NEW HAVEN, Conn., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The judge in the trial of a man accused of a triple homicide in Connecticut halted jury selection Monday because of a defendant drug overdose, sources say.
Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue said the suspension will be at least through Tuesday and that prosecutors and defense attorneys for Steven Hayes would meet Wednesday to discuss the case's status, the New Haven (Conn.) Register reported.
Blue said Public Defender Thomas Ullman called him Sunday, telling him Hayes, of Cheshire, Conn., was found unconscious in his cell and may have been be in a medically induced coma.
The newspaper reported sources as saying Hayes apparently overdosed on medication he receives daily. Attorneys on both sides told the judge they knew very little about Hayes' condition.
Hayes is one of two men charged in the July 23, 2007, slayings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, who were killed in a home invasion.
So far, four jurors have been selected for Hayes' trial since selection began Jan. 19.
