Defense Wants Dr. Petit to Be Sequestered

Defense argues that Dr. Petit is not a "victim."

Attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky filed a motion to sequester Dr. William Petit during the trial for the second trial in the killing his wife and two daughters.

Komisarjevsky will stand trial in September for the murders of Jennifer Hawke Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11. Steven Hayes was convicted for the killings last year and was sentenced to death.

Dr. Petit was beaten during the home invasion and is the only member of the family who survived and the defense team argues that Dr. Petit is not a “victim, but rather a “complaining witness.”

They also argue that he has already “demonstrated a propensity to shape his testimony.”

Dr. Petit was in the courtroom for most of Hayes’ trial and four days before the defense filed its motion, the state called on the judge to deny sequestering Petit and said “it is irrefutable” that Dr. Petit, his wife and their daughters were victims in the case.

Komisarjevsky has admitted to assaulting Dr. Petit and being in the house with Steven Hayes, his attorneys said, and “complaining witness” is a neutral term that preserves Mr. Komisarjevsky’s right to a presumption of innocence and his right to a fair trial for the additional charges.

The state also wrote that Dr. Petit’s testimony in the Hayes’ trial was consistent with what he told investigators after the home invasion and there are “compelling reasons that Dr. Petit’s testimony would not be materially affected by listening to other testimony.”

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