[Music] day after day we are surrounded by the presence of [Music] criminals we are spectators to the deepest darkness in human actions and the bizarre reality that someone's suffering can be a form of pleasure as dedicated investigators of the criminal World we're on a mission to uncover the most shocking crimes and get inside the minds of those who could MIT them I am Luke and today I bring you another unreal True [Music] Crime the Petit family case the Petit family was indeed seen as a model family fulfilling the best expectations with with their stable economic
background and exemplary children they were genuinely admired by those around them the Father William petite was born and raised in Connecticut and stood out in almost every sport during High School particularly in basketball where he was a natural leader in addition to his athletic prowess he was also the most intelligent of his class as evidenced by his completion of a law degree at darkmouth University however his true calling was not law he wanted to help people care for the sick and make the world a better place so after graduating he decided to pursue a career
in medicine at the University of Pittsburgh during his third year of residency at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh William met Jennifer Hawk a nurse in the oncology area and co-director of the health center of a pregraduate internship they soon fell in love and those who knew them affirmed they were perfect perfect for each other they got married in 1985 4 years later they welcomed their first daughter Haley and the pregnancy spurred them to form a large family leading them to buy a house in chesher Connecticut on November 17 1995 their second daughter Michaela was born
after recovering from childbirth Jenifer continued her work as a nurse and co-director of the internship unfortunately she later developed multiple sclerosis an incurable disease she battled for the rest of her life however her family never ceased to support her at the age of 10 their eldest daughter began fundraising for the national Multiple Sclerosis Society which would raise significant funds over the years Michaela also excelled academically and planned to take over the fundraising efforts when her sister went to college to continue helping her community she had spent the summer learning to cook and often enjoyed preparing
meals for her family tragically this routine activity would lead the family to a Fateful Encounter with their perpetrator one July night in 2007 Michaela Was preparing dinner for her family but needed more ingredients for her recipe so she and her mother went to the nearest market at the same place was Joshua Kamas arski who had recently been released from prison commer jy's childhood was traumatic and complicated born to teenage parents he was put up for adoption a week after birth by his mother and was adopted by the commer jvy family known for their reputation as
distinguished artists in Europe they were a religious family and very strict with him despite his high IQ he struggled in school leading his parents to homeschool him during his trial he claimed that he was sexually abused by a cousin in his childhood but his family chose to keep it quiet this led him to develop a rebellious and chaotic personality by the age of 14 Joshua Kamas orvi had been accused of abusing his sister and it was around this time that he committed his first burglary marking the start of his career as a thief in 2002
he was arrested for the first time on 18 charges of burglary and theft and was subsequently sentenced to 9 years in prison during the trial he made a chilling statement saying I like to listen to people while they sleep I like the feeling of invading their privacy and insecurity he was released on parole in 2007 at the age of 27 officials in charge considered him a danger to society being the calculating criminal with perverted Tendencies however the jury did not heed the warnings and declared Joshua ostensibly fit for release after his release he stayed in
a residence for ex-convicts where he met his accomplice stevenh Hayes Hayes had spent a significant portion of his life in prison first being incarcerated at the age of 16 in the Year 1980 over the years he was frequently arrested for violent robbery and burglary he was sentenced in 2004 and again granted Parole in 2006 which led him to the same halfway house where he met commas arvi returning to the night of July 22 2007 Michela Petit Was preparing dinner for her family but realized she needed more ingredients for her recipe she asked her mother to
take her to the nearest market to shop little did they know they were being observed by commas arji who meticulously noted every detail the make and model of their vehicle their faces and Michaela's blonde hair after shopping the Petit family returned home unaware that they were being followed shortly afterwards Hayes sent a text message to commas Arvy that read I'm chopping at the bit to get started need a margarita soon Hayes then texted we still on commissar jsky replied yes Hayes's next text asked soon to which commas orjy replied I'm putting the kid to bed
hold your horses Hayes replied dude the horses want to get loose commas orvi discreetly trailed the family in his car learning the exact location of their home before withdrawing from the scene the family enjoyed what seemed like a peaceful and normal dinner unaware that it would be their last moment together in the early hours while everyone slept except for the Father William petite who had dozed off in the living room their peace was shattered by strange noises inside the house the next thing William remembered was a sense of grogginess pain and an inability to formulate
a coherent thought commas AR jvi and Hayes had entered the house through an unlocked door and initially planned to rob the family however the night took a tragic turn they found a baseball bat in the house and used it to repeatedly beat William who remained conscious despite the assault he heard one of The Intruders say if he moves shoot him William was then tied up with zip ties and ropes immobilized and bound to a pole in the basement The Intruders then went upstairs to find Haley's room where she was sleeping Haley and Michaela ptit were
tied by their hands and feet to their bed posts and their heads were covered with pillowcases meanwhile in the master bedroom Jennifer petid had fallen asleep The Intruders quietly entered the room and woke her up without much effort they tied Jennifer's hands and feet feeling in control of the house The Intruders took their time to inspect it even smoking cigarettes in the living room after collecting jewelry cash and other valuables they decided to leave it seemed the ordeal was over for the Petit family as they heard the burglars leaving however their torment was far from
over after selling the stolen items at a pawn shop and realizing they hadn't gotten as much money as expected the ex-convicts motivated by greed decided to return to the house they then found a check register with $40,000 they decided to steal $155,000 they also had stopped to fill a couple of gasoline cans before returning as seen in surveillance camera footage back at the house they told Jennifer their plan threatening to kill her entire family if she didn't cooperate desperate but thinking of her daughter's safety Jennifer agreed to accompany Steven to the bank the next morning
meanwhile Joshua took advantage of of Jennifer's absence entering Michaela's room untying her and beginning to undress her he took photos with his cell phone and assaulted her recording the ACT afterward he took her to the bathroom to clean her ensuring no DNA evidence was left then ordered her to put her pajamas back on and tied her up again evidence that Kamas arvi raped Michaela came from her autopsy during which state medical examiner Dr Wayne Carver found his DNA in her body at the bank everything seemingly went well but Steven failed to notice what Jennifer did
while in the quw before approaching the teller she wrote a note on a flyer asking for help the note read my name is Jennifer Hawk peti I need to withdraw $115,000 from my savings account my family is in danger please call the police or they will be killed the teller decided to give her the money even though Jennifer had no identification with the cash in hand Jennifer left the bank to return to the car with her captor while the bank employee immediately called the police to report the incident the manager told the dispatcher of the
911 line that Hawk Petit had indicated that the home Invaders were being nice and that she believed they only wanted money the chesher police responded to the bank's report by assessing the situation and setting up a vehicle perimeter without revealing their presence the police now aware of the situation observed from a distance without intervening back at the house Joshua told his accomplice what he had done to Michaela suggesting he could do the same to Jennifer without hesitation Steven subdued Jennifer pressed her body to the ground and began to undress her William was able to hear
his wife's assault upstairs he yelled up and heard one of the Invaders say don't worry it's all going to be over in a couple of minutes meanwhile William petite regaining Consciousness and hearing his wife's screams managed to free himself and crawl to the basement stairs eventually making it to the backyard he later said I thought it's now or never because in my mind at that moment I thought they were going to shoot all of us in a minute Joshua went to check on William only to find that he had escaped Hayes said in her confession
that while he was raping Hawk Pati on the living room floor commer jsky entered and announced that William had escaped hearing this Steven strangled Jennifer to death while continuing to assault her soon after they heard William shouting for help his neighbor who initially didn't recognize him due to the injuries called 911 immediately realizing the police would soon be called The Intruders decided to eliminate all evidence haves and commas orvy dowed Jennifer's lifeless body and parts of the house including the daughter's bedrooms and daughters themselves with gasoline investigators would later find the accelerant on the Petit
sister's beds and on the clothing they were wearing Hayes and commas arvi started a fire and flood the scene unaware that the authorities had blocked the area a few miles ahead they collided with a police vehicle within 5 minutes after after they were surrounded by the police the two perpetrators were pulled from their vehicle and arrested they were immediately identified as ex-convicts meanwhile the fire in the house was rapidly growing an ambulance arrived and transported The Gravely injured father Dr William petite to the nearest hospital shortly afterward firefighters attempted to combat The Blaze and upon
extinguishing it discovered a horrific scene in the remnants of the house the first body found was that of Jennifer completely ched with remnants of rope around her ankles upon reaching the second floor they found Michaela tied to her bed completely consumed by the fire Haley surprisingly had managed to force her restraints and attempted to escape but collapsed just a few meters away having inhaled too much smoke William had been able to free himself of his restraints exit the house and crawl to a neighbor yard for help the neighbor initially did not recognize him due to
the severity of his injuries both Hayes and commas arji confessed to the murders detectives testified that hay smelled of gasoline throughout her interrogation each as salent claimed that the other was the driving force and Mastermind behind the home invasion commer jevy also blamed William for the murders in commer jy's diary which was later entered into evidence he called William a coward and claimed that he could have saved his family if he wanted to Steven Hay's trial began on September 13 2010 with a jury of seven women and five men the defense argued that Joshua Kamas
arvi was the mastermine behind the crime and responsible for escalating its violent nature while prosecutors held that both Hayes and commas arji shared responsibility on October 5 after about 5 hours of deliberation the jury found Hayes guilty the sentencing phase began on October 18 with the jury initially split over recommending life imprisonment or death Hay's defense argued that life imprisonment without parole would be a harsher punishment on November 8th the jury recommended the death sentence for Hayes on each of the six Capital felony counts Hayes had previously attempted to negotiate a plea bargain for a
life sentence but prosecutors sought the death penalty Dr William petite the sole survivor commented on the verdict and the Connecticut state judicial branch offered post traumatic stress assistance to jurors due to the disturbing nature of the trial for the first time in State history the Connecticut state judicial branch offered post-traumatic stress assistance to jurors who served for two months on the triple murder trial because they had been required to look at disturbing images and hear Grizzly testimony on December 2 2010 Hayes apologized for the pain and suffering he had caused the Petit family and added
that death for me will be a welcome relief and I hope it will bring some peace and comfort to those who I have Hur so much Judge John blue imposed six death sentences and an additional 106 years for other crimes however Hay's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in August 2015 when Connecticut abolished capital punishment Joshua Kamas or jv's trial began on September 19 2011 his attorneys offered a guilty plea in exchange for a life sentence but prosecutors aimed for the death penalty arguing that commer jevy was a confused man led by Hayes commas
sjy was found guilty on October 13 2011 and the jury recommended the death penalty on December 9 2011 during his sentencing commer jsky spoke about his shame and hurt caused by the crime insisting that he did not intend to kill anyone judge blue set July 20th 2012 as commiss jbk's execution date echoing his responsibility for the crime however like Hayes commer jy's death sentence was converted to life imprisonment in August 2015 after Connecticut abolished the death penalty the trials and subsequent sentencing of Hayes and commas arvi marked a significant and harrowing chapter in Connecticut's legal
history the brutal nature of the crimes and the trials emotional toll on all involved including the jurors highlighted the complexities and challenges of the legal system in dealing with such henus acts Dr petite statements during the trials underscored the lasting impact of the crime on Surviving family members and the community which continues to honor the memory of the victims the only Survivor Dr William petite was discharged from the hospital 4 days after his admission to attend the funeral of his family haunted by guilt and the torment of having survived he later established a foundation to
help children and young victims of violence raising hundreds of thousands of dollars subsequently as a member of the Republican Party he ventured into politics and became a state representative the murders of the Petit family left a deep impact on the community which gathered s annually to pay tribute to them questions remain among family members and the public about whether the authorities acted correctly in their response to the situation the time spent by the authorities observing the situation from a distance could have been crucial in preventing the tragedy this concludes today's case update as always I
appreciate your support for my work if you subscribe like and share this video it helps me continue creating content this was another episode of unreal True Crime see you [Music] soon
