NEW HAVEN -
Dr. William Petit has asked the state attorney general to look into whether the state Department of Correction acted improperly when it allowed murder suspect Joshua Komisarjevsky to be interviewed for a book.
Petit, whose wife and two daughters were murdered in a July 2007 home invasion, spoke briefly outside Superior Court here Friday afternoon after a court hearing on the case.
Komisarjevsky, 29, of Cheshire, and Steven Hayes, 46, of Winsted, both face the death penalty in the slayings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11 on July 23, 2007, inside their Cheshire home. Petit was beaten with a baseball bat during the attack but survived.
The book, titled "In the Middle of the Night: The Shocking True Story of a Family Killed in Cold Blood," by Brian McDonald, was published in late September. Many members of the Cheshire community have sought to have the book banned from the local library.
Petit, who has asked that the book be boycotted, said that he has asked Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to look into whether Komisarjevsky was paid for the interviews.
"One would think that [the DOC] would be at the top of their game, while they're in charge of" these suspects, Petit said.
In a statement released Friday evening, Blumenthal said his office is investigating McDonald's interviews with Komisarjevsky.
"We understand and respect Dr. Petit's concerns, which we share, and we will do everything we can to address them. An investigation has been underway to determine facts relating to McDonald's interviewing Joshua Komisarjevsky," the statement said. Blumenthal said a court-imposed gag order in the case prevents him from commenting further.
In a motion filed last month in Superior Court, Komisarjevsky asked the court to keep evidence about the jailhouse communications he allegedly had with the author of the book out of the hands of Hayes.
Hayes' lawyers are seeking information from the state Department of Correction about visits and correspondence between McDonald and Komisarjevsky when Komisarjevsky was jailed at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield.
In the book, Komisarjevsky blames Hayes for the slayings.
The subpoena, served on the DOC in October, seeks all correspondence between Komisarjevsky and McDonald, including "all taped inmate phone and visiting room communications," communications with "law enforcement personnel and/or the state's attorney's office regarding" the visits and "all inmate trust fund records documenting funds received from McDonald."
Hayes' subpoena followed defense motions filed in response to McDonald's book that ask the court to reveal what, if any, information prosecutors had about the book before it was published.
Hayes' attorneys, Thomas J. Ullmann and Patrick J. Culligan, also are seeking an arrest warrant for Komisarjevsky for criminal contempt of court, claiming his conversations with McDonald violated a court-imposed gag order in the case.
Komisarjevsky's motion says parts of McDonald's book are "fictionalized" but states the book "offers a largely evenhanded review" of the crime. The motion says it is unclear whether Komisarjevsky violated the gag order "due to the lack of an established timeline" for the communications. Those communications "were likely a byproduct of long-standing mental health issues that were exacerbated greatly in the period following arrest," the motion says.
Petit, whose wife and two daughters were murdered in a July 2007 home invasion, spoke briefly outside Superior Court here Friday afternoon after a court hearing on the case.
Komisarjevsky, 29, of Cheshire, and Steven Hayes, 46, of Winsted, both face the death penalty in the slayings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11 on July 23, 2007, inside their Cheshire home. Petit was beaten with a baseball bat during the attack but survived.
The book, titled "In the Middle of the Night: The Shocking True Story of a Family Killed in Cold Blood," by Brian McDonald, was published in late September. Many members of the Cheshire community have sought to have the book banned from the local library.
Petit, who has asked that the book be boycotted, said that he has asked Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to look into whether Komisarjevsky was paid for the interviews.
"One would think that [the DOC] would be at the top of their game, while they're in charge of" these suspects, Petit said.
In a statement released Friday evening, Blumenthal said his office is investigating McDonald's interviews with Komisarjevsky.
"We understand and respect Dr. Petit's concerns, which we share, and we will do everything we can to address them. An investigation has been underway to determine facts relating to McDonald's interviewing Joshua Komisarjevsky," the statement said. Blumenthal said a court-imposed gag order in the case prevents him from commenting further.
In a motion filed last month in Superior Court, Komisarjevsky asked the court to keep evidence about the jailhouse communications he allegedly had with the author of the book out of the hands of Hayes.
Hayes' lawyers are seeking information from the state Department of Correction about visits and correspondence between McDonald and Komisarjevsky when Komisarjevsky was jailed at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield.
In the book, Komisarjevsky blames Hayes for the slayings.
The subpoena, served on the DOC in October, seeks all correspondence between Komisarjevsky and McDonald, including "all taped inmate phone and visiting room communications," communications with "law enforcement personnel and/or the state's attorney's office regarding" the visits and "all inmate trust fund records documenting funds received from McDonald."
Hayes' subpoena followed defense motions filed in response to McDonald's book that ask the court to reveal what, if any, information prosecutors had about the book before it was published.
Hayes' attorneys, Thomas J. Ullmann and Patrick J. Culligan, also are seeking an arrest warrant for Komisarjevsky for criminal contempt of court, claiming his conversations with McDonald violated a court-imposed gag order in the case.
Komisarjevsky's motion says parts of McDonald's book are "fictionalized" but states the book "offers a largely evenhanded review" of the crime. The motion says it is unclear whether Komisarjevsky violated the gag order "due to the lack of an established timeline" for the communications. Those communications "were likely a byproduct of long-standing mental health issues that were exacerbated greatly in the period following arrest," the motion says.
