The day of July 22, 2007 had been a typical Sunday for the Petit family of Cheshire, Connecticut. But on that summer day, a convicted felon out on parole noticed mother Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her 11-year-old daughter, Michaela, shopping at a neighborhood grocery store. Michaela had taken an interest in cooking and she was choosing ingredients for the family dinner she would prepare that night.

After following the mother and daughter home, the convict and another career criminal plotted out a ruthless home invasion for the Petit home. They would return that night, terrorizing the family and leaving all but one family member murdered with their house in flames.

Join us at the quiet end for The Cheshire Murders.  The murders of Jennifer and her two daughters Michaela and Hayley occurred after hours of torment and sexual assault. By the time husband and father, Bill Petit, was able to escape to get help, it was too late.  This crime left the town of Cheshire shocked and disturbed.  After the story made the national news, people were unsettled by these seemingly random acts of evil perpetrated on a family in their own home. Today we’re talking about the horrors endured by the Petit family, Bill Petit’s unimaginable loss, the backgrounds of the killers, and the police response which many have criticized.

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Sources

Cheshire Connecticut Home Invasion Murders 10 Years Later, USA Today, 7/17/20017

The Cheshire Murders, an HBO documentary

The Cheshire Murders and the Illusion of Safety, Newsweek Magazine, by Alexander Nazaryan, 8/30/2015

Chilling Account in Connecticut Triple-Murder Case, The New York Times, William Glaberson, 9/22/2010

In the Middle of the Night by Brian McDonald

Murder in Connecticut by Michael Benson

Timeline: Deadly Cheshire Home Invasion, The Hartford Currant, by Tina Lender, 7/16/2013