Today, we're discussing part two of the Sesher murders. If you haven't listened to part one, feel free to go check it out because we're about to deep dive into what happened in the aftermath of it all.
My name's Ben, I'm Nicole, and you're listening to Wicked and.
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It might show up on the microphone. I don't know if you guys are gonna hear it, but there is a thunderous storm rolling overhead right now.
Yeah. BC is getting some interesting weather and disasters going on right now.
No kidding. I mean, we got a bunch of wildfires. That's that's typical.
But it's they're just like starting.
I feel like it is. It's just getting going. But then there was a tornado warning.
For Central BC, wasn't it? I think?
Yeah, which is super rare rarity with the topographical landscape we have at the boreal forest, It's like, yeah, that just doesn't happen, but apparently it does.
So yeah, but I don't know if it's actually happened.
I don't know, I do care. I do remember once being at a lake nest lake as a kid and like seeing a tornado like almost touchdown on the lake because it got so.
Windy and wild And was it actually like decently sized?
Oh yeah, oh okay, No, this was like it was insane.
Because you can see those some you see them sometimes in like parking lots, right, like a little something. Oh yeah, it's going, but it's not like very large. No.
No, this this was like, I don't know, like this of like a small house.
Holy shit.
Yeah, it was like the water on the top of the lake was starting to like spin and like go up, and it went up probably like like twenty thirty feet a bit, and then it just kind of fizzled out. But it was like, oh god.
Well, weren't they saying the tornado could get worse or be worse because of the fires or something too?
I think so because of the temperature of the fire. Yeah, air mixing, and yeah, it's a wild freaking thing. I don't understand it. But hopefully everyone out there is safe wherever you are, whether you're BC or not.
Yeah, honestly, a thunderstorm in the background of this might be slightly fitting, right, It might be.
It might be in the thunder Rolls. We also want to give a little bit of an announcement that we have officially sold half of our tickets for our live show coming up the end of the month. So if you want to check out the tickets, you can go ahead and check out our socials. There's some links for them. We're doing a live show for our two hundredth episode. The tickets are of course for showing up in person.
We're going to be at Trench Brewing. If you aren't local to us, you can check out the live stream over in a Patreon so you can join us on Patreon and subscribe there and you get access to that live stream.
Yeah, it's going to be a fun night. The fact that we're sold out or half sold out is pretty awesome.
It is. I'm pretty stoked and we I mean, the last week is generally for events like this when tickets really sell. So I have a feeling it's going to be a packed hose.
Yeah, I know, Oh my goodness, because we've done some live events before and I think like max thirty people yes, right, and this is about eighty or.
So maximum capacity.
Yes, yeah, So that's like it's gonna be good.
It's gonna be a bit more good. But we also have some door prizes, like we got an order from some of our merch coming in. We got some socks, we got to throw blankets, we got some mugs, mugs exclusive artisan mugs by the way, which is batch too, from the mugs that were available for a short period of time. But now they're just like the remainder is only for giveaway.
Stuff exclusive artists in candles, Yes, made by yours truly.
There we go.
That doesn't have a logo yet because I haven't gotten that far. But I've made some damn candles.
Have you made the candles yet, because do you have like a week?
Yeah, I have some made, but I might try a couple more sents. Okay, but I do have some that can be but I might try some more sense just to see what my faves.
Are, Okay, gotcha? Yeah, And then there's something else that's going to go along into like a little like a Wicked Box giveaway part of this on the night of it's my favorite thing as any giveaway we've ever done, but it's like also kind of the dumbest thing to ever give away. Is part of the Wicked Tree so if you look at our logo, that tree is actually a real tree.
Yeah, it's really cool.
It's a photo that we took on our phone and turn it into a logo. So we actually took some sticks from those trees and put like certificates of authenticity along with it. So, yeah, that's going to be a little comp.
I think that's super cool. We should actually, like we have a piece of the tree in our house.
We do it's.
Like a frame, put it on a frame or something.
You know, thats a bad idea.
I think that'd be really cool.
That would be cool.
Yeah, Okay, So this is a part two.
Part two, Yes, a part to the murders. So you ready to discuss this to go into what happened and everything? Yeah, do you remember where we left off?
Vaguely, but god I know that. I was just like pissed, Like this case is just just a piss off.
Oh it gets worse. Trust me, you're going to be pissed with this case one hundred and ten percent, like it's it's absurd. But I will go over where we left off and last episode I'll give you guys a bit of a rundown. So we discussed last the Pettit family and the two individuals individual sorry Hayes and Joshua, who become partners in crime for committing breaking and enters in the homes of you know, like some well off families.
Now their newest target was the Petits. Now the two broke in found doctor William Pettitt sleeping downstairs as he fell asleep reading paper or whatever, and they began to beat him over the head with a baseball bat before tying him up with zip ties to a pole in the basement. They then, from there proceeded to find his wife, Jennifer and their two daughters, Hayley, who was seventeen and Mikela, who was eleven. Each one of them had their hands
and feet bound and pillowcases placed over their head. Now, after all this, the two intruders proceeded to rifle through and rob the place and discovered that Jennifer had a bank account with a decent amount of money inside. So their new plan was for Joshua to stay with the family and hold them hostage while Hayes accompanied Jennifer to the bank to make a withdrawal.
Okay, right, yep.
So at approximately nine am on July twenty third, two thousand and seven. The two left the home and made their way to the Bank of America, and that's where we left off. And here we are for part two.
Okay, dang, is.
That like catching you all up? Oh yeah, and bells and everything?
Yeah, totally?
Okay, good? So you ready for it?
Oh?
Gross?
Yeah, I'm sorry. I just cracked my knuckles.
Yeah, I mean, I'm sure they heard that. If they did, I'm not into.
That, Like I do it all the time, though, I know.
It's just if I ever cracked my neck knuckles, it's a mistake, Like I did it in the air.
I do it all the time.
I know a lot of people do it.
I don't even notice when I do it. I just like, I don't know, I just do it. It's like a nervous twitch or something like this.
I just feel like it can't be good for you. But I don't know. I don't know.
I don't know. I'm no doctor. I am a true Crown podcast host, and I will tell you about this episode.
I have been wait in a while. Let's do it.
Okay. So Hayes, the one who was driving the car and bringing Jennifer to the bank, pulled up the car outside, and they made an interesting choice. Jennifer Pettitt was allowed to go inside to the bank, so low alone to make the withdrawal. Now, apparently between Hayes and Joshua they talked about it a little bit and figured out that they they thought that if she were to go inside without someone accompanying her and withdrew the money, it would, you know, draw the least amount of suspicion.
That just seems like such an interesting plan.
Though it is. Yeah, yeah, Now, since they had her family held hostage, they assumed that, you know, she would do what they ask, which was to withdraw the money, not telling what was happening, returned the car to Hayes, and then you know, return to the house and you know, we got the money and then so on. So far, I mean it, it is an interesting move. It's a bold move, honestly, like they.
Have some confidence to them almost.
I don't know if it's confidence more than arrogance.
Yeah, maybe, Hey, I think.
It's arrogance, arrogance or ignorance, stupidity, Yeah, all of the above, maybe, regardless, it was regardless of the reason it was a bold move, let me just say that it was a bold move. And I mean she would draw the least amount of suspicion. They're right, but that's assuming that Jennifer does not tell anyone at the bank about the situation. Now, I mean, she doesn't have anyone like right beside her, so.
Of course she yea yeah, yeah, because her family, her loved ones are literally in danger at home.
Exactly, so why would she not tell anyone? Yeah, So, upon entering the bank, Jennifer approached the teller and kept as calm as she possibly could, and she didn't want to make any sort of scene that would give her away to Hayes, who was waiting outside in the vehicle watching. I'm sure exactly now, the bank surveillance camera captured Jennifer's every move the moment she stepped foot inside, Though keeping herself as calm as she could, the footage showed Jennifer
clearly anxious as she approached the teller. Now right away, Jennifer began to explain to the teller of the situation, and the bank manager, Mary Lyons, who was quickly called over, understood the gravity of the situation. So she's all, like, you know what, you know, I got some issues at home. These people are holding my family and they need to withdraw money. I don't want to call a scene like
all this sort of stuff. And thankfully Mary understood, and she complied with the withdraw request and gave Jennifer a total of fifteen thousand dollars cash. As things with the transaction were being completed, Mary went back to her office and immediately dialed nine one one. Okay, good, okay, And I have that nine one one call here. Oh it's almost five minutes long, so bear with me, but trust me, it is worth listening to it all. Here we go measure emergency.
My name is Mary lyons On, the banking center manager at Bank of America at one eighty five Highland Avenue. There is no robbery here, but we have a lady who is in our bank right now who says that her husband and children are being held at their house. The people are in a car outside the bank. She is getting fifteen thousand dollars to bring out to them that if the police are told, they will kill her
children and the husband. Her name is Jennifer Pettit P E T I T. She lives at three hundred Sorghum Hill Road. She says they are being very nice, and they have their faces covered. She is pectrified. I didn't she wasn't going to call the police, but I came in my office and I did.
Okay, she still is in the bank.
Yes she is, Okay, her husband and face and I look at Yes, they're they're tied up. She said she's taking fifteen thousand dollars out of a credit line. They told us they wouldn't hurt anybody if she got back. There was the money. She believes them. She's I think she's walking out now, she's walking out. Now, I don't. I will watch and see what kind of car she gets into. I'm in my office with the store with the lights off, and I'll try and see her. But
I don't want to make anything work obvious. I don't want to, Okay.
Jennifer Pettitt, three hundred Road. Yeah, she's being held for her her husband.
Yes, Yes, she said they're tied up.
She said, did she say anything about weapons anything that she didn't?
She said, well, she said no, I don't know. She said they've been very nice and she knows they'll loom after they get the money. I'm trying to look and see where she's gone. She went out and said, but I don't. Oh wait, I see her walking. Now, she's walking. She's walking there there, she's getting.
In a car.
It looks like it's like a gray suv.
They pulled up.
Now they're pulling out.
Hers.
No, somebody else is driving. Okay, they said, she said they drove her here.
Okay, the captors drove her to the bank.
Yes, yes, they're driving. They're not coming out through the through the suppose. So they must be going out by this food Chi's restaurant over the seventy. That's where they must be going out. Now, he did vehicles. I didn't.
They just pulled away.
They must have been waiting for over and then they just pulled up and she just got it into it.
Okay, I need to stand on the line for me. Okay, okay, Bagmancher got.
The police on the phone. Did you get the license plate?
They asked me, Oh, sir, okay, I want to tell you what.
How do unar? It was a christ of PACIFICA PACIFICA.
Yeah.
And my coller walked in here with me and said, you know, and I agree, it's amazing how calm she was so but but then again, she could have been petrified.
I don't know. Okay, p E T I T yep, okay, okay, then put your back on hold.
I'm what if, she continued, does.
That uph.
Oh, I'm holding, yes, man, did you have h I want to tell you Mike. Teller said that she saw the driver. He had a black hood over, a hoodie and a baseball cap on. She couldn't identify him, but she did see that he there was someone in the car and he did have a sweatshirt over ted and a baseball cap.
Blackfooted sweatshirt and a baseball cap.
Baseball cap, white male, black male?
Could you tell it was a white male or a black male Christians m Yeah, she seems white, but she can't it was She said it was definitely not black, but he was the driver.
He was the driver. Yes, did anyone get the license?
No, we didn't.
Okay, sorry, I'm gonna give you a hold. We're gonna look a messer.
Okay boo.
Boo'.
Yes, that was sort of mill drive. Correct, That's that's the address he had on the system.
Yet, we're going to have a detective on the way to the bank of speak.
You are right.
So, after receiving the nine to one to one call, from the bank manager, who was incredible on that call, by the way, super calm, collecting as much information as they could, so phenomenal to them. The police quickly responded by setting up a perimeter outside of the Pettit home. Now they ensured that they kept their distance. They used unmarked cars, blended in the surrounding in the neighborhood as not to arouse any suspicion from Joshua or Hayes. I mean,
they did have a hostage situation going. They specifically told Jennifer not to contact the police, but we now have them contacted, so they're trying to make sure that that they didn't let them know that the police knew what they were trying to do.
Yeah, exactly.
From there, they waited for a tactical team to arrive before making any immediate entry into the home. Now, this call made by the authorities has been very controversial, very controversial.
One.
There were hostages inside and people's lives were at risk, Yet they stayed outside, did very little outside outside other than secure the perimeter, and some people are a bit angry about that. However, if they advanced it could have put them at risk as well. Yeah, so it's a difficult call that the authorities made.
It is and I think often in like hostage cases, they do sort of, you know, stand back a little bit, right, because they do. Yeah, it's a very difficult decision. I can only imagine what do you do?
Yeah, So, I mean they hesitated to engage directly because they were concerned about the safety. They needed to coordinate the approach, They needed to figure out what the situation was. Otherwise, being too hasty could actually escalate and get someone hurt. So they chose to sit back. And that's kind of the situation. So Hayes managed to get back to the home before the perimeter was set up. The perimeter is
now set up. Joshua Hayes and the family is all inside with authorities surrounding the house in a casual manner. It's not really noticeable.
Well the whole thing too, I have to be like even the nine one one call, like it all just seemed so calm, like chill, oh it was. I just feel like if I was that bang manager, I'd be losing my shit. Well and even still like so good, like I'm meaning that in a good sense, like good on her own.
Yeah, and Jennifer seemed very cool. Yeah, Like the bank manager was all like she could have been petrified. I don't know, Yeah, seem very calm.
Like it's it's amazing what people can do sometimes, right.
When when you need to. Yeah, And I mean Joshua and Hayes were actually even described as being quote nice through the ordeal as well. So as far as they know, things inside the house were calm, which gave the police, you know, all the more reason to like relaxed and bide their.
Time, right exactly.
So what they didn't know though, is what was going on, is that it was going to change. Things that were going on were going to flip soon. And then this is whether they intervened or not. You see, Hayes, while he was at the bank with Jennifer Pettitt making withdrawal, Joshua was at the home with doctor Pettitt tied up in the basement and the two daughters, seventeen year old Haley An eleven year old Mike Ella. While alone in
the home, Joshua would escalate the encounter. He took the opportunity that he had with the power he held over the girls and began to sexually assault and rape eleven year old Mike Kella and took pictures on his phone in the process for sick and twisted keepsakes.
Holy shit.
All the while, doctor Pettitt was bound in the basement and was powerless as he heard the screams of his own masters.
Oh man, that I don't know why, but that's on. That is unexpected to me.
Yeah, and it's completely fucked up on fucked up because he'd go from last episode we discussed their plan was to run and they enter this home and then immediately beat someone with a baseball bat nearly to death. And now we're going and raping a minor.
Yeah, what the shit? I don't understand. I feel like something had to have happened to just like I mean, I guess at some point if you changed or you escalate or whatever, right, but this just seems so drastic.
Yeah, well, we're going to talk a little bit about when. Well I don't know if i'd say when, but an indication that they were kind of planning this. Anyways, we'll get there though. For now, though, Hayes had returned home with Jennifer and things only got worse. Hayes claimed that Joshua convinced them to take things further, but whether it was pressure or not, their next move was certainly influenced
by the action. The actions that Joshua took while Hayes was away, Jennifer was the next target for sexual assault. When she was home once again, Doctor Pettitt was in the basement of the house and could hear the screams coming from upstairs, this time from his wife as she was getting raped. Doctor Pettitt pulled at his restraints and tried to break the bonds, but it was no use.
He screamed out for the individuals to stop, but they didn't. Instead, they yelled back down at him, quote, don't worry, it's all going to be over in a couple of minutes.
My goodness. That is just like, oh, gut wrenching.
Yeah. Doctor Pettitt couldn't do anything to stop the horrors that were recurring in his home.
Can you remind me which one is the older one of these two Hayes.
Hayes I believe was, if I'm not mistaken, forty four and Joshua was twenty seven or twenty four or something.
Like that, Okay, And Hayes is the one that just wait raped Jennifer.
Correct and Joshua was the one that raped Mickella. Okay, yeah, now, doctor Pettitt listening to all this was powerless. He knew that he couldn't sit back and not try to do something, even though that he had been bashed in the head with a baseball bat several hours ago and was suffering from intense blood loss. And he managed to summon the last bit of strength that he had and used friction
on the pole and his hands. With the last bit of strength he had, reefed on those zip ties and he managed to break his hands free.
Holy wow, good for him. That's actually quite impressive.
Yes, now his feet were still bound, but he was now free enough to be somewhat mobile, and he made the decision to make his escape, and he began crawling out of the basement and headed to the next door neighbors for help. He pulled himself across the yard, up the front steps and began banging on their door. The
neighbors were initially shocked when they opened the door. They didn't even recognize their neighbor at first because he had such a swollen and bloody face, but soon they understood the situation to dialed nine to one one at around nine fifty a m.
Weren't the police already out there?
The police were already out there, yes, but.
Kind of like discreetly or whatever.
Yes, yeah, they most likely did see him crawl over to the neighbors, but I mean that would have happened within a matter of a minute or two. And they dialed nine one one, and then it's like, okay, police are already setting a perimeter. They're trying to figure out what to do. But the police are also still waiting for the tactical team to come in right now, Oh okay, So they're most likely holding their position and trying to
get confirmation of what's really going on inside. And it is unclear exactly when it was discovered that doctor Pettitt had escaped from his bonds in the house, but Joshua eventually did notice this and told Hayes. Hayes was apparently still in the act of raping Jennifer when this occurred,
but Joshua and Hayes began to panic. They now knew they the cops were going to be after them, and in that moment, Hayes wrapped his hands around jennifer neck and began to squeeze until the life slowly drained from her eyes and she took her last breath.
Oh my gosh. Okay.
Panic seemed to sweep through the whole house, both from the daughters who just listened to their mother get murdered and the perpetrator who lost petrators, i should say, who lost control of the situation. Together, they grabbed two cans of gas from inside the house and doused Jennifer's lifeless body laying on the living room floor with the contents, as well as various parts of the house, including the
daughter's bedroom where they were tied up. Surveillance footage later actually revealed that Hayes had purchased ten dollars worth of gasoline in two gas cans that were taken from the petted home from a nearby gas station at around seven am earlier that morning, which indicates that Hayes had left the house to buy the gasoline, returned with the cans back to the home before making Jennifer to the bank.
Despite their escalating panic, it appears that setting fire to the house had been a part of their plan this entire time.
Oh okay, it was not.
In the moment escalation.
No, and the police wouldn't have known this, I guess, Hey, it was like later.
That they It was later through investigation that they discovered this footage and the purchase of the gasoline and everything.
Yes, because that would sure, I feel it could have changed some things, right.
If they knew. But how would they know? It's just someone buying gas. It's all that anyone knew, right, Yeah, but no, in hindsight, this is one clear premeditation HM. So the two individuals continued to pour the gas on the Pettit sister's beds, their clothing, and once the cans were emptied, Hayes and Joshua lit the fire with the girls still tied to the beds inside the home, and they fled the scene. Flames quickly engulfed the in side
of the home, tearing through everything in its path. Both Haley and Mikella would unfortunately succumb to the devastating fire and would ultimately die as a result of smoke inhalation. Haley did manage to escape her restraints and ran into the hallway before collapsing and dying near the top of the staircase. She suffered third and fourth degree burns on her feet before she died. My goodness, gracious Mikella was found still bound and tied to her bed. Joshua and
Hayes fled the house unharmed, thankfully. Those shit oh yeah, they are yeah, don't get me wrong. They're fucking pieces of ship through and through now thankfully. Though the house was surrounded by police, there was a perimeter set up.
As the flames spread through the home, the police were already beginning to close in due to the second nine to one one call place by the neighbor, and only about ten minutes later, at around ten am, they found themselves face to face with the individuals fleeing from the scene in the Pettit family vehicle. They attempted to drive and bash their way through a police barricade on the road. They smashed the car into the side of a police cruiser,
hoping to move it aside and gain their freedom. However, it was useless. Police were able to quickly apprehend both Joshua and Haze from the smashed vehicles, and fire rescue was now being called to deal with the flames pouring out from the home that they had just lit and left behind.
Okay, well, we gotta be thankful of this gosh.
That they got caught and they got caught. Yes, that is the small silver lining in this situation for sure, But I mean they the shit that they did. And part of the reason why people are so upset with the controversial controversy on the police not entering the home is a lot of this shit happened while the police were still outside, right, So you had Jennifer Pettitt being raped and murdered with the police standing outside the house
not doing nothing. You had the two girls being doused in gasoline, the house being lit on fire, with the police surrounding the house doing nothing.
Yeah, because I mean, like they all died anyway, right.
So exactly. But the only thing is the police did not know the police had information that they were given. The information that they were given was everything inside. They were acting nice. They just wanted money, would be left alone. So the police were biding time assuming that they're still being nice and everything inside.
Well, because didn't Jennifer. I feel like Jennifer at the bank said that she was sure too that once they got the money that like they would leave exactly. But that was not the case exactly, And I just realized two, holy shit, the dad, yep, is that the fucking neighbor's house. Yeah, watching this.
Yeah, we'll touch on that though.
Oh goodness.
So the interrogation of these two fucking assholes, of course quickly began, and it's no surprise that they both, these both spineless individuals, tried to pin the blame on each other. They both did confess to the murders. I mean, how could they not really, but they each claim that the other was the mastermind behind the whole thing. Of course, Yeah, why wouldn't they, right, Well, no, he made me do it. No, he made me like, yeah, fuck you.
It's very obviously they're not like good people.
Yeah, through and through. Joshua also also claimed that when he did assault eleven year old Mikela, he believed she was fourteen or sixteen years old, which doesn't make it any better whatsover.
No, like, not at all.
No, it's like, oh, she's she's eleven, she's underage. Well I thought she was still under age. It's a little bit.
Old, a little bit older years what the fuck? Oh gosh.
Yeah, so yeah, I feel like he's like the Grinch and I wouldn't touch him with like a thirty nine and a half foot pole. So the situation like, you're fucking disgusting now. Forensic testing results on Mikella's remains showed that there was bleach on her clothing that she was wearing at the time, which indicated that he most likely tried to eliminate any DNA evidence that was left behind
from the assault to cover his own ass. Really, yes, However, he could not deny it because the photos that were found on his phone with his genitals poking in from like the side of the frame of the photos and stuff with Mikelle in the frame.
Oh my goodness, gracious, the fact that he just took photos of this, I know, is just I mean, it's good, it's I guess it's good because now he's going to be charged with this because otherwise they.
Made time there was evidence.
Yeah, but oh my goodness, Yeah, No, that's.
A small silver lining. Is It's good that there was evidence to prove it. But it's still fucking discussing. And I mean, if that wasn't bad enough though, too. Joshua actually directly blamed doctor Pettitt for the murders of his own fucking family, calling him quote a coward in his diary, a diary that would later be used in evidence during the trial.
How do they think this?
Basically, like he's like, oh, you could have stopped it, but he didn't do anything to stop it.
Wow, Like two people, two males are breaking into your home while you're sleeping and then tie you up and you do manage to get free, which is like a miracle, but like you're a coward and not doing anything about it.
Yeah, regardless of his fucking writings, doctor Pettitt couldn't have done anything to have saved his family. You wanted to, which he did want to.
Well, and yeah, and he was in the process of fucking trying.
So now, doctor Pettitt did in fact survive this incident, despite his very severe injuries and significant blood loss, and would be the only surviving member of his family from the incident. His physical recovery involved extensive medical treatment with while his emotional recovery was a whole different story. He too blamed himself for the death of his wife and
two daughters. He struggled with the choice that he made of escaping from the basement and going to the neighbors for help rather than heading upstairs to try and protect his family himself. Facing the perpetrator's head on. However, in his contention, his feet were still bound and he was seriously seriously injured. I mean, he was like bleeding out because he was on blood thinners.
Remember this, right, I forgot about that.
Yes, he would have been absolutely no match for anyone, even if he fucking tried.
They would have just killed him instantly.
Yeah, he would have been crawling on the floor. And how is he going to fight two individuals?
Yeah, so at least he's going outside to try to get some help.
Yeah.
Oh, it just like breaks my heart though that he's blaming himself.
And so, as I mentioned, it was premeditated that both Joshua and Hayes intended to burn this place down with the purchase of that gasoline. They both already beat him nearly to death with a baseball bat, raped two out of three of the women inside, And if he did make the difficult choice to attempt to confront the attackers instead of seeking help, it's clear he too would have been burned in that house with the rest of his family, and he would not be alive today one hundred percent.
Hmm. Yeah. But I mean, gosh, like I just feel so bad for him, because to move forward from that is like, it's just almost on him.
I can't imagine being in the shoes of that. Yeah, I can't imagine the struggles, the thoughts, obviously the depression that's going to come alongside it, but wholeheartedly not his fault.
Oh no, Yeah, there was nothing that he could do.
Now. Thankfully, with the support of his remaining relatives and counseling, doctor Pettitt was able to make full recovery and is living a full and happy life today. It was difficult, but he did get remarried and actually even had a son.
Oh really, hey, yes, okay.
Now. The trials of Hayes and Joshua for the Cheshire home invasion murders were a very highly publicized and deeply emotional event, drawing extensive media attention due to the brutality of these crimes. The trials included crucial evidence such as testimony from doctor William Pettit himself, Good gathered surveillance footage from places such as the bank and gas station where they bought the fuel, forensic now and confessions from both perpetrators,
Joshua's diary photos taken during the assault. Now Hayes faced charges including six counts of capital felony, three counts of murder, four counts of kidnapping, one count of arson, and multiple counts of sexual assault and burglary. The trial began in September of twenty ten, and Hayes was found guilty on a total of sixteen counts on October fifth, twenty ten.
As a result, Hayes was sentenced to death on November twenty seventh, twenty ten, but after connecticut abolishment of the death penalty in twenty twelve, the sentence was changed to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. As for Joshua, he faced similar charges, six counts of capital felony, three counts of murder, four counts of kidnapping, and additional charges
of sexual assault and burglary. His trial commenced on September in September of twenty eleven, resulting in a guilty verdict on all seventeen counts on October thirteenth, twenty eleven. Joshua was sentenced to death on December ninth, twenty eleven, but like Hayes, his sentence was changed to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole following the abolishment of the death penalty in Connecticut.
Those are good, pun like, those are like thank you for that. Yes, Like they're still in jail, which is yes, forever.
And they are being held at different facilities. Hayes is currently incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution Benisher Township and I just fumbled that, sorry, the State Correctional Institution Benner Township in Pennsylvania, whereas Joshua is at the State Correctional Institution Phoenix, also in Pennsylvania.
Okay, I honestly that just makes sense, Like that makes sense, but I would never even thought of it. But yeah, they would have to be. Yeah, those two together are like, oh terrible.
It's like mixing shit and piss. Yeah, yeah, worse now. In two thousand and seven, prior to the convictions and everything like this, the Pettitt Family Foundation was established by doctor William Pettitt in memory of his wife, Jennifer Hawk Pettit,
and daughters Hailey and Mikella Pettitt. The foundation's mission is to honor their lives by supporting causes that they were that were important to them and that reflected their values and interests, such as education, chronic illness, advocacy, and violence prevention and victim assistance.
Oh man, that's so nice.
Eh, that is the story of the Schescher murders.
Hm. Wow, that is like that's a pretty brutal one. I feel like that is really up there.
For we flew through that second part.
Actually I just realized, wow, yeah, well still like holy shit, though, that.
Was you take it all in.
Yeah, it was like the loveliest of families, right, So it just I don't know, it just makes you kind of think a little bit, like, holy shit, no one is safe from like terrible people if if they want something.
Right, all it took was in part one, we discussed Jennifer taking Mikella to the grocery store, and Joshua just so happened to be at the same store and said, hey, the.
Fitting targets because too, Like I also feel like at the grocery store, like I don't even know if I like, you're not paying attention really right to know the people around you.
I don't even trying to avoid eye contact.
I know, like sometimes you have to run grocery stores, you do run into people, and so I'm always like in and out, like it's like one place I don't love running into people, but I don't think that. I'm usually pretty observant, I feel like of my surroundings, but just thinking about this at a grocery store, I'm not sure I really am.
I think you're mostly distracted at a grocery store.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's a task you're in there doing. Everyone's just minding their own business, generally speaking. It's in and out. You have a list you're I don't know, checking which bananas are right y not, or which cookies are on sale or what's the date on the milk, and like.
You know, awesome. So one place that we couldn't have our OCD and anxiety going fucking crazy now is just change.
Yeah, definitely.
Wow, Yeah, oh honey, Bunny is up and like, okay, that was quite the story.
Yeah. The dogs are are a little anxious in this storm, that's for sure.
Well yeah, yeah, okay, that would have been like a brutal want to research, Holy heck it was.
And there's a lot to this. I feel like each part, Like I think like part one was only like fairly over half an hour, and I think this part's probably like the same. I feel like it could have been one episode, but like I had so much information for this I think I just was on a mission and just like blew through all the information so fast.
Well, I know, I was just very like anxious to hear what the fuck happened. I was just hoping that that there would be more survivors of course, right.
Yeah, but unfortunately there wasn't.
I mean, good for him too for being able to like move on, you know to some extent, because that is just.
Yeah, terrifying, yeahing haunting.
Yeah, like just the trauma of that alone, I don't even quite you don't know, like it'd take a lot of work to get through that, right.
It would, And I honestly would imagine he's still struggling with some of the today.
Yeah, for sure.
May those two fucking rot because holy shit.
Yeah, they deserve to never ever ever see like the outside of a prison ever. Nope, And I would be surprised there. I mean, they can't be enjoying themselves in there because they like were rapist, right and like killed children and stuff.
So it's still mind boggling to me though, how they they flip that switch so so quick, like going into this this house, they knew they were going to do some of this stuff because one of the first things he did was nearly beat someone to deathly base all that, and as far as I'm aware, they were just breaking
and entering before together. Right, Yeah, So did they go into this house knowing or did they just like get in saw the situation and it just fucking escalated in that moment when they got the bat in their hands, and then from there it just went out of control and they're like, fuck, yeah, let's just do whatever because we have that power and we're just drunk with it now.
Yeah. See, that's another thing that doesn't make any sense to me, No any sense, because it almost seems like something would have happened because we did talk about them getting like more and more confident confident.
Right, Yes, definitely they were getting more and more confident because Joshua was kind of like all like ninja mode and shit breaking into places, right because he liked to fucking stare at people and move shit in their house, whereas Haze was like, hey, we can do that and make the big old ink from cashing in on stealing their shit. And as they developed their the little team, they got that confidence. But that confidence, for some reason in this case turned into arrogance drunk with power. I
don't know, idiocy. For the murderous rage, I don't know how to describe it.
You almost feel like it is just was it. It just kept going kind of thing because some of the things they did, though, didn't seem like there was like super thought through either.
Right, No, definitely not. I don't think they were super thought through, but they were definitely premeditated by definition.
But I think lots of them were premeditated when they were within the house though.
Yes, but the premeditation can be like thirty seconds. Yeah, that's they thought about it. It wasn't just a reaction, you know what I mean. For the gasoline, they went out, purchased it, brought it home, then several hours later used it to light the house on fire. Joshua, while Hayes was out, seized that opportunity and assaulted Mikela.
Yeah.
When Hayes came back, then it was Jennifer's turn.
Well, and I think to them just seeing that they didn't have much that they were going to make off of this house, and then they did come across like the bill or like the statement or whatever, and then went to the bank. So it was like, yeah, I just think it was an escalation kind of like just a real shitty one.
It got out of hand fast. But why it got out of hand because nothing else ever got out of hand in their other incidents.
Well, they always got things here. They were probably thinking they were going to get a home bunch of stuff and then.
You know, they they were about to get fifteen grand.
Yeah, but they also didn't, like I feel like this family knew them, like they might be able to identify them in sorts.
But before they even knew they weren't going to get anything, they had already beaten doctor Pettitt nearly to death with a baseball bands.
Right right, Okay, but maybe I'm just saying too. Maybe if they came back got the fifteen grand and the one I can't even remember which one it was, Joshua hadn't raped the girl, maybe they would have just left. But it was like that's like because there's like DNA and like that's a real real bad thing, right.
Yeah, But he probably thought he's gonna get away with that because the bleach situation.
I don't know, But then maybe the other guy was like, no, what the fuck are you doing? And then so then he took the opportunity and I don't know.
It's a whole fucked up thing, and it doesn't make sense why it escalated the way it did. But the fact remains they did it with intent, and that's fucked The.
Fact remains that these two are the biggest pieces of shit.
Oh they're douche canoes. Yeah, they're thorough douche canoes. And I do want to say that doctor Pettitt is the badass of the day for breaking those fucking bonds, crawling across the lawn, living through damn near bleeding out and getting himself to safety and calling nine to one one to save his family.
Well, yeah, and he too. I feel like, you know, she needs to take some credit to for the sentences that they did get because he was there, right and he like testified in court and stuff, definitely, which would not have been easy.
No, So, definite badass of the day going out to doctor Pettit And hopefully you guys enjoyed this episode. Hopefully enjoyed both part one and part two. If you want to check out any of our links. If you are local and want to get one of those tickets for our live two episode recording, you can go ahead and check out our social media links. We have an event on Facebook and Instagram. It's in our bio. You can
go check out the link get your tickets. If not, join us over in Patreon you can see the live stream. All the other social media links are there. We are an indie podcast produced by ourselves. We have just us research, recording, writing, uploading all of it, the sound engineering, the Nicole sitting there looking good on camera, because that's.
That's all I do. That's all I'm here for.
That's what you're doing right now. That's all I'm saying. I'm certainly not looking good on camera right now.
There you are.
Well, thank you. That's a flat out line.
No, no, I don't even have makeup on or anything. I really probably the first time we recorded, I think I probably set a bar, and since then it's just been slowly dropping. I'm not kidding.
I just didn't give a fuck to start with. So anyways, thank you for being here. You guys are incredible, and until next
Time, stay wicked