'Josh went to jail for something he did at work': Jury shown video of home invasion killer's nine-year-old daughter in hopes they will spare his life
- Only jurors saw video testimony from Joshua Komisarjevsky's daughter
- Girl refers to him as 'Daddy Josh' and 'Nana's son'
- Said he 'went to jail for something he did at work'
- Komisarjevsky did not want daughter defending 'one of the most hated people in America'
- Jury continues to deliberate on whether or not to give him the death penalty
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Defence attorneys today played a videotaped interview of a nine-year-old girl whose father is facing a possible death sentence for a home invasion that killed three people.
Joshua Komisarjevsky's daughter giggles frequently in the 20 minute video as she talks to a child welfare expert about her dogs and other animals and her toys. At one point, she says she used to play with 'Nana's son Josh' and says he went to jail for something.
Komisarjevsky, 31, objected to his attorneys' plans to play the video as they try to persuade the jury to spare him the death penalty, saying he didn't want his daughter to feel compelled to help 'one of the most hated people in America.'
Guilty: The jury convicted Joshua Komisarjevsky last month on all 17 counts in the home invasion - including capital felony, murder and sexual assault
Komisarjevsky and his co-defendant, Steven Hayes, were convicted of murder in the 2007 killing of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, at their Connecticut home.
Caroline Long Burry, a child welfare expert interviewed the girl last weekend, said Komisarjevsky's daughter calls him 'Daddy Josh' when she's with his family, but refers to him as the son of her grandfather when with her maternal relatives.
As Courant.com reports, she was told by her maternal aunt, her relative guardian, that she was going to the legal guardian's office to talk, and was not aware she was being filmed.
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ShareAs the video played, some jurors smiled as the girl laughed, doing puzzles and colouring pictures with Ms Burry during the interview. Komisarjevsky looked intently at the screen.
In a two-minute segment, the girl, after seeing a photo of her father, said: 'Josh... went to jail for something he did at work.'
When asked if she recalled ever living with Josh, the girl replied: 'I don't remember anything.'
Ms Burry later testified, describing the girl as 'bright, engaging and sparkly' and expressed concerns that if Komisarjevsky's execution could be 'very damaging' to the girl. 'She would have to live on a daily basis with being labelled and quite possibly stigmatised with the fact her father is on death row and there is an execution coming up,' Ms Burry explained.
Victims: Dr William Petit Jr (left) with his daughters Michaela (front) Hayley, (centre rear) and his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit
She also said the girl is known to withdraw and has a lot of anxiety, and that prison records showed that Komisarjevsky had 55 visits with his daughter while he was in prison.
Prosecutor Michael Dearington reminded jurors under cross-examination that Komisarjevsky was convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a girl less than two years older than his daughter.
'In this particular situation, I have carefully weighed the potential risks and have found that those risks and negative consequences to my daughter far outweigh the benefits of helping save my life.'
Joshua Komisarjevsky
Dearington also noted that those sentenced to death spend many years on death row and asked Burry about the last execution, which was in 2005 and was the only one since 1960 in Connecticut.
Komisarjevsky, speaking for the first time in his trial other than a taped confession, told the trial judge earlier today that his daughter was coached, an allegation denied by an attorney for the girl's guardian.
Reading from a three-page statement his attorneys had not reviewed, he said: 'In this particular situation, I have carefully weighed the potential risks and have found that those risks and negative consequences to my daughter far outweigh the benefits of helping save my life.'
Family: Joshua Komisarjevsky poses with his mother, Jude, who lost custody of his daughter to her late maternal grandmother. The girl's maternal aunt is now her guardian
Father and son: Ben Komisarjevsky warlier told the jury about the 'miracle' of adopting his son Joshua as a baby
Standing behind the defence table as he addressed the judge, wearing a dark suit and tie, he continued: 'I've carefully come to the overwhelming opinion that I am not at all comfortable putting my daughter in a position wherein she may feel that she has to explain or justify herself to anyone who perceives her statements to somehow help one of the most hated people in America.'
'She's nine-years-old. Had this interview been her decision to make and she was old enough to understand that decision that would be one thing. However, that is not the case in this situation. The decision has been made for her,' he said.
Komisarjevsky noted his life is on the line. He said the negative consequences to his daughter outweigh the benefits of helping to save his life.
'I will not beg for my life,' he said. 'I will humbly request in earnest that your honour please uphold the thoughtfully weighed decision of defendant over the wish of the defence team.'
Turning point: Joshua Komisarjevsky sorted his life out for a while and completed Army Reserve training
New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue overruled his objection, agreeing with the attorneys that they have the final say. Komisarjevsky's lawyers played the videotape of the girl in hopes of persuading jurors to spare him the death penalty later in the morning.
Only jurors were permitted to see and hear the video, while credentialed journalists and others in the courtroom gallery could only hear it and watch reactions from the jury.
Accomplice: Steven Hayes is already on death row for the killings
The attorney for the girl's guardian said the interview with the girl was done carefully in a non-confrontational way.
Komisarjevsky said his daughter has been told by her guardian not to talk about him.
'It should also be considered how her memorialised words will affect her emotionally and psychologically in the future if she believes she's party to assisting the effort to put me to death,' he said.
As Courant reports, Ms Burry said she believed the girl's friends and acquaintances do not know she is Komisarjevsky's daughter. Her name has been changed. After her paternal grandparents Ben and Jude Komisarjevsky lost custody of the girl, she went to live with her maternal grandmother. When the grandmother died, a maternal aunt became her guardian. The girl's mother has struggled with drug addiction and was admitted in the past to a psychiatric hospital.
Komisarjevsky, was convicted last month on all 17 counts in the 2007 Cheshire, Connecticut home invasion - including capital felony, murder and sexual assault.
Komisarjevsky and Hayes were convicted of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley, in their Cheshire home. Authorities say Komisarjevsky sexually assaulted Michaela, who would have turned 16 today.
Hayes, meanwhile, sexually assaulted and strangled Hawke-Petit.
Scorched: The house was set alight with the girls still inside, tied up with pillowcases over their heads
Horror: An image shown to the court shows the charred bedroom of Hayley Petit after the attack
The house was then set on fire, and the two girls – who were tied to their beds – died of smoke inhalation. Hawke-Petit's husband, Dr William Petit, was severely beaten but survived.
Komisarjevsky and Hayes were caught when they crashed the Petits' car into police cruisers near the home while fleeing. Komisarjevsky's accomplice, Steven Hayes is on death row following his 2010 conviction.
In Komisarjevsky's case, jurors will have to weigh whether aggravating factors in the case, including the sexual assaults, outweigh mitigating factors, such as Komisarjevsky's troubled childhood.
The same Superior Court jury that convicted Komisarjevsky will decide whether he should be sentenced to death by lethal injection or to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The defence is expected to rest next Tuesday. The sentencing phase began October 25.
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