Jurors viewed graphic and disturbing photos today taken at the burnt ruins of Dr. William Petit's Connecticut home in which his wife and two daughters died in 2007.
Capt. Robert Vignola of the Cheshire, Conn., police said he had never been to a more "horrific" crime scene.
This is the third day of testimony in the trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky, 31, who is charged with 17 counts for his alleged role in the murder of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 42, Hayley Petit,17, and Michaela Petit, 11.
The judge warned the jurors early on that it would not be easy to look at the images.
The photographic evidence was introduced as volunteer firefighter Rick Trocchi testified that he found a body at the top of the stairs in the burning home. Prosecutors then showed Trocchi a photograph of a body and he identified it as Hayley Petit, who had managed to free herself after being tied to her bed.
Hayley and Michaela, who was also tied to her bed, died of smoke inhalation. The mother was raped and strangled. The house was then set ablaze.
Petit Murder Trial Shocked By Crime Scene Photos
Jurors also viewed photographs of the bodies of Hawke-Petit and Michaela. Courtroom observers said it was the photo of Michaela, taken in her charred bedroom, that seemed to disturb jurors the most. Some wiped away tears as they passed the photo along to other jurors.
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Watch Video Courtroom observers also remarked that the Petit family seemed visibly shaken as the photos were viewed by jurors today. A short recess was called soon after the first photograph was circulated.
Defense attorneys for Komisarjevsky had earlier tried to have the photos excluded calling them "prejudicial," but Judge Jon Blue overruled their objections.
The photographs taken outside the home that day, and also shown to the jury, contrasted sharply with the horror of the ones taken inside. The house on Sorghum Mill Drive that day looked like any other well-tended suburban home, a trimmed lawn and beautiful gardens circled the house. But inside told another, heartbreaking story.
In dramatic testimony today, firefighters described battling their way through thick smoke to find anyone left inside. The fire was still burning when they entered the home and, according to Trocchi, visibility on the stairs was almost zero. The fire had burned so fiercely and for so long they were concerned about the safety of the stairs as they ascended looking for survivors. Firefighters used thermal imaging equipment to see through the thick smoke.
Vignola described the chaos as first responders arrived to the house. Initially police thought there might be a third suspect, but it turned out to be a police officer in a black t-shirt.
Police radio transmission from that day played for the jury echoed the confusion that morning. The two suspects had taken the Petit family car and used it to ram a police cruiser in an attempt to get away. Komisarjevsky was the driver of that car and told police officers at the time that three women were still inside the house.
Komisarjevsky faces a possible death sentence if convicted and his defense is trying to show that his accomplice Steven Hayes was responsible for the murders and that Komisarjevsky should be spared execution.
Hayes was convicted of murder last year and sentenced to death. He is currently on Connecticut's death row.
Defense attorney Todd A. Bussert tried to use that confusion to suggest that police wasted valuable time outside the house before running inside to find anyone who might still be alive.
In cross examination of Cheshire police Sgt. Phillip Giampietro, defense attorneys also tried to show that first responders might have made the fire in the home worse because they opened the front door to the home allowing oxygen to get inside.
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