10-18-2010, 04:13 PM
this is long, but details today's defense tap dance. hayes was a saint! 
he's been misjudged! it's the other guy's fault!
Hartford Courant:
NEW HAVEN — Lawyers trying to keep triple murderer Steven Hayes off death row will introduce testimony about a second defendant's role in the crime, as well as evidence that Hayes was a good worker, cared for his family, and was driven by a drug addiction, a defense attorney told jurors this morning.
Those same jurors on Oct. 5 convicted Hayes of 16 charges — including six punishable by death — in the deaths of a Cheshire woman and her two daughters. The jury will now decide his fate in the trial's penalty phase, which began today and is expected to continue into next week.
Defense Attorney Patrick J. Culligan urged jurors to keep an open mind in what he called a "most difficult and trying" case.
"By your verdicts, he no longer has the presumption of innocence," Culligan said. "But there is no presumption at this point that the death penalty is the appropriate punishment."
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Culligan said the defense today would call six to eight witnesses who have crossed paths with Hayes.
Ex-Court Worker
The first defense witness was D'Arcy Lovetere, a Winsted resident and former court judicial marshal who worked primarily at the courthouse in the Bantam section of Litchfield.
Initially, she said she knew Hayes years ago because he "had a crush" on her daughter, who was a teen at the time. "He would chuckle about it and I would chuckle about it," she said.
She would later see him around Winsted and later in court when he was arrested.
Hayes came around her home but she said she was not concerned.
She later became an investigator and social worker for the public defender's office and said she last saw Hayes shortly before the July 2007 killings in Cheshire.
Today in court, Lovetere said she did not recognize Hayes at first. Hayes, seated next to his public defenders, dressed in navy pants and a collared white shirt with vertical blue stripes, looked at Lovetere as she spoke.
"Frankly, I wouldn't have recognized him. He's lost a lot of weight since the last time I saw him," she said.
When she would see him at the courthouse, Lovetere said, Hayes would talk about "how desperate he was to get a hold and stop the behavior" that landed him in jail.
"He was always a gentleman," she said. "He was always remorseful. This was a man who wanted a life."
She later learned he became a father. "He was very proud of that," she said.
Lovetere said she would suggest to Hayes that he seek drug treatment and he did.
In one group setting during his treatment, she said, her client and Hayes called 911 when another member started having a seizure during a meeting.
She said Hayes was "very motivated to work."
Another client told her Hayes was addicted to crack cocaine.
When asked if the crimes that brought Hayes to court were violent, Lovetere said they were not. "No, I am certain of that," she said.
When asked to describe Hayes as a criminal, Lovetere said he was "a real klutz."
"He wasn't the best criminal in the world for sure," she said. "His addiction overtook him. He would do things that were really foolish and he knew he would get caught."
She said he was also a follower.
In about May 2007, she ran into him in town. "He was struggling," she said, adding that he did not elaborate on how far his drug addiction had gone.
Two months later, while going into work at the courthouse in Litchfield, a co-worker told Lovetere that Hayes had been charged with the Cheshire killings.
"When he told me it was Steven, it knocked the wind out of me. I couldn't believe it," Lovetere said. "I was shocked, just shocked."
During cross-examination, Prosecutor Gary Nicholson asked Lovetere if she was aware that Hayes' work history was "rather minimal." She said she was not aware of that.
Nicholson used the cross-examination to list Hayes' string of burglary convictions, asking if she knew whether he was a "follower" in those crimes. "I have no idea of that," she said.
Nicholson pressed Lovetere about Hayes' being remorseful, asking her whether defendants say they are remorseful in court so they can fare better in front of a judge.
She said defendants do say they are remorseful to get a more lenient sentence.
Under re-direct, Lovetere clarified that when Hayes had a crush on her daughter, he was a teen, too, only a few years older.
Family Friend
The defense's second witness, Robert Palmer, a maintenance worker, lived in the same housing complex as Hayes and was friends with Hayes' brother, Brian.
Palmer, who said he was nervous about testifying, described Hayes' mother as "nice" and "hard-working."
"She always had two or three jobs. She cleaned houses," he said.
Palmer was 14 when he became friends with Hayes' brother. He recalled how Hayes would get arrested for "mainly burglaries," and Palmer said he had heard that Hayes had broken into cars.
Palmer said he did not recall Hayes' being involved in violent crimes and said he was "shocked" to learn Hayes was charged in the home-invasion killings.
He said Brian Hayes is not close to his brother and does not want to have anything to do with him.
Under cross-examination, Palmer said Hayes' brothers were not in trouble with the law and have jobs. He said Brian Hayes and Steven Hayes "never got along."
Prosecutor Michael Dearington asked if the brothers' rift was because Hayes was involved in trouble.
"Yeah, that's possible," Palmer said.
Apartment Manager
Eileen Mullen, an apartment manager, said Hayes came to her office in May 2007 to get an application for an apartment.
She said Hayes told her he was unemployed but said he recently was hired as a construction worker. When asked if he had a problem with her doing a background check, he admitted it would "be a problem."
"I reached for the application and said, 'Please don't bother,'" Mullen said.
Former Employer
Christiane Gehami, owner of a West Hartford restaurant, testified that she hired Hayes as a dishwasher and pantry cook in September 2006.
She said she learned he was living in a halfway house at the time and showed her a token that showed he had been dry.
Gehami said "it went well" with Hayes on the job. She and a manager would sometimes give Hayes a ride back to the halfway house.
"He was good-natured," she said. "He was jovial. He made people laugh."
She said Hayes would talk about a woman he had a crush on who would come into the restaurant. She said he would wait for her.
One day, she and another employee had an argument and the employee left. When the employee returned, she said, Hayes told him he should "not talk to" Gehami that way, and the two men fought.
"What Steve was doing was protecting me," she said.
Hayes left the job in October 2006. In July 2007, Gehami learned Hayes was charged with the killings.
"What was your reaction?" Culligan asked.
"I thought, no way, it's a mistake," she said.
Gehami said when some work needed to be done at the restaurant, Hayes suggested Komisarjevsky.
On the day Komisarjevksy appeared there, she balked at his offer to do work moments after stepping outside to meet him.
"I thought I was looking at the devil," she said. "My skin crawled. My hair stood on end."
Under cross-examination, Dearington asked, "Why did you think you were looking at the devil."
"Dead eyes," she replied.
Book Passages
Earlier today, Culligan said Joshua Komisarjevsky, also charged in the murders, will play a large role in the penalty phase. He said there will be lengthy testimony from Brian McDonald's 2009 book, "In the Middle of the Night: The Shocking True Story of a Family Killed in Cold Blood," which leans heavily on prison interviews with Komisarjevsky.
The 244-page book gives Komisarjevsky's detailed version of what happened the night Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, were killed during a home invasion and robbery inside their Cheshire home. Dr. William Petit was beaten during the ordeal, but survived.
Komisarjevsky, who will be tried next year, claims Hayes killed the family.
After the slayings, McDonald interviewed Komisarjevsky three times at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield and received from him more than 200 pages of handwritten notes. The book intersperses quotes taken directly from letters Komisarjevsky wrote to McDonald that include horrific details about what happened inside the Petit home.
Also this morning, Culligan said the defense team wants jurors to learn about Steven Hayes as he was before the murders. "Some of what you will learn will not be flattering to him," Culligan said. He has a long criminal record of burglaries and thefts.
But Culligan said testimony will also show that Hayes was a good worker and was caring toward his family.
"You will learn he could be a likable person," Culligan said.
He said psychiatrists will also testify about Hayes' mental condition and corrections officials will discuss his living conditions at the prison.
Culligan said he will also offer testimony about a longtime drug addiction Hayes had that forced him to turn to crime to "fuel and satisfy" his need for drugs.
"Many of his life choices were about fueling and satisfying his drug addiction," Culligan said.
And because of that, Culligan said, jurors will learn that Hayes spent most of his adult life in prison.
In brief opening statements, New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington told jurors they could rely on the evidence in deciding Hayes' punishment.
Hayes of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, during a July 2007 home invasion at their Cheshire home.
Standing at a makeshift podium in front of the jury box, Dearington said the state would look to three aggravating factors:
Whether the murders of the Petit family were committed in an especially cruel, heinous and depraved manner
Whether Hayes created a grave risk of death to another person
Whether Hayes killed the Petits while committing the same kind of felony for which he had been previously been convicted, third-degree burglary.
Testifying for the state late this morning was Jack Dzekian, a clerk in the criminal clerk's office in New Haven. Dzekian testified about certified copies of criminal docket sheets he had in front of him on the witness stand that showed criminal convictions for a Steven Joseph Hayes.
Those convictions included multiple convictions for third-degree burglary in January 1981, March 1993, October 1996 and October 2003.
With that, the state rested.
Judge Jon C. Blue began the court day by telling jurors what they should expect in the penalty phase, where they will decide whether Hayes should die for the crimes.
Blue called it an "awesome' decision "that will be made by you and you alone." He urged jurors to keep an open mind.
Blue also told them that, while feeling sympathy for either side is natural, their decision on Hayes' punishment should be based strictly on the evidence.
He also reminded them not to be exposed to any publicity about the case, not to conduct their own inquiries about the case, and not to discuss the case with anyone.
he's been misjudged! it's the other guy's fault!
Hartford Courant:
NEW HAVEN — Lawyers trying to keep triple murderer Steven Hayes off death row will introduce testimony about a second defendant's role in the crime, as well as evidence that Hayes was a good worker, cared for his family, and was driven by a drug addiction, a defense attorney told jurors this morning.
Those same jurors on Oct. 5 convicted Hayes of 16 charges — including six punishable by death — in the deaths of a Cheshire woman and her two daughters. The jury will now decide his fate in the trial's penalty phase, which began today and is expected to continue into next week.
Defense Attorney Patrick J. Culligan urged jurors to keep an open mind in what he called a "most difficult and trying" case.
"By your verdicts, he no longer has the presumption of innocence," Culligan said. "But there is no presumption at this point that the death penalty is the appropriate punishment."
[Sample Our Free Breaking News Alert And 3 P.M. News Newsletters]
Culligan said the defense today would call six to eight witnesses who have crossed paths with Hayes.
Ex-Court Worker
The first defense witness was D'Arcy Lovetere, a Winsted resident and former court judicial marshal who worked primarily at the courthouse in the Bantam section of Litchfield.
Initially, she said she knew Hayes years ago because he "had a crush" on her daughter, who was a teen at the time. "He would chuckle about it and I would chuckle about it," she said.
She would later see him around Winsted and later in court when he was arrested.
Hayes came around her home but she said she was not concerned.
She later became an investigator and social worker for the public defender's office and said she last saw Hayes shortly before the July 2007 killings in Cheshire.
Today in court, Lovetere said she did not recognize Hayes at first. Hayes, seated next to his public defenders, dressed in navy pants and a collared white shirt with vertical blue stripes, looked at Lovetere as she spoke.
"Frankly, I wouldn't have recognized him. He's lost a lot of weight since the last time I saw him," she said.
When she would see him at the courthouse, Lovetere said, Hayes would talk about "how desperate he was to get a hold and stop the behavior" that landed him in jail.
"He was always a gentleman," she said. "He was always remorseful. This was a man who wanted a life."
She later learned he became a father. "He was very proud of that," she said.
Lovetere said she would suggest to Hayes that he seek drug treatment and he did.
In one group setting during his treatment, she said, her client and Hayes called 911 when another member started having a seizure during a meeting.
She said Hayes was "very motivated to work."
Another client told her Hayes was addicted to crack cocaine.
When asked if the crimes that brought Hayes to court were violent, Lovetere said they were not. "No, I am certain of that," she said.
When asked to describe Hayes as a criminal, Lovetere said he was "a real klutz."
"He wasn't the best criminal in the world for sure," she said. "His addiction overtook him. He would do things that were really foolish and he knew he would get caught."
She said he was also a follower.
In about May 2007, she ran into him in town. "He was struggling," she said, adding that he did not elaborate on how far his drug addiction had gone.
Two months later, while going into work at the courthouse in Litchfield, a co-worker told Lovetere that Hayes had been charged with the Cheshire killings.
"When he told me it was Steven, it knocked the wind out of me. I couldn't believe it," Lovetere said. "I was shocked, just shocked."
During cross-examination, Prosecutor Gary Nicholson asked Lovetere if she was aware that Hayes' work history was "rather minimal." She said she was not aware of that.
Nicholson used the cross-examination to list Hayes' string of burglary convictions, asking if she knew whether he was a "follower" in those crimes. "I have no idea of that," she said.
Nicholson pressed Lovetere about Hayes' being remorseful, asking her whether defendants say they are remorseful in court so they can fare better in front of a judge.
She said defendants do say they are remorseful to get a more lenient sentence.
Under re-direct, Lovetere clarified that when Hayes had a crush on her daughter, he was a teen, too, only a few years older.
Family Friend
The defense's second witness, Robert Palmer, a maintenance worker, lived in the same housing complex as Hayes and was friends with Hayes' brother, Brian.
Palmer, who said he was nervous about testifying, described Hayes' mother as "nice" and "hard-working."
"She always had two or three jobs. She cleaned houses," he said.
Palmer was 14 when he became friends with Hayes' brother. He recalled how Hayes would get arrested for "mainly burglaries," and Palmer said he had heard that Hayes had broken into cars.
Palmer said he did not recall Hayes' being involved in violent crimes and said he was "shocked" to learn Hayes was charged in the home-invasion killings.
He said Brian Hayes is not close to his brother and does not want to have anything to do with him.
Under cross-examination, Palmer said Hayes' brothers were not in trouble with the law and have jobs. He said Brian Hayes and Steven Hayes "never got along."
Prosecutor Michael Dearington asked if the brothers' rift was because Hayes was involved in trouble.
"Yeah, that's possible," Palmer said.
Apartment Manager
Eileen Mullen, an apartment manager, said Hayes came to her office in May 2007 to get an application for an apartment.
She said Hayes told her he was unemployed but said he recently was hired as a construction worker. When asked if he had a problem with her doing a background check, he admitted it would "be a problem."
"I reached for the application and said, 'Please don't bother,'" Mullen said.
Former Employer
Christiane Gehami, owner of a West Hartford restaurant, testified that she hired Hayes as a dishwasher and pantry cook in September 2006.
She said she learned he was living in a halfway house at the time and showed her a token that showed he had been dry.
Gehami said "it went well" with Hayes on the job. She and a manager would sometimes give Hayes a ride back to the halfway house.
"He was good-natured," she said. "He was jovial. He made people laugh."
She said Hayes would talk about a woman he had a crush on who would come into the restaurant. She said he would wait for her.
One day, she and another employee had an argument and the employee left. When the employee returned, she said, Hayes told him he should "not talk to" Gehami that way, and the two men fought.
"What Steve was doing was protecting me," she said.
Hayes left the job in October 2006. In July 2007, Gehami learned Hayes was charged with the killings.
"What was your reaction?" Culligan asked.
"I thought, no way, it's a mistake," she said.
Gehami said when some work needed to be done at the restaurant, Hayes suggested Komisarjevsky.
On the day Komisarjevksy appeared there, she balked at his offer to do work moments after stepping outside to meet him.
"I thought I was looking at the devil," she said. "My skin crawled. My hair stood on end."
Under cross-examination, Dearington asked, "Why did you think you were looking at the devil."
"Dead eyes," she replied.
Book Passages
Earlier today, Culligan said Joshua Komisarjevsky, also charged in the murders, will play a large role in the penalty phase. He said there will be lengthy testimony from Brian McDonald's 2009 book, "In the Middle of the Night: The Shocking True Story of a Family Killed in Cold Blood," which leans heavily on prison interviews with Komisarjevsky.
The 244-page book gives Komisarjevsky's detailed version of what happened the night Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, were killed during a home invasion and robbery inside their Cheshire home. Dr. William Petit was beaten during the ordeal, but survived.
Komisarjevsky, who will be tried next year, claims Hayes killed the family.
After the slayings, McDonald interviewed Komisarjevsky three times at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield and received from him more than 200 pages of handwritten notes. The book intersperses quotes taken directly from letters Komisarjevsky wrote to McDonald that include horrific details about what happened inside the Petit home.
Also this morning, Culligan said the defense team wants jurors to learn about Steven Hayes as he was before the murders. "Some of what you will learn will not be flattering to him," Culligan said. He has a long criminal record of burglaries and thefts.
But Culligan said testimony will also show that Hayes was a good worker and was caring toward his family.
"You will learn he could be a likable person," Culligan said.
He said psychiatrists will also testify about Hayes' mental condition and corrections officials will discuss his living conditions at the prison.
Culligan said he will also offer testimony about a longtime drug addiction Hayes had that forced him to turn to crime to "fuel and satisfy" his need for drugs.
"Many of his life choices were about fueling and satisfying his drug addiction," Culligan said.
And because of that, Culligan said, jurors will learn that Hayes spent most of his adult life in prison.
In brief opening statements, New Haven State's Attorney Michael Dearington told jurors they could rely on the evidence in deciding Hayes' punishment.
Hayes of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, during a July 2007 home invasion at their Cheshire home.
Standing at a makeshift podium in front of the jury box, Dearington said the state would look to three aggravating factors:
Whether the murders of the Petit family were committed in an especially cruel, heinous and depraved manner
Whether Hayes created a grave risk of death to another person
Whether Hayes killed the Petits while committing the same kind of felony for which he had been previously been convicted, third-degree burglary.
Testifying for the state late this morning was Jack Dzekian, a clerk in the criminal clerk's office in New Haven. Dzekian testified about certified copies of criminal docket sheets he had in front of him on the witness stand that showed criminal convictions for a Steven Joseph Hayes.
Those convictions included multiple convictions for third-degree burglary in January 1981, March 1993, October 1996 and October 2003.
With that, the state rested.
Judge Jon C. Blue began the court day by telling jurors what they should expect in the penalty phase, where they will decide whether Hayes should die for the crimes.
Blue called it an "awesome' decision "that will be made by you and you alone." He urged jurors to keep an open mind.
Blue also told them that, while feeling sympathy for either side is natural, their decision on Hayes' punishment should be based strictly on the evidence.
He also reminded them not to be exposed to any publicity about the case, not to conduct their own inquiries about the case, and not to discuss the case with anyone.