Jan 22, 2013

Legislation re institutionalization of violent teens

This  article  about a shortage of child therapists in the State of Connecticut is most timely following
the post below about a mother struggling with a personality disordered teen. The boy she calls "Michael" is rapidly outgrowing her, and already poses a physical threat to  both she and her two other children at the age of fourteen..

When I read that article, I thought immediately of Joshua Komisarjevsky, the young sociopath that followed Jennifer and Michaela Petit home from a local supermarket in Cheshire with his eye on the blossoming 11 year old Michaela. Michaela - clearly a girl, not a women, she was a bit tall for her age and looked at the most thirteen or fourteen.

The entire state of Connecticut and most of the country is familiar with the crimes which ended with Komisarjevsky, the ringleader and his much less intelligent and evolved sidekick Steven Hayes, setting a strategically planned fire in attempt to destroy their own DNA left from the sexual assaults that were the motivator for the crimes. Both men as repeat felons were in the state's DNA database.

Hayes assaulted Mrs Petit hours after the break in just as she returned home from the bank; Komisarjevsky jumped on her and helped tied her up with Hayes. According to Hayes, Komisarjevsky told him to kill Jennifer Petit and encouraged him to rape her: My guess is that this is the truth.

Komisarjevsky wanted a fall guy; he even told a writer that he'd planned on killing Hayes after the crimes. At that time of Mrs Petits murder, the fire had already been planned the gasoline purchased, yet only komisarjevsky's DNA was an issue at that time, as he'd been molesting Michaela all morning and had just raped her and then had her bathe hoping to remove any internal DNA that he feared might linger through an autopsy.

Hayes had done all the dirty work, such as going out at 6 am to buy the gas to burn down the house, he hadn't raped or molested anyone at that point, he had simply ransacked the house as a common thief would. The trip to the gas station left his image on the gas station video, albeit several towns away, where police might be less likely to look for these images.

Komisarjesvky used that time that Hayes was out again to return to his main objective; molesting Michaela and take cell phone photos of his molestation's. All of this was done quietly, unbeknownst to Mrs Petit who was tied and blindfolded in another room on another floor. He needed her compliance and trust to ensure that she would in fact bring back the 10,000 he asked for from her bank when it opened at 9 am

Always the shrewed one Komisarjevsky had Hayes bring Mrs Petit to a bank several towns away where she wassn't a familiar face, and giving him more time with Michaela. Hayes, again the fall guy none to bright, was the one who could be spotted or caught if Mrs Petit decided to bolt, despite her family being held hostage by Komisarjevsky who was in communication with Hayes via cell phone.

These are all indicators that Komisarjevsky was calling the shots, and his plan all along was to blame the older much more sinister looking Hayes, whom he'd  used as back up brawn to get the house under control. He used Jennifer Petit's attractive looks as bait as she was Hayes; age, and the stunted Hayes who had mostly been with prostitutes his entire life was undoubtedly revved up by komisarjevsky's descriptions of  a house ful of attarctive that he would have access to.

Komisarjevsky who promised Mrs Petit so convincingly that her family would not be harmed if she went to the bank in the morning and extracted her 10,000 in cash, was sexually assaulting eleven year old Michaela the moment Mrs Petit left the house with Hayes. Up until that point, he had been superstitiously molesting the little girl in another part of the house, while her mother tied in another room was completely unaware. Mrs Petit even asked to see her girls prior to leaving for the bank with Hayes. Komisarjevsky had re-dressed Michaela in her pajamas after taking cell pictures which involved putting his victim into outfits. Jennifer Petit was so fooled by this sociopath that her girls were unharmed that she continued to cooperate with what was a consummate evil con artist.

Mrs Petit had only seen komisarjevsky's "nice" soft spoken side up to that point she returned from the bank. She'd been unawares of the violence that he alone had committed upon her husband whom he repeatedly hit in the head with a bat, while the head of the house lay sleeping on a sunporch visible to both men from outside. The kid who has broken into hundreds of homes for the "thrill" easily broke  a dysfunctioning lock on a basement dooe. He was upstairs in minute.

Holding a Pellet pistol that looked exactly like a 9mm gun (he'd again had Hayes buy that day at Walmart )looked like a 9mm the men dragged Mr Petit to the basement and tied him bleeding and semi-conscious to a pole, with his hands and feet zip-tied. In the end he was awakened by loud noises and a man yelling to him "don't worry it ll all be over soon"

That voice was JOSHUA komisarjevsky , he was the only one who had done all the talking to Dr Petit throughout the assault and afterward.

Jennifer Petit told the teller at the bank that the men were being " really nice"and she "believed them that they'd be "on their way" once they got the money and wouldn't hurt her family.

Those words " on their way" were spoken by Komisarjevsky the consummate liar. Remember somehow at 26 with over 40 breaking and entering arrests the bulk of which he committed only when the homeowners were in the house only served two and half years in prison before being released to a halfway house where he was free to come and go which he did.with his underage girlfriend victim.

The fact that he only broke into houses at night when other burglars avoided homeowners at all costs. should have flagged the police the court and the Parole board that this was a dangerous stalker, a sexual predator well on his evolutionary ladder to attaining what he felt was power and control over others in what was supposed to be their sacred haven their home.

He also had a history with local police of harassing and stalking young girls for years, a  cheshire detective stated that he would watch girls from trees on their property a crime once thought to be a nuisance crime along with exposing oneself has long been known as a serious offense that the criminal is testing the waters for sexual assault.

Young girls  posed no emotional threat to Komisarjevsky and thus he could more easily con and manipulate them. He had sired a child a girl with a 15 year old when he was 22. This was statutory rape and again a missed chance by the system to have komisarjevsky a registered sex offender which is exactly where he belonged. On that registry. This wasn't a 16 year old with a 15 year old as well  he continued his pursuit of underage girls thereafter;

He had a 15 year old out of state girlfriend at the time of the Petit assaults and murders. The girls parents had just moved her to Arkansas leaving Komisarjevsky angry and looking for This man was in our criminal justice system starting at 12.

Komisarjevsky was diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder at 16 and his parents were told he should be  institutionalized where he would receive anti-psychotics. With deadly results his parents declined land by the time Komisarjevsky committed the Petit sexual assaults baseball assault upon the Dr William Petit Jr.

He was a full blown psychopath who has attained early release parole and primary custody of his five year old daughter, despite having an ankle tracking bracelet on his leg for a lifetime of felony's which  should have been considered violent crimes, but were stupidly viewed as nuisance crimes -To the tune of 48 arrests and 23 convictions. Meaning Connecticut's plea bargain system made half of those crime charges " disappear"  Had he been convicted for all of the crimes he actually committed komisarjevsky would have been in prison for 16 years.

As it was he was supposed to be prison for nine years according o the judges orders, and then if he caused no trouble in prison which he couldn't as he asked to be put in solitary due to being harassed by other inmates" more manipulation with his parents intervention with the DOC.undergo 6 years of special parole.

None of this happened as Connecticut's parole board was doing business as usual when giving this dangerous man early release without  the inmate actually being present called administration parole and the norm at the time and worse yet with no paperwork for the 40 some odd arrests and the details of his history including the essential information that  he'd spent a life time breaking and entering first his neighbors homes while they were eating or sleeping and then once caught moving on B and e binges in other townships where he was eventually caught again.

His case was not unusual the Connecticut Parole board which had long been operating with next to no paper records for the men and women they were setting loose upon our community's and our children.
The prosecutor's who handled the cases that traversed to the parole board refused to pay for the copying costs for any of the inmates records who were up for parole. They felt if the parole board a separate state entity, should pay.

In the meantime no one paid and the records were shipped off to Meriden to a makeshift warehouse for criminal records of dangerous criminals that meant life and death to Connecticuts citizens..

This sociopath and the long and winding path of his criminal behavior that ultimately led to the Petit family assaults and murders is a classic illustration of all that is wrong with our state;s handling of  teenagers that run afoul of the law again and again.

There must be legislation that forces the parents of underage komisarjevsky like kids to be institutionalized post haste the moment the law allows it. Many of these so called problem kids and teenagers are coddled by both the system and thier parents both of which are completely ignorant re the symptomology of a personality disorder and the fact that it is not curable or treatable and it will escalate and innocent people will be hurt maimed or killed.

Komisarjevsky gave police and his parents stories of childhood abuse. With an oppositonal defiant kid lies and manipulation are as inherent to them as breathing is to most of us. The key element to their persona is a lack of conscience and and mendacity - they will try to rationalize every anti-social act with whatever is at their disposal. However, that deceitful manipulative nature that can sometimes be wrapped in what appears intelligence, articulate and even charming, as is required for the situation.

While I am loathe to bring back the pain of these crimes that still reside in so many peoples hearts, it is a necessary evil of sorts, if we hope to change what happened with Joshua Komisarjevsky  His is a particularly glaring case of State irresponsibility, and our government must adapt and change every mistake and oversight along the way of this perfect example of a set of crimes that should have never happened.

These were not first time offenders by any stretch and the young man who planned these crimes should have been forced into institutionalization, no matter what his parents wanted, the moment he ran afoul of the law. There were arson's, stalkings, Breaking and entering's, serious larceny's, all before Komisarjevsky was 18. His parents should not have had the discretionary right to keep him at home where he was able to continue to harm others.  He was thus diagnosed when the police and the courts forced the issue very early in his criminal career, but nothing was done with that information.
Later after he set fire to a gas station for his parents were given the choice to institionalize or " move out of state". .They chose the latter.

We need laws and mandatory sentencing to ensure  that something like this never happens again.Komisarjevsky was an unsually overt case of repeat criminology that was like a ticking bomb due to the failure of many arms of Connecticut's " justice system"

Read the comments section after the link in the Post below and you will find that this country is rife with personalty disordered teenagers and young adults. The parents and other relatives decry again and again a lack of resources to turn to. We have doctors nurses surgeons traversing their way to other countries for all kinds of Pro Bono assistance such as helping surgically repair children born disfigured and haven't the resources to pay for the relatively simple surgery..

I certainly don't begrudge this wonderful program, but let's apply this same benevolence here where there is great need and a corresponding lack of resources, as a palliative measure for our victims of crime.

The Newtown Murders alone have left thousands of children and adults in need of counseling and mental health treatment: this is as,or more essential than fixing a facial disfigurement. Hundreds of thousands of peripheral victims are created every time an innocent person is murdered, especially a child.

The governor should weep for each and every one..