Dr. William Petit

Petit Family Massacre Survivor Faces Killer, 'Evil Does Live Among Us'


Posted on Jan 27, 2012 @ 02:30PM - 7 comments

By Debbie Emery - Radar Reporter

The courtroom ordeal for Dr. William Petit is not yet over, as the grieving widow once again faced one of the men who murdered his family.

Petit addressed the New Haven, Connecticut courtroom on Friday during the formal sentencing of convicted triple murderer Joshua Komisarjevsky, reported the Hartford Courant.

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and daughter Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, were tortured and murdered in 2007, and Dr. Petit brutally beaten, by Steven Hayes and Komisarjevsky, both of whom have been sentenced to death in Connecticut.

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Convicted Petit Family Killer Seeking New Trial


Posted on Jan 12, 2012 @ 02:30PM - 10 comments

By Debbie Emery - Radar Reporter

Just when Dr. William Petit thought that he could put all the courtroom dramas surrounding his family's massacre behind him and move on with his life, the lawyers for convicted killer Joshua Komisarjevsky have requested a new trial.

Komisarjevsky’s attorney filed a motion at the Superior Court in New Haven, Connecticut on Wednesday stating that he should be allowed a new trial because he was not granted a probable cause hearing, despite repeated requests for the constitutionally mandated hearing, reported the Hartford Courant.

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, 31-year-old Komisarjevsky was found guilty of 17 counts on October 13 for the grisly murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, and the vicious beating of Dr. William Petit in their Cheshire, Connecticut home, on July 23, 2007, and the same New Haven jury later sentenced him to death by lethal injection.

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Dr. Petit Wished 'The Very Best' On His Engagement By Uncle Of Family’s Murderer


Posted on Jan 07, 2012 @ 03:00AM - Add a comment

By Debbie Emery - Radar Reporter

Four years and two murder trials since his family was massacred, Dr. William Petit has finally found happiness with a new love and the uncle of convicted killer Joshua Komisarjevsky has offered his congratulations on their engagement, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal.

"Of course, we wish him the very best," Christopher Komisarjevsky told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview. "We are happy that he’s found happiness after the tragedy."

Komisarjevsky was found guilty of 17 counts on October 13 for the grisly 2007 murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, and the vicious beating of Dr. Petit in their Cheshire, Connecticut home.

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Dr. William Petit To Remarry Four Years After Family Killed In Horrific Home Invasion


Posted on Jan 05, 2012 @ 02:00PM - 15 comments

By Alexis Tereszcuk - Radar Senior Reporter

Dr. William Petit Jr., whose wife and young daughters were brutally murdered in their home four years ago, has found love again and is engaged.

Petit, 55, proposed to Christine Paluf, 34, after Christmas but they have not yet set a wedding date according to the Hartford Courant who first reported the news.

Paluf is a photographer who worked events for the Petit Family Foundation, which William founded after the horrific murder of his entire family.

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Petit Family Killer’s Ex-Girlfriend Says 'He Deserves The Death Penalty'


Posted on Dec 12, 2011 @ 02:30PM - 6 comments

By Debbie Emery - Radar Reporter

A jury decided on Friday that convicted Petit family killer Joshua Komisarjevsky should be sentenced to death for his part in the horrific triple murders, and his ex-girlfriend thinks he deserves it, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal.

"He's going to get the death penalty. He kind of deserved that," Caroline Mesel, who was dating the stone-faced killer at the time of the July 23, 2007 deadly home invasion, told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview.

Komisarjevsky was found guilty of 17 counts on October 13 for the grisly murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, and the vicious beating of Dr. William Petit in their Cheshire, Connecticut home, and it took 20 hours of deliberation over five days for the same New Haven jury to sentence him to death by lethal injection.

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Petit Killer Dubbed A Predator Out For 'Greed, Sex, Death and Destruction’


Posted on Dec 02, 2011 @ 02:00PM - 2 comments

By Debbie Emery - Radar Reporter

The sentencing phase of convicted killer Joshua Komisarjevsky came to a dramatic close on Friday as prosecutors made closing arguments as to why the triple murderer should get the death penalty, RadarOnline.com has learned.

On the night that a home invasion left a father badly beaten, and his wife and two daughters dead, Komisarjevsky was described as a predator out for "greed, sex, death and destruction," by Senior Assistant State's Attorney Gary Nicholson to the New Haven, Connecticut court, reported the Hartford Courant.

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Komisarjevsky was found guilty of 17 counts on October 13 for the grisly murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, and the vicious beating of Dr. William Petit.

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Petit Family Killer Won't Get Death Penalty, Predicts Lawyer: 'The Scale Tips In Favor Of Life'


Posted on Dec 01, 2011 @ 07:00AM - 6 comments

By Debbie Emery - Radar Reporter

After more than a month of testimony in the penalty phase of the trial of triple murderer Joshua Komisarjevsky, the extensive evidence is finally complete and his attorneys are confident about his chances of dodging the death penalty.

"The scale tips in favor of life," defense attorney Jeremiah Donovan predicted on Thursday, according to a report in the Hartford Courant, despite him being co-responsible for the most horrific murder in Connecticut's history.

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Komisarjevsky was found guilty of 17 counts on October 13 for the grisly murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, and the vicious beating of their father on July 23, 2007 in their Cheshire, Connecticut home.

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Dating A Murderer: 'I Thought I Was In Love,' Reveals Petit Family Killer's Ex-Girlfriend


Posted on Nov 16, 2011 @ 06:30AM - 5 comments

By Radar Staff

The girl who was dating the convicted Petit family triple murderer at the time of the killings has revealed how his behavior dramatically changed in the weeks before the brutal slayings.

The girl who was dating the convicted Petit family triple murderer at the time of the killings has revealed how his behavior dramatically changed in the weeks before the brutal slayings.

"The first time I met him he was still in jail for burglary," Caroline Mesel exclusively told RadarOnline.com. "My sister was friends with Josh and she wanted someone to go with her to visit him."

While he seemed normal at the time, after being dragged into Joshua Komisarjevsky's dark world Mesel now says she wishes she had never met him.

PHOTOS: Petit Family Murderer’s Transformation From Kid To Killer

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Triple-Murderer Joshua Komisarjevsky 'Bragged About Beating Dr. Petit,' Reveals Ex-Girlfriend


Posted on Nov 14, 2011 @ 03:00PM - 4 comments

By Radar Staff

The defense attorneys in the ongoing penalty phase of the convicted Petit family killer are digging out more details about Joshua Komisarjevsky's troubled early years to garner sympathy from the jury, but RadarOnline.com can reveal that the triple murderer had little remorse following the violent crime.

In an exclusive interview with RadarOnline.com, the Connecticut killer's ex-girlfriend said that her teenage lover even boasted about the ferocity with which he beat Dr. William Petit during the horrific home invasion on July 23, 2007, that left Dr. Petit's wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, dead.

"He bragged about hitting Dr. Petit," Caroline Mesel, who was dating Komisarjevsky at the time of the murders, told RadarOnline.com. "He said, 'You should have seen how big this guy was, I had to hit him a number of times.'"

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Petit Family Killer Saw A Demon With 'Glowing Eyes,' Testifies Pastor


Posted on Nov 02, 2011 @ 05:30PM - Add a comment

By Radar Staff

More disturbing testimony in the penalty phase of convicted Petit family killer Joshua Komisarjevsky's trial emerged on Wednesday as his former pastor took the stand, RadarOnline.com is reporting.

In testimony that was delivered like a church sermon, Bryce Whiting told the New Haven, Connecticut court how when Joshua was a teenager the convicted triple-murderer claimed he saw a "specter, a dark spiritual being" that had "glowing eyes" and was "menacing in his appearance," reported the Hartford Courant.

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Komisarjevsky was found guilty of 17 counts on October 13 for the grisly murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, and the vicious beating of their father, Dr. William Petit, on July 23, 2007. The same jury who convicted him is now deciding whether he serve life in prison or gets the death penalty.

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