Dr. William Petit, Cheshire Home Invasion Survivor, Wins House Seat In Connecticut
HARTFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Dr. William Petit, who survived a home invasion that claimed the lives of his wife and two daughters, has won a state legislative seat in Connecticut.
The Republican was nominated for the 22nd House District, which includes Plainville and New Britain.
Petit defeated Rep. Elizabeth Bokus, an 11th-term incumbent, the Hartford Courant reported.
It will be the first legislative term for Dr. Petit -- a brand new playbook for him, WCBS 880's Fran Schneidau reported. Dr. Petit listed the state's growing budget deficit as one of his top concerns, but when asked what his priority would be in the legislature, he was slightly hesitant.
"I am not sure -- I guess as the new guy I'll go look for what the small offices are out there," Dr. Petit said. "That's probably what I'll get assigned to as the new guy."
Petit was severely beaten in a 2007 home invasion in Cheshire. Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes were convicted of murdering his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and leaving his daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley, to die in a fire.
The crime in the affluent suburb drew comparisons to the one described in Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood."
During the hours-long ordeal, authorities said Hayes drove Hawke-Petit to a bank and forced to her to withdraw money. Back at the Petits' home, police said Komisarjevsky sexually assaulted Michaela and Hayes sexually assaulted and strangled Hawke-Petit.
The two men tied the girls to their beds and set the house on fire before fleeing in the Petits' station wagon and crashing into police cruisers responding to the scene.
The girls died of smoke inhalation.
Dr. Petit was beaten, tied up and taken to the basement, but he managed to escape and crawl to a neighbor's house for help.
A state judge in New Haven re-sentenced Komisarjevsky to six consecutive life terms earlier this year.
Both faced the death penalty but will now serve life in prison about the penalty was abolished in Connecticut.
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