09-26-2011, 05:41 PM
NEW HAVEN—
Hayley Petit died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning, an associate state medical examiner who performed the autopsy on the 17-year-old girl who died in the Cheshire home invasion testified Monday afternoon in Joshua Komisarjevsky's trial. Death would have overtaken the girl in as little as a few moments as her body suffocated, said Dr. Malka Shah.
Shah said she found burned remnants of rope tied around Hayley's right wrist and ankles and soot in her nose and mouth. The remains of her clothing smelled of gas.
Hayley had burns all over her body, but Shah said she could not determine whether the burns occurred before or after death.
Under questioning by prosecutor Michael Dearington, Shah said the rope on Hayley's wrist was tightly tied in a square knot.
The evidence suggests Hayley, who died face-down in the hallway, was able to free herself from the bed by breaking the rope ties.
Earlier, prosecutors took the jury inside the Stop & Shop supermarket on July 22, 2007, where Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her younger daughter, Michaela, 11, shopped for the family's last dinner together before the slayings. Monday would have been Hawke-Petit's 53rd birthday.
Supermarket surveillance photos captured Hawke-Petit and Michaela — referred to as "females of interest" by Lucinda Phelan — in unguarded moments browsing the produce aisles.
Michaela, wearing a sleeveless shirt and ponytail, can be seen carrying a bag of tomatoes.
In the courtroom, Dr. William A. Petit Jr., the sole survivor of the home invasion, stared up at the photos of his wife and daughter displayed on a movie screen as his sister, Johanna Petit Chapman, placed her hand on his back.
Prosecutors say it was during this shopping trip that Komisarjevsky spotted Hawke-Petit and Michaela exiting the store and followed them to their home.
Jurors also saw surveillance video from the bank ATM inside the supermarket, where Michael Ranno testified he withdrew money to pay Komisarjevsky for a roofing job. The prosecution compared the time on the supermarket's video with the bank's photos, to show that Komisarjevsky was at the Stop & Shop at the same time as Hawke-Petit and Michaela.
Hayley Petit died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning, an associate state medical examiner who performed the autopsy on the 17-year-old girl who died in the Cheshire home invasion testified Monday afternoon in Joshua Komisarjevsky's trial. Death would have overtaken the girl in as little as a few moments as her body suffocated, said Dr. Malka Shah.
Shah said she found burned remnants of rope tied around Hayley's right wrist and ankles and soot in her nose and mouth. The remains of her clothing smelled of gas.
Hayley had burns all over her body, but Shah said she could not determine whether the burns occurred before or after death.
Under questioning by prosecutor Michael Dearington, Shah said the rope on Hayley's wrist was tightly tied in a square knot.
The evidence suggests Hayley, who died face-down in the hallway, was able to free herself from the bed by breaking the rope ties.
Earlier, prosecutors took the jury inside the Stop & Shop supermarket on July 22, 2007, where Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her younger daughter, Michaela, 11, shopped for the family's last dinner together before the slayings. Monday would have been Hawke-Petit's 53rd birthday.
Supermarket surveillance photos captured Hawke-Petit and Michaela — referred to as "females of interest" by Lucinda Phelan — in unguarded moments browsing the produce aisles.
Michaela, wearing a sleeveless shirt and ponytail, can be seen carrying a bag of tomatoes.
In the courtroom, Dr. William A. Petit Jr., the sole survivor of the home invasion, stared up at the photos of his wife and daughter displayed on a movie screen as his sister, Johanna Petit Chapman, placed her hand on his back.Prosecutors say it was during this shopping trip that Komisarjevsky spotted Hawke-Petit and Michaela exiting the store and followed them to their home.
Jurors also saw surveillance video from the bank ATM inside the supermarket, where Michael Ranno testified he withdrew money to pay Komisarjevsky for a roofing job. The prosecution compared the time on the supermarket's video with the bank's photos, to show that Komisarjevsky was at the Stop & Shop at the same time as Hawke-Petit and Michaela.