Community Corner

Video Testimony of Komisarjevsky's Daughter Could be Shown

Joshua Komisarjevsky was found guilty on all counts in the home invasion that escalated to a triple murder, but whether he lives or dies remains to be seen.

It appears likely that Joshua Komisarjevsky’s 9-year-old daughter will testify to jurors deciding whether the murderer should get the death penalty. 

According to the Hartford Courant, a recorded video would be shown to jurors rather than having the girl appear in the courtroom.

Sources said the girl would be "spoken to," probably next week, and that it was unlikely that she would be questioned by attorneys in the case.

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The attorney for the girl's guardian, Raymond Hassett, said he would file a motion later Monday to close the courtroom to the public when the jury gets to see the video.

Update at 4:40 p.m. on Nov. 10

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Dr. William Petit, the survivor the 2007 home invasion that ended with his wife and two daughters dead, was forced to remove his vest in the courtroom, which displayed the logo of the Connecticut chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Petit’s wife, who was strangled to death, had MS, reported the Republican American.

Judge Jon C. Blue ruled earlier this year that family members and supporters of Petit could wear a small pin with the Petit Family Foundation logo on it. Other insignia or logos have not been allowed. As a matter of routine, Donovan counts the number of pins at the beginging of most court days.

"I've allowed the pins, but don't test me any farther," Blue said, prompting Petit to take off his vest as Blue spoke.

The attorney representing the state said that the wearing of the vest was “not deliberate” or “done with bad intent.”

Update at 5:35 p.m. on Nov. 9

Four days before Joshua Komisarjevsky committed a brutal home invasion and triple murder, a monitoring bracelet was removed from his ankle by his parole officer.

According to the Republican American:

Komisajevsky's parole officer, Abigail Cintron, testified that she placed the ankle bracelet on Komisarjevsky on March 21, when he was released to her from a Hartford halfway house. She removed the bracelet on July 19. His conditions of parole required that he be monitored for only three months.

Komisarjevsky was found guilty of 17 charges in the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters during a home invasion on July 23, 2007.

Update at 6:25 p.m. on Nov. 8

In an interview with Radar Online, Caroline Mesel, ex-girlfriend of convicted killer Joshua Komisarjevsky, talks about what he was like as a boyfriend – and as a father.

"His daughter was adorable, he loved her to death. He was a great dad," Mesel told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview, as she revealed how 31-year-old Komisarjevsky cared for his then five-year-old daughter.

Joshua was granted sole custody of the girl two months before the murders after being embroiled in a bitter custody battle with her mother, Jennifer Norton, who was being treated at a crisis intervention unit.

Mesel was dating Komisarjevsky at the time of the 2007 home invasion and murders. She told the website that she met Steven Hayes, the accomplice in the murders, and that he was “creepy.”

Update at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 7

With Joshua Komisarjevsky facing the death penalty for his role in a triple murder and the sexual assault of a young girl, his psychologist told jurors about a history of sexual abuse he suffered as a child.

According to the Associated Press:

Clinical psychologist Leslie Lebowitz testified Monday in New Haven Superior Court that she met with Komisarjevsky more than a dozen times for a psychological evaluation of him. Lebowitz said she concluded Komisarjevsky was sexually abused "not every day, but a lot" [by his adopted brother].

Komisarjevsky's defense says his strictly religious family never got him proper psychological treatment.

However, she said there was no excuse for the crimes Komisarjevsky was convicted of.

For complete coverage of the trial, including a review of the first portion of the penalty phase and the guilt portions of the trial, .


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