Deliberations Begin In Cheshire Invasion Trial
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP/CBS 2/ WCBS 880) --A Connecticut jury has completed its first day of deliberations in the trial of a man charged with killing a woman and her two daughters in a 2007 home invasion.
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The jury in New Haven Superior Court met for about two hours Monday afternoon after receiving instructions from the judge. The panel will return Tuesday to continue deliberations.
New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue gave jury instructions Monday morning in the trial of Steven Hayes, who's facing 17 charges, including capital felony, murder and sexual assault.
The 12 jurors heard eight days of testimony about the killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley, at their Cheshire home. Hawke-Petit's husband, Dr. William Petit, was beaten but survived.
There were over 240 exhibits in the jury room -- including the crime scene photos and preserved evidence from the murder scene -- that the jury asked for a larger room to deliberate in, CBS 2's Lou Young reported.
Petit left court just before 5 p.m. after learning jury deliberations would go into a second day.
Hayes and a second suspect who is awaiting trial, Joshua Komisarjevsky, face the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.
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