Killer of 3 tries not to think about murders

The killer who once called himself one of the most hated men in America said in a death row interview that he tries not to think about the murder of a mother and her two daughters, suffers no nightmares and has nothing to say to the only survivor of the brutal 2007 attack. Joshua Komisarjevsky spoke to The Associated Press in his first interview since he was convicted. The murders featured prominently in Connecticut's debate over the death penalty. He and a co-defendant, Steven Hayes, were convicted of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters. Hayes raped and strangled Hawke-Petit, while Komisarjevsky sexually assaulted her 11-year-old daughter, Michaela. Michaela and her 17-year-old sister, Hayley, were tied to their beds and died of smoke inhalation after the house was doused in gas and set on fire. Last month, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed a new law that ends the state's death penalty for future crimes, but it does not apply to those already on death row. Many had insisted that the death penalty remain for previous cases so that Komisarjevsky and Hayes would not be spared. The 31-year-old Komisarjevsky kept direct eye contact during the one-hour interview Monday, smiling at times as he spoke by telephone from behind a glass window in prison. He said he agreed to speak to a reporter out of curiosity. He said there isn't anything he could say to Hawke-Petit's husband, Dr. William Petit, "that will restore the lives lost." He also declined an opportunity to express remorse for the killings. "I guess my reaction is not the reaction society expected," Komisarjevsky said. In the last half-century, Connecticut has executed only one inmate — serial killer Michael Ross, who was put to death in 2005 after voluntarily waiving his appeals. "The reality of my situation is that I'm going to die in prison," Komisarjevsky said. "It's simply a matter of what age. It's a very surreal experience to be judged so worthless that society wants you dead." Komisarjevsky declined to comment directly about the crime, citing the advice of lawyers who are expected to file an appeal. In an audiotaped confession played for the jury in his trial last year, Komisarjevsky admitted that he spotted Hawke-Petit and 11-year-old Michaela at a supermarket and followed them to their house. After going home and putting his own daughter to bed, Komisarjevsky and Hayes returned to the Petit house in the middle of the night, while the family was sleeping, to rob it. William Petit was beaten, tied up and taken to the basement. He managed to escape and hop, roll and crawl across a yard to a neighbor's house for help. Petit advocated keeping the death penalty in Connecticut and last year successfully lobbied state senators to hold off on repeal legislation while Komisarjevsky was still facing a death penalty trial. Petit declined to comment through a spokesman. "July 23, 2007, was our personal holocaust," Petit said after Komisarjevsky was sentenced to death. "A holocaust caused by two who are completely evil and actually do not comprehend what they have done." Komisarjevksy said he has not spoken to Hayes, but has seen him passing by on death row, where 11 inmates are each held in individual cells. During separate trials, Komisarjevksy and Hayes each blamed the other for escalating the crime. "Frankly, we don't have anything to talk about," Komisarjevsky said. "I'm sort of taking the stance let bygones be bygones. I know what I'm culpable for and he knows what he's culpable for."