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Jury Enters Day 3 Of Penalty Phase In Komisarjevsky's Conn. Home Invasion Trial

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- It's the third day of deliberations for a Connecticut jury on whether a man convicted of killing a woman and her two daughters in a home invasion should get the death penalty or life in prison.

LISTEN: 1010 WINS' Al Jones reports

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The jury deliberated for about five hours Tuesday and less than two hours Monday in the sentencing phase of Joshua Komisarjevsky's trial in New Haven Superior Court.

"It's just a long wait. It's a hard wait," said William Petit Sr., whose granddaughters and daughter-in-law were killed. "By the same token, we know it's very close to being over."

WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau On The Case

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Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes were convicted of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and daughters, Hayley and Michaela, at their Cheshire home in 2007.

Hayes was convicted of raping and strangling Hawke-Petit. The girls died of smoke inhalation after they were tied to their beds, doused in gasoline and left to die in a fire.

Hayes is on death row.

Defense attorneys say Komisarjevsky should not be condemned to death because was sexually abused as a child and never got proper psychological help.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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