Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Confession Reveals Brutal Details In CT Triple Murder
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 23, 2010
Modified Sep 23, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 23, 2010
Modified Sep 23, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
It was another harrowing day of testimonies in the trial of Steven Hayes, one of the two men accused of perpetrating a brutal home invasion and murder of a family in Connecticut. A State Police detective who interviewed Hayes shortly after the brutal murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters Michaela and Hayley gave a riveting and shocking account of Hayes confession and description of the events: "There was a strong odor of gasoline emanating from [his] body."
According to the detective, Anthony Buglione, Hayes was out of money and about to get kicked out of his mother's home when he and an ex-con friend, Joshua Komisarjevsky, formulated their noxious plan. Originally, they only planned to rob the Petit family, put them in a car and set fire to the house to destroy evidence. The cop described Hayes' tone during the interview: "There was no emotion. He was pretty much as I described it—flat. Very quiet."
Hayes alleged that Komisarjevsky first raped 11-year-old Michaela while he wasn't there, then pressured him into matching him during a tense confrontation in which Komisarjevsky said that Hayes “was not doing any of the dirty work.” Hayes told the detective that Komisarjevsky said Hayes “would have to have sex with the mother to square things up between them." He said that he complied, although he was nervous because Komisarjevsky "was walking in and out of the room with a baseball bat,” the same baseball bat which he used to beat Dr. William A. Petit Jr. earlier.
Hayes and Komisarjevsky are accused of murder, sexual assault, burglary, kidnapping and arson; Hayes is charged with strangling Hawke-Petit, which he didn't admit to the detective. But he did repeat twice: “Things got out of control.” Later in the day, jurors were shown video of Hayes driving to buy ten dollars of gas at a nearby gas station in the Petit's SUV, which was used to burn the house down. Jurors also learned today through forensic testimony that Komisarjevsky took four dark, underexposed, "pornographic" photographs of Michaela, the girl he raped.
Tagged
connecticut
fire
home invasion
joshua komisarjevsky
murder
rape
steven hayes
william petit
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Your guide to voting in New York's 2026 elections for governor and Congress
A primer on the races for governor, attorney general and the congressional districts that could help determine control of the U.S. House.
By
Walter Wuthmann
,
Jon Campbell
and
Brigid Bergin
Published Oct 23, 2026 at 6:30 a.m. ET
Forest Hills Stadium can keep its concerts under deal with neighbors
Neighbors had complained of traffic and loud concerts for years.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Forest Hills Stadium can keep its concerts under deal with neighbors
Neighbors had complained of traffic and loud concerts for years.
By
Ryan Kost
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
By
Elizabeth Kim
NYPD arrests 17-year-old in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting
By
Charles Lane
Ex-Adams aide accused of pocketing kickbacks from community program funds
By
Samantha Max
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .