The Petit Family MurdersI Murder By Design #32

You're more likely to be a victim of violent crime in some parts of the country you live in than others, but the terrifying reality is that your safety is an illusion. We have as much control over our safety as we do the weather and we can go home and lock our doors but the same can be said about our home. In the case of the Cheshire Murders, evil was waiting for the right moment to pounce on the Petit family, and it entered the home and destroyed the lives of four people by walking through an unlocked door.

In the summer of 2006, two men with a long history of non-violent crimes met and became friends in a local drug treatment centre. Steven Hayes, 47, had a long history of substance abuse and disciplinary problems in jail. He had already attempted rehab once, but then discovered crack which culminated into an 11-day burglary spree, interrupted periodically by crack binges. When he met Joshua Komisarjevsky, 30 it was match made in hell, a crystal meth and cocaine addict who had been hooked on his drugs of choice since age 19 and a perversion to under age girls. He broke into upscale homes and stole whatever he could get his hands on to support his habit.

Doctor Bill Petit., 50, his wife Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and the couple’s two daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, lived the good life at 300 Sorghum Mill Drive in Cheshire, Connecticut. They weren’t filthy rich, but they were more than comfortable but to Komisarjevsky and Hayes they would seem two have the world and the wanted it!

When Josh komisarjevsky spotted 11-year-old Michaela Petit in a mall he could not take his eyes off the girl and her followed her and her mother home and it set the death clock ticking.Many believe this brutal crime was more motivated but lust then financial gain but the true motives may never be known.