Judge Denies Komisarjevsky Request to Respond to Petit

A Superior Court judge has denied a defense motion to allow Joshua Komisarjevsky to respond to negative characterizations of him by the families of the Cheshire home invasion triple homicide victims.

Judge Roland D. Fasano ruled that the memoriam placed in the New Haven Register and other newspapers last month on the July 23 anniversary of the home invasion murders was "clearly intended as a tribute to tragically lost family members and fashioned to attract little notice other than that of family and friends."

Komisarjevsky’s motion, filed last week and unsealed Monday, said the memoriam was part of an "ongoing public relations campaign" to portray the homicide defendant as "the embodiment of pure evil" and threaten his right to a fair trial.

His lawyers asked the judge to waive the restrictions of a gag order and allow Komisarjevsky to respond.

Judge Fasano noted that the memoriam did not refer to Komisarjevsky or the trial and "any resulting adverse publicity is negligible at best."

On the other hand, the defendant’s motion generated considerable news media publicity, the judge said.

Therefore, Judge Fasano ordered that any subsequent motions to make "extrajudicial statements" must be filed under seal in order to comply with the gag order.

The motion contained the statement that Komisarjevsky asked to make, and Patch.com and a number of other news organizations quoted from it.

The motion by defense attorneys said Komisarjevsky is a damaged human being and has expressed remorse for what he did.

Komisarjevsky’s statement took issue with the negative characterizations made by Dr. William Petit and other family members who said that Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela, were the victims of "pure evil," referring to the defendants in the case.

Komisarjevsky faces the death penalty if he is convicted. His trial is scheduled to start in September.

His co-defendant, Steven Hayes, was convicted last year and is on death row.