Six years after a horrific home invasion that left three Connecticut women dead, questions still abound over law enforcement's response to the tragedy.
NBC Connecticut reports that HBO's new documentary, which aired Monday, “The Cheshire Murders,” includes interviews with family and community members who were rocked by the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11. Dr. William Petit was the only victim who survived the attack on July 23, 2007.
A memorial mass for those affected by the killings took place Tuesday morning.
People Magazine describes what happened six years ago:
In July 2007, Steven Hayes and Joshua Komiserjevsky broke into the home of Connecticut doctor William Petit and held the family hostage for hours. After bludgeoning Dr. Petit with a baseball bat, they strangled his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit and assaulted the couple's two daughters, Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17. Then, they set the house on fire, killing both girls.
Hayes' daughter, Alicia recalls her reaction to the killings in an interview with the magazine.
"My mom and I were driving to the bank," Hayes said. "She turned to me and said, 'Alicia, there's something I need to tell you. Your father did something really bad.' And then she told me everything. I went numb."
The Hartford Courant reports that the documentary, as well as newly released police phone calls from the morning of the incident, raise questions about how police responded.
One of the calls comes from a hostage negotiator who was not asked to report to the scene. Police have never explained why he was not called in nor has the department conducted a review of the incident.
"Nobody in that department ever looked at what they did or didn't do right or wrong,'' Cindy Renn, Jennifer Hawke-Petit's sister, told the Courant. "Admit when you make mistakes and do better the next time and save people's lives."
View more videos at: http://nbcconnecticut.com.
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