HARTFORD, Conn. – A Connecticut man on death row for the killings of a mother and her two daughters in a 2007 home invasion says he came up with a bizarre plan to end his own life by lying about killing others in a spree of violence.
In an interview with The Hartford Courant, Steven Hayes said he fabricated claims in letters last year that he killed 17 people and committed dozens of drugged date rapes. He had hoped prison authorities would notify police and that he could trade information for food, including oysters to which he is deathly allergic.
“I planned to eat them and have them find me dead in my cell the next morning,” he said.
Hayes’ desire to die has been a theme of his defense since the July 23, 2007, killings.
He raped and strangled Jennifer Hawke-Petit. Her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, died of smoke inhalation after they were doused with gasoline and the house was set on fire.
