Jury: Death sentence for home invasion

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Nov. 8 (UPI) -- A jury in New Haven, Conn., sentenced Steven Hayes to death Monday for the murders of a mother and her two daughters during a home invasion, robbery and arson.

The seven-woman, five-man panel sentenced Hayes to death on the first four of six possible death-penalty counts -- killing mother Jennifer Hawke-Petit and daughters Michaela, 17, and Hayley, 11, during a single action, killing a child under the age of 15 and two counts of murder of a kidnapped person, the Hartford Courant reported.

Hayes, 47, was convicted Oct. 5 of breaking into the Petit home in Cheshire, Conn., beating the father, William Petit Jr., and binding and torturing the family as the defendant and another man ransacked the house for cash and valuables and tortured the family for seven hours. Eventually the intruders doused the house with gasoline and set it on fire as they fled. The two daughters died of smoke inhalation.

William Petit was the only survivor.

The other defendant in the case, Joshua Komisarjevsky of Chesire is scheduled to be tried next year.

The jury was in its fourth day of deliberations.