Steven Joseph Hayes was born on May 30, 1963. He grew up in Connecticut. 

On July 23, 2007, Steven Joseph Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky entered the Petit family home in Cheshire, Connecticut. Their original plan was to rob the house, but things quickly escalated. They found Dr. William Petit asleep on the couch and attacked him with a baseball bat. After injuring him, they restrained him and took him to the basement.

They then bound Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, in their respective rooms. The family was tied to their beds, and pillowcases were placed over their heads. As they ransacked the house for cash, they took William to the basement and continued their attempts to find money.

They discovered a check register indicating a large amount of money and decided to make Jennifer withdraw cash from the bank. They took her outside to the bank, and during the transaction, she informed the teller that her family was being held hostage. The bank manager called the police while this was happening.

As the police arrived, Hayes and Komisarjevsky continued their attack on the family. Joshua sexually assaulted Michaela, and during this time, William managed to free himself and attempted to escape. He heard one of the attackers say not to worry because it would all be over soon.

After William escaped, Hayes raped Jennifer and then strangled her. They then doused her body and parts of the house with gasoline before setting the home on fire. Hayley and Michaela both perished in the fire due to smoke inhalation. William was able to crawl to a neighbor’s house for help after sustaining severe injuries.

The two attackers fled the scene in the Petit family car. They were quickly spotted by police, leading to a chase that ended just a block away when they crashed into a police vehicle. The home invasion had lasted for about seven hours.

Both Hayes and Komisarjevsky later confessed to the crimes. They claimed that each other was the mastermind behind the invasion, but during their interrogations, evidence of their actions, such as the smell of gasoline on Hayes, was documented. They faced trials for their roles in the home invasion and murders.