dropped their heads.
Carver said he performed an autopsy July 24; his colleagues examined Hawke-Petit and Hayley.
Carver said Michaela's body was burned. The body was found with the wrists bound together and tied to a bed in an upstairs room. Carver said he carefully removed ligatures on her ankles and wrists. He examined her for a sexual assault with ultraviolet light. He said semen and saliva can glow under the light. He said he found a spot on her thigh that glowed, but he also said no semen or saliva was found in an external exam.
Carver seemed to try and prepare jurors for what they were about to see. He opened his testimony very bluntly, saying he opens up chest cavities and other parts of the body during post-mortem exams. He talked about weighing organs and dissecting them searching for causes and manners of death.
Carver said Michaela's skin was damaged by heat, not direct flames. He said she died of smoke inhalation so he was unable to determine whether any of the skin injuries by heat occurred while she was still alive.
Some of Michaela's skin was a pinkish color. Smoke is a "soup" of many chemicals, Carver said, including carbon monoxide, which causes tissue to turn pink.
Carver said during the internal exam of Michaela, he found soot in her voicebox, airways and lungs, meaning she was inhaling smoke.
He measured Michaela's blood to test her level of carbon monoxide. It registered at 75.6 percent. A level of 30 percent is fatal, he testified. Most smoke inhalation deaths measure about 50 percent, he said.
He said when people breathe in a high concentration of carbon monoxide, they can develop headaches, nausea and eventually unconciousness. Smoke inhalation can cause fear and panic, he said.
When asked about whether pain comes with it, Carver said, "These are highly toxic chemicals on highly sensitive membranes." He said it would take someone "several minutes" to die from carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation.
Selma Haddad, an employee at the Cheshire Citgo station on July 23, 2007, testified that surveillance videos prosecutors showed in court — from the gas station, filmed about 7 a.m. on that day — were from the station.
The videos showed a stocky, bald man paying for $10 worth of gas. She said Hayes paid with a $20 bill.
According to the video, the man is also seen pumping gas into a vehicle. Under cross-examination, Haddad said she could not remember if she gave police footage from all eight cameras posted at the station.
Forensic Scientist
John Brunetti, a forensic science examiner for the state, compared photos of the Petit's Chrysler Pacifica with still photos taken from the gas station video. He said there were several "points of commonality" between the two vehicles therefore suggesting that the Petits' vehicle was the one at the Citgo the morning of the killings.
Brunetti also compared a photo of a T-shirt Hayes wore the day of the killings with a still photo of the man at the gas station. He said there were consistencies between the two shirts.
Then, he noticed in the surveillance photos that the man at the gas station had a marking on his right forearm. Brunetti said the marking — a tattoo — was "consistent" with a tattoo Hayes has on his right arm.
During cross-examination, Brunetti said he also reviewed photographs taken on Komisarjevsky's cell phone: photos of Komisarjevsky and Michaela.
He was asked to bring up detail in the photos by investigators. Brunetti said he was able to identify linens on a bed in the photograph.
Patrick J. Culligan, one of Hayes' lawyers, pointed Brunetti to a report that included information about the photos found on Komisarjevsky's cell phone and crime scene photos.
Brunetti said his job was to link the images of the crime scene to the cell phone images. Brunetti said he lightened up the darker cell phone images and was able to link four of them with crime scene photos of Michaela's bedroom.
Robert Powers, who works in the state police forensic lab, said an analysis of the blood of both Hayes and Komisarjevsky showed there was no alcohol or drugs in their blood. He said the only drug present was caffeine.
Under cross-examination, Powers said he could not recall when the samples were tested and whether the lab examined any urine samples.
Judge Says He's OK
As today's session began this morning, Judge Jon C. Blue told a crowded courtroom this morning that he was hospitalized Sunday and underwent precautionary tests. The tests were done Monday and he passed "with flying colors," he said.
Blue, 61, did not say what the tests were examining.
Blue was hospitalized briefly Sunday, prompting a two-day delay in testimony.
Testimony was suspended Monday and Tuesday as a result of Blue's condition. Blue said he regretted the delay
Box Cutter, Cell Phones
As testimony got underway, cell phones, clothes, a box cutter and other evidence was shown to the jury.
With state police Sgt. Karen Gabianelli on the witness stand, prosecutor Gary Nicholson showed a series of black 5-gallon paint cans and plastic bags containing evidence police found during the police investigation.
The evidence included:
•The jeans, hooded sweatshirt, tube socks and size 8 1/2 work boots Komisarjevsky was wearing.
•A cell phone belonging to Komisarjevsky outside the vehicle the intruders used to flee the scene.
•Latex gloves Komisarjevsky was wearing at the time of his arrest.
•A box cutter.
•Size 8 sneakers, socks, T-shirt, sweatshirt, jeans and Miss Porter's School crew baseball cap Hayes was wearing.
•$100 and a BB gun Hayes was carrying.
•A key to a pickup truck Hayes was borrowing from a man who had hired him to paint.
•A cell phone Hayes was carrying.
Komisarjevsky's voicemail messages were erased because his account was not paid. Gabianelli said she did listen to messages from Hayes' phone but they did not contain information about the July 23, 2007, home invasion.
During cross-examination, Culligan showed Gabianelli a photo of the crashed-in Chrysler Pacifica that showed a Bud Light beer can laying on the street beside the vehicle. She said the can was taken into evidence.
Another photo showed a Bud Light can inside the vehicle, but Gabianelli said that was the same beer can that had fallen into the street.
He also showed a photo of a 100-count bag of 8-inch cable ties in a Wal-Mart bag that were in the back of a vehicle owned by Jude Komisarjevsky, Komisarjevsky's mother. Another photo showed a bag of cable ties police found inside a drawer at Komisarjevsky's parents' home.
Culligan asked Gabianelli about what type of communication the two men had via cell phones. She said they corresponded between 7 and 7:45 a.m.
Hayes placed a call within the area of the town of Southington, according to the 7:45 a.m. call, she said.
She was questioned about search warrants she sought for land line phones at the home. While at least one land line was disabled, another line was still intact.
She said she believed one call was made from the Petit home during the time of the break-in.
Gabianelli testified that the BB gun had no BBs in it, and that no BBs were found on Hayes.
She said there were containers of beer and wine in a basement refrigerator. Two cans were missing out of a six-pack in the basement refrigerator, she said. No fingerprints were taken from the beer can.
Looking at records of land line calls, two phone calls were made from the Petit home to the Bank of America about 7:20 am. Gabianelli said it was not known who made the calls. The bank opened at 9 a.m.
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