S02.E04: Connecticut Horror Story

[Drogo]

One summer night in 2007 comes as a nightmare for the Petit family when woken up by two strangers in their quiet, peaceful home of Cheshire, Conn. Suddenly this family of four finds themselves held hostage and in a fight for their lives.

[walnutqueen]

The incompetence exhibited by the police in this case was astounding.  First they respond to the bank instead of the victims' home, then they waste all sorts of time at the home setting up a perimeter,  waiting for their boss to arrive, and then waiting for the bulletproof vests that SWAT forgot to bring along.  They don't try to call the house & talk to the hostage takers, despite having the phone number.  They are "confused" by the badly injured homeowner who managed to escape.  They hesitated to enter the home when they first saw smoke.  Guess it's lucky the perps crashed the getaway car, or they may have lost them, too.  Now to add insult to injury, one of the perps is appealing his conviction because the cops didn't turn over taped interview evidence to the defense.

[TheGreenWave]

8 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

The incompetence exhibited by the police in this case was astounding.  First they respond to the bank instead of the victims' home, then they waste all sorts of time at the home setting up a perimeter,  waiting for their boss to arrive, and then waiting for the bulletproof vests that SWAT forgot to bring along.  They don't try to call the house & talk to the hostage takers, despite having the phone number.  They are "confused" by the badly injured homeowner who managed to escape.  They hesitated to enter the home when they first saw smoke.  Guess it's lucky the perps crashed the getaway car, or they may have lost them, too.  Now to add insult to injury, one of the perps is appealing his conviction because the cops didn't turn over taped interview evidence to the defense.

I wish I could up-vote this 1000 times!!  Yes!!  Mr. GreenWave (who, honestly, is basically numb now with all of my ID/Murder TV watching) was so angry that even he was shouting at the TV when they played the audio of the SWAT guy saying that they forgot their FREAKING VESTS!!!  They are SWAT FFS!!! 

How incredibly sad was the video footage of Jennifer at the bank?  I can't imagine what that bank manager felt when she tried to save them, and it was totally screwed up by the police who didn't understand what was going on, showed up at the bank, then went to the house, but somehow thought that Jennifer was trying to bilk the bank account out of money, so they didn't really take it seriously?!?  Then the police spokesman misled the public by making up a timeline.  FOR SHAME!  My God, I don't know how they can sleep at night knowing that everything that evil went down in that 30 minutes.  Those poor girls.

8 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

They are "confused" by the badly injured homeowner who managed to escape.

Honestly, I was surprised they didn't just shoot him because they thought he was one of the perps.

[Fable]

I couldn't even bring myself to watch this episode.  I had seen this story before on Dateline or some other crime show and remember being well and truly horrified.  No way was I going to sit through it again.  

[walnutqueen]

33 minutes ago, TheGreenWave said:

I wish I could up-vote this 1000 times!!  Yes!!  Mr. GreenWave (who, honestly, is basically numb now with all of my ID/Murder TV watching) was so angry that even he was shouting at the TV when they played the audio of the SWAT guy saying that they forgot their FREAKING VESTS!!!  They are SWAT FFS!!! 

How incredibly sad was the video footage of Jennifer at the bank?  I can't imagine what that bank manager felt when she tried to save them, and it was totally screwed up by the police who didn't understand what was going on, showed up at the bank, then went to the house, but somehow thought that Jennifer was trying to bilk the bank account out of money, so they didn't really take it seriously?!?  Then the police spokesman misled the public by making up a timeline.  FOR SHAME!  My God, I don't know how they can sleep at night knowing that everything that evil went down in that 30 minutes.  Those poor girls.

Honestly, I was surprised they didn't just shoot him because they thought he was one of the perps.

I'm glad your outrage matches mine.  I'm also angry that the police clusterfuck took one iota of outrage away from the pieces of shit perps who raped a little girl and terrorized & killed a family.

[TheGreenWave]

37 minutes ago, walnutqueen said:

I'm glad your outrage matches mine.  I'm also angry that the police clusterfuck took one iota of outrage away from the pieces of shit perps who raped a little girl and terrorized & killed a family.

RIGHT!!??!  I couldn't believe the rage I felt for the police in this situation (THIRTY MINUTES!!) in addition to those evil, evil a$$holes (my God, calling that poor girl by her nickname?  He should have been shot on sight).

I was totally ok with those two evil men being sentenced to death (agree with the sister - some crimes just need the death penalty), but then their sentences get commuted, and then one of those f*cks wants a new trial?!?!  NO!

[Razzberry]

These seem to get more horrifying every week.  

[bubbls]

I just finished watching this. I have no words! This right here is exactly why if anyone ever breaks into my house they will be shot dead. You break into my house you do not get any benefit of the doubt.

This one brought some tears. What a huge tragedy. Here is a law abiding family, raising decent kids, contributing to society annihilated by these useless drains on society who will be sucking up taxpayer $ for decades to come. I truly hope they're getting terribly abused in prison every day and night.

I am delighted that law was passed. I wish it was nation wide. 

I guess I did have a few words. 

[RedheadZombie]

The story was slightly different that I've heard before.  They seemed to have skipped the mother's rape.  The younger guy insisted the older guy rape Jennifer because he had already assaulted the younger daughter.  I've also always heard that the screams of the girls could be heard clearly outside the house while the police stood by.  

The police spent all that time establishing the perimeter, and yet they don't even see the dad come out of the house, or even the neighbor wondering into the yard and discovering him.  

That poor, poor bank manager.  She did everything right and wasn't able to save anyone.

A horror show from start to finish.  It makes you analyze the minutiae of your life when the simple act of going to the grocery store can end in such violent deaths.  HBO made a documentary on this case, called "The Cheshire Murders", which spells everything out in a more thorough way.  

[Sweet-tea]

I saw the Cheshire Murders and it is excellent. If I remember correctly, the older daughter was also raped. I could have that wrong thought.

I also couldn't believe how incompetent the police were, and they didn't even apologize! Gosh. They probably were afraid they'd get sued but still. After the mother called the bank, why didn't they go over to the house and just wait for the guy to drive up in the car? If they didn't get there in time, then why on earth did they do NOTHING while the mother and daughters were being raped and murdered? It makes me sick! 

Absolutely gut-wrenching case. I shouldn't have watched it because I remember how upset I was over The Cheshire Murders. It stayed with me for days. But I was curious to see the differences in the versions. 

Edited December 5, 2017 by Sweet-tea

[badhaggis]

The entire clusterfuck ineptitude of the police absolutely infuriates me. Then lying about the timeframe to everyone. I was yelling at my television. How can a swat team "forget" their vests. I did watch the Cheshire Murders as well. I think this special glossed over some of the horrors however it was well done.

[chenoa333]

Oh shit....havent seen this one yet. But I'm going to try to get thru it next time it's on. 

Thanks to all the posters who warned me!