Today I received a review copy of “The Cheshire Murders”. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this case, here is a simplified explanation:
In the early-morning hours of July 23, 2007, in Cheshire, Connecticut, ex-convicts Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky broke into the family home of Dr. William Petit, his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and their daughters, Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17. Dr. Petit was beaten and tied to a pole in the basement. The three women were bound in their bedrooms while the men ransacked the house. The brutal ordeal continued throughout the morning, ending with rape, arson and a horrific triple homicide.
This documentary, by HBO, was very interesting. I learned things about the crime that either I never knew, or simply forgot. It showed everything from several different view points, including Dr. Petit, Jennifer’s family, and Steven Hayes’ and Joshua Komisarjevsky’s families as well. The only viewpoint not shown was of law enforcement, as they chose not to participate. Actually, that was a shame as well, because the families’ had questions for them about the way things were handled. To me, they had valid questions. They wanted to know, for one, why the police did not even try to go into the house before anyone died, and they appeared to have the opportunity to do so. Maybe it was a mistake, which happens, but they never addressed it for the family. It appeared to me that law enforcement seemed to avoid the victims’ families as much as possible. They were more interested in making arrests, rather than saving lives. I found that extremely sad, since the victims should have been the top priority over all else, including making the arrests so quickly. If they had entered the house, maybe no one would have been killed, which would have been preferred over all else.
It was interesting to hear the viewpoints of Steven Hayes’ brothers. I am sure it was hard for them to admit to all who watch about what a sociopath their brother was. I admire them for being so honest and open, no matter how hard it was for them. It was emotional on all sides, with very strong emotions and opinions being stated.
Over all, I found the documentary to be fair and interesting. I would recommend it to anyone interested in this heinous event. But remember, it tells everything that happened, including the sexual assaults. But nothing was recreated or disrespectful. It was fair to all sides of the issues.
