HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Juror Paula Calzetta witnessed evidence in a gruesome triple murder trial that she fears will stay with her for as long as she lives: photographs of the remains of an 11-year-old young girl killed by a fire in her own bedroom.
A sickening feeling stayed with her for weeks as prosecutors detailed the summer night in 2007 when assailants invaded the family’s home in an idyllic Connecticut town and tormented them for hours before killing the mother and her two daughters.
In interviews Tuesday with The Associated Press, Calzetta and other members of the 12-person jury that convicted and sentenced Steven Hayes described the experience as a wrenching ordeal. Some said they broke down in tears during deliberations before reaching the unanimous verdict that Hayes should be condemned to die.
