Tragic Home Invasion In Connecticut
Taylor Jensen writes about GE Home Security at http://www.usalarm.com, is considered an expert in the field of wireless home security, and has published hundreds of articles informing consumers about what to look for when considering a home security system.
Just over two years ago, in July 2007, The New York Times reported a terrible home invasion that cannot be forgotten. In a wealthy suburb near New Haven, Connecticut, the family of a prominent endocrinologist lost their lives in a fire set by two home invaders.
Doctor William A. Petit Jr., who has since resigned as medical director of the Joslin Diabetes Center, survived the attack, but his wife and two daughters, who were strapped to beds when the fire was set, did not.
As stated right after the incident by Michael Cruess, the town’s police chief,
“In Cheshire, we are not used to this type of event. It is very tragic, and it is probably going to reach right down to the roots of this community.”
While many details remain uncertain, authorities reported that the home invaders entered in the early morning and held the family hostage for several hours. At some point, either the mother or one of the daughters accompanied one of the assailants in the family SUV. They went to a local bank, where she withdrew an undisclosed amount of cash.
Lt. J. Paul Vance of the Connecticut State Police is quoted as saying,
“Bank employees were suspicious enough to contact the Cheshire Police Department, who immediately went to the bank and the victims’ residence to intercept the vehicle involved.”
He refused to comment on a report that a note had been slipped a bank employee saying that the family was being held hostage.
When they returned, the assailants set fire to the house, injuring the doctor and leaving his family strapped to beds. They then attempted to escape in the SUV. It wasn’t reported what other valuables or equipment the burglars took with them.
In the meantime, the Cheshire Police Department had positioned police cars nose-to-nose as a barricade, but the burglars crashed right through it at close to 60 miles per hour, although they didn’t get far. Their stolen vehicle broke down and eventually stopped.
Dr. Petit barely survived, but his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and his two daughters, Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17, were declared dead from smoke inhalation. Ms. Hawke-Petit had been co-director of a boarding school health center. Hayley planned to attend Dartmouth, her father’s alma mater. Michaela was about enter the sixth grade. Both girls were described as popular and outgoing.
“It’s just unspeakable, a horribly senseless tragedy,” said Burch Ford, headmistress of the school Michaela had attended.
When it comes to tragedies of this magnitude, it’s not easy to say whether a home security system could have helped. Perhaps if the family had had visible home alarm equipment, it could have at least dissuaded the attackers.
In any event, this crime was a terrible loss to more than just the Cheshire community and deserves to be remembered by anyone concerned about crime, home security, and the lives of fellow Americans.
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