Petit Family Murders: Alleged Mastermind's Ex-Girlfriend Says, "I Could Have Probably Prevented It"

NEW YORK (CBS) The ex-girlfriend of the alleged mastermind of a deadly Connecticut home invasion says, under the right circumstances, "I could have probably prevented it."

In an interview for "Inside Edition," Caroline Mesel says accused killer Joshua Komisarjevsky hatched the 2007 robbery scheme that ended with the murder of three members of the Petit family, to get money to bring her back to Connecticut from Arkansas.

That's according to a published report which says Mesel also told the program her guilt about the case has since turned to anger.

In the interview with Inside Edition which was obtained by The New York Post, Mesel said Komisarjevsky was desperate for cash so that he could bring her back north and start a life together.

She says Komisarjevsky even mentioned a specific dollar amount, $15,000 - the exact same amount his convicted cohort Steven Hayes asked Jennifer Hawke-Petit to withdraw from her bank account the morning she was murdered.

"He's like, 'I would even rob a bank, you know, to get money for you,'" Mesel told Inside Edition.

"I get so mad thinking about it," Mesel told the program, in an interview to be broadcast Thursday night. "I kind of wish I could do to him what he did to the girls. I kind of wish he could feel what they went through."

On Tuesday, Hayes, was convicted  on 16 out of 17 charges, including six capital felony charges, three murder counts, and two charges of sexually assaulting Hawke-Petit, who was murdered along with her daughters, Haley, 17, and Michaela, 11.

Joshua Komisarjevsky's capital murder trial is expected to begin next year for his role in the murders.

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