No jurors picked on 1st day of Conn. trial for man charged in 3 home invasion killings

No jurors yet in Conn. home invasion killings

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — No jurors were picked Tuesday, on the first day of jury selection for the trial of one of two men charged with killing a mother and her two daughters during a home invasion in a Connecticut suburb more than two years ago.

The prosecution and defense questioned prospective jurors in New Haven Superior Court for the trial of Steven Hayes. One college student was excused after she broke down crying, saying the case made her uncomfortable.

Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky have pleaded not guilty to capital felony murder and other crimes in the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley. The men face the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.

Hayes and Komisarjevsky are accused of breaking into the Petit home in Cheshire, beating Dr. William Petit, strangling his wife and setting the house on fire. The girls, who had been tied to their beds, died of smoke inhalation.

Petit said he was happy jury selection had started and hoped it would lead to justice for his family.

The trial is scheduled to start in September and is expected to last three weeks to three months, including a penalty phase if Hayes is convicted.