LAWFUEL – The Law Newswire – The Connecticut doctor whose wife and two daughters were murdered and raped delivered an emotional eulogy yesterday before nearly 2000 family, friends and supporters. The New York Post reports.
Petit spoke slowly and haltingly for about 10 minutes at the end of the nearly two-hour ceremony. Hunched over the podium, gripping it in both hands, the 50-year-old victim bore the marks of the brutal beating the intruders gave him.
Several times he absentmindedly touched the vertical three-inch gash on his forehead, and when tears threatened to overwhelm him, he tipped his head toward the ceiling, revealing dark blue and yellow bruises under his glasses.
“I guess if there’s anything to be gained from the senseless deaths of my beautiful family, it’s for us all to go forward with the inclination to live with a faith that embodies action,” Dr. William Petit said at the memorial service in New Britain, as he fought back sobs.
He beseeched the crowd to “spread the work of these three wonderful women.”
“Help a neighbor, fight for a cause, love your family,” Petit said in a moving eulogy to his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11.
“Hayley was our first child. She was daddy’s little girl,” he told the crowd. “Except she’s a lot smarter than me.”
Turning to the three life-sized posters of each victim beside him, he stared at the image of Michaela.
“She was going to grow up to be a beautiful woman,” he said, as his voice faltered and cracked.
