Convicted Cheshire Killer Portrayed As Petty Criminal
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- A Connecticut man convicted of a deadly home invasion was portrayed Friday by his defense as someone who took pains to avoid confrontations and as a petty thief so unsophisticated he would return to a crime scene to break into cars by smashing windows with rocks.
By contrast, Steven Hayes' attorney tried to show that Hayes' co-defendant was a home invasion specialist who wore night-vision goggles as he broke into homes with children present and bragged of even breaking into a state trooper's home.
A New Haven Superior Court jury is hearing testimony to decide whether Hayes should get a death sentence or life in prison in the killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters in Cheshire. Hayes' attorneys have focused heavily on co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky, calling him the mastermind of the crime who escalated the violence.
After the deadly 2007 home invasion, Hayes was so remorseful he tried to kill himself, but Komisarjevsky wrote of how he enjoyed aspects of the crime, Dr. Eric Goldsmith, a psychiatrist, testified Friday.
"They are polar opposite responses,'' Goldsmith said. Komisarjevsky's writings were similar to those of a psychopath, he said.
Prosecutors say both men are equally responsible. Komisarjevsky faces trial next year.
Also Friday, Superior Court Judge Jon Blue dismissed a juror who was overheard making a derogatory comment to another juror.
A clerk heard the comment, possibly directed at Goldsmith or Hayes' attorney, on Friday after testimony resumed.
An alternate juror will be chosen to replace the dismissed panelist. There is now only one alternate juror left.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
