Photos of rope and pantyhose used to tie up Petit girls shown in court
(CBS/AP) NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Jurors on Tuesday saw photos of rope and pantyhose used to tie up two girls left to die in a fire during the gruesome 2007 Connecticut home invasion. The jury also saw their charred beds and the containers that held the gasoline used to fuel the fire.
Pictures: Petit Family Murders
The evidence was presented by prosecutors in the trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky, who faces a possible death sentence if convicted.His co-defendant, Steven Hayes, was convicted last year of strangling Jennifer Hawke-Petit after taking her to a bank to get money and killing her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela. Hayes was sentenced to death.
Komisarjevsky admits to beating Hawke-Petit's husband Dr. William Petit, with a bat and molesting his younger daughter after cutting off her clothes with scissors. But he blames Hayes for the three killings.
Prosecutors also showed jurors photos of the girl's cut bra and scissors found in the room.
The Petit home in Cheshire was doused in gas and set on fire after the girls were tied to their beds. Petit was tied up as well but he managed to escape to a neighbor's house to get help.
Prosecutors showed jurors photos of a man getting gas at a local station in the Petits' car that they say was Hayes.
A dog trained to detect gas found spots believed to be accelerants on the floor of the girls' bedrooms, in the hallway and on the staircase, Connecticut State Police Sgt. Karen Gabianelli said.
Jurors also were shown photos of melted plastic containers that held the gas and the victims' charred clothes. They also saw knit hats with holes cut in them recovered at the scene authorities say the men wore.
Michaela's clothes had bleach stains, Gabianelli said. Hayes' attorney said during his trial that Komisarjevsky had poured bleach on her clothes to try to eliminate his DNA.
Hayes and Komisarjevsky have tried to blame each other for escalating the crime but prosecutors say both men are responsible.