Petit Murder Trial: Shocking Cellphone Photos Of Young Michaela Shown To Jury
Sept. 28 2011, Published 10:00 a.m. ET
By Breaking Celebrity News Staff
The horror surrounding the Petit family murders was taken to new extremes on Wednesday as jurors viewed graphic photos of one of the young victims, 11-year-old Michaela, on the suspect's cellphone, Breaking Celebrity News has learned.
The disturbing images of the girl, who was one of the three victims in the 2007 home invasion that escalated into Connecticut's most shocking murder, were taken by accused killer Joshua Komisarjevsky, the second suspect to stand trial for the grisly crimes.
As Breaking Celebrity News previously reported, 31-year-old Komisarjevsky is charged with 17 counts including murder, abduction and assault in the triple homicide of a mother and her two children, and the beating of their father.
The grisly case revolves around the seven-hour abduction of Dr. William Petit, his wife Jennifer Hawke-Petit and their daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, who were held hostage in their Cheshire home on July 22, 2007.
Earlier in the trial, horrific details emerged of the sexual assault endured by Michaela in the hours before she died. The court heard how the youngest Petit daughter's clothes were cut off with scissors before the defendant ejaculated on her stomach and took photos of her on his cell phone.
Police investigator John Farnham told the New Haven, Connecticut court on Wednesday how he found eight photos of the girl on Komisarjevsky's phone following his arrest, reported the Hartford Courant.
According to testimony from state forensics science examiner, John Brunetti, six of the pictures were of a young female, dressed in a skirt or wrap, from 7:27 a.m. until 9:14 a.m. the day of the killings (July 23, 2007).
Dr. William Petit, the sole survivor of the home invasion, looked on as the photos of his daughter were passed around jurors in a manila folder.
Komisarjevsky's accomplice, Steven Hayes was tried for his part in the crimes last year and sentenced to death on December 2.