HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A prosecutor for 46 years, New Haven State’s Attorney Michael Dearington says the job was about more than just putting away criminals, even when it came to one of Connecticut’s most infamous crimes - the killing of a woman and her two daughters during a home invasion in 2007.
“I looked at it as helping people, working with victims, working with witnesses,” said Dearington, who at age 73 recently informed state officials that he will retire effective June 1. “People who shouldn’t be on the street, I think it’s a worthwhile effort to get them off the street. But I don’t look at it as getting the bad guys.”
Widely respected by both fellow prosecutors and defense lawyers, Dearington has been the top state prosecutor in the New Haven area since 1978 - believed to be one of the longest tenures for a state’s attorney. He became a state prosecutor in 1972 after working two years as a prosecutor in Washington, D.C.
He is perhaps best known for convincing juries to impose death penalties on Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes, the killers in the Cheshire home invasion murders.
The two paroled burglars killed Jennifer Hawke-Petit and left her two daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, to die in a fire after a night of terror. Hawke-Petit’s husband, Dr. William Petit, was severely beaten but survived. Hawke-Petit and Michaela also were sexually assaulted.
“I’ve tried 20, 30, 40 murder cases. Certainly the tragedy in Cheshire was the one that received the most publicity,” Dearington said. “It was an incomprehensible tragedy, an enormous tragedy.”
Dearington, who grew up in Danielson and now lives in Madison, became close with Dr. Petit and his family, as he had with victims in other cases.
Petit said Dearington was a calming influence during a time of immense grief and anger. Shortly after his family was killed, Dearington visited Petit at Petit’s father’s house and explained what was going to happen with the prosecutions of Komisarjevsky and Hayes, Petit said.
“He really worked from the heart. He knew it was very personal,” Petit said. “He knew he was representing Jennifer, Hayley and Michaela. I consider him a friend and I think my entire family feels the same way. He’s the guy people would want as a prosecutor.”
The state would later abolish capital punishment, leaving Komisarjevsky and Hayes to serve life sentences. It was only the second time Dearington sought the death penalty. In the other case, a jury opted instead for a life sentence for Jonathan Mills, who stabbed to death his aunt and her two children in Guilford in 2000.
Dearington’s career wasn’t without setbacks. His prosecution of Branford flooring store owner Anthony Bontatibus, charged with setting a 1996 fire at his business that killed a volunteer firefighter, ended in three mistrials - two hung juries and a third for juror misconduct. The charges against Bontatibus were dropped in 2001.
On the other side of the aisle for many of Dearington’s prosecutions was public defender Thomas Ullmann, who has handled New Haven-area cases since 1985.
“He’s really a well-respected state’s attorney,” Ullmann said, “not obsessed with power, not a media hound, believes in trying his cases in the courtroom and not in the press, respects the defense.”
Chief State’s Attorney Kevin Kane said Dearington, whose father was a state prosecutor and judge, is a role model for other prosecutors.
“He’s a quiet guy who’s been a terrific prosecutor,” Kane said.
In his retirement, Dearington said he plans to travel with his wife of 38 years, Geraldine, who also is retiring soon. The couple has three adult children and a granddaughter.
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