10-11-2011, 01:08 PM
NEW HAVEN—
Prosecutor Gary Nicholson began closing arguments Tuesday, reminding jurors of the "horrific" evidence they saw and heard during the trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky.
Nicholson said that in no courtroom could the horrors of the Cheshire home invasion be recreated. He asked jurors to go back to the Petit home on July 23, 2007.
He asked them to imagine what was going through the minds of Hayley and Michaela Petit, who lay tied to their beds as gasoline was being poured on them.
"Ask yourselves, what terror they felt ... they knew the end was near," Nicholson said.
"Hayley and Michaela knew they were going to die a horrible death," Nicholson said. "They were screaming for their lives. They were screaming for mercy, and any help they could get."
Nicholson reminded jurors that Komisarjevsky didn't untie them. "What did the defendant say he did? He closed the door. … Was he in a situation where he didn't want to hear their screams?"
Nicholson stood at a lectern in front of the jury and members of the Petit family. The hushed courtroom was packed. Komisarjevsky's parents, Benedict and Jude Komisarjevsky, and his sister Naomi sat in the row behind the defense table. The wives of defense attorneys Jeremiah Donovan and Walter C. Bansley III also were in court.
Prosecutor Gary Nicholson began closing arguments Tuesday, reminding jurors of the "horrific" evidence they saw and heard during the trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky.
Nicholson said that in no courtroom could the horrors of the Cheshire home invasion be recreated. He asked jurors to go back to the Petit home on July 23, 2007.
He asked them to imagine what was going through the minds of Hayley and Michaela Petit, who lay tied to their beds as gasoline was being poured on them.
"Ask yourselves, what terror they felt ... they knew the end was near," Nicholson said.
"Hayley and Michaela knew they were going to die a horrible death," Nicholson said. "They were screaming for their lives. They were screaming for mercy, and any help they could get."
Nicholson reminded jurors that Komisarjevsky didn't untie them. "What did the defendant say he did? He closed the door. … Was he in a situation where he didn't want to hear their screams?"
Nicholson stood at a lectern in front of the jury and members of the Petit family. The hushed courtroom was packed. Komisarjevsky's parents, Benedict and Jude Komisarjevsky, and his sister Naomi sat in the row behind the defense table. The wives of defense attorneys Jeremiah Donovan and Walter C. Bansley III also were in court.