Petit Family Murders Update: Charges Against Co-Defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky Upheld in Conn. Home Invasion
(CBS/AP) A Connecticut judge has rejected a move to dismiss murder charges against the second defendant in a deadly 2007 home invasion case.
Attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky argued unsuccessfully that charges that could expose him to the death penalty should be tossed out, claiming evidence showed it was co-defendant Steven Hayes who killed Jennifer Hawke Petit and poured the gasoline and lit the fire that led to the deaths of her two daughters.
New Haven Superior Court Judge Brian Fisher also ruled that Judge Jon Blue, who presided over Hayes' trial, will also hear the Komisarjevsky case.
Komisarjevsky's lawyers had argued to remove Blue saying he repeatedly made gratuitous comments during the Hayes trial. Judge Fischer denied the motion and said Blue's statements showed no bias.
Steven Hayes was convicted and condemned to death last November for the 2007 murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley.
Jury selection for Joshua Komisarjevsky's trial is set to start March 14.