NEW HAVEN, Conn., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Jury selection was set to begin next month in the second trial in the infamous Connecticut home-invasion killings.
Superior Court Judge Jon Blue in New Haven set the Feb. 22 for Joshua Komisarjevsky's jury selection and trial in a brief proceeding Tuesday, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported.
Last week, Blue sentenced Steven Hayes to death by lethal injection for the torture and killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, in their Cheshire home in 2007.
Lawyers on both sides declined to comment on the contents of future court filings, citing a gag order.
Komisarjevsky, 30, of Cheshire, was not in court Tuesday. He also faces the death penalty if convicted. Jury selection for Hayes took five months.
Komisarjevsky is accused of breaking into the home and beating Dr. William Petit with a baseball bat and tying him to a pole in the basement.
Hayes raped and killed Hawke-Petit. Testimony at Hayes' trial showed Michaela was sexually assaulted. Michaela and Hayley were tied to their beds and the home was doused with gasoline and set on fire.
Petit was beaten but escaped before the house went up in flames.
