Komisarjevsky to Appeal Denial of Guilty Plea Offer

Cheshire home invasion defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky will appeal a judge’s denial of his offer to plead guilty in return for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release.

Defense lawyers for Komisarjevsky asked the state Appellate Court to decide if Superior Court Judge Roland Fasano erred when he ruled on March 23 that he did not have the authority to accept the plea deal over the objection of state prosecutors.

In his decision, Judge Fasano said he was not inclined to approve the plea, "even assuming the court had the power to do so."

Komisarjevsky’s lawyers offered the conditional guilty plea in March as jury selection started for his trial. The trial judge, Judge Jon C. Blue, referred the offer to Judge Fasano.

Jury selection continued Monday. Defense lawyers and prosecutors previously selected 12 regular jurors and six alternate jurors, but they still have to select three backup alternates.

If he is convicted, the jury would then hear evidence and decide if Komisarjevsky should get the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of release. His co-defendant, Steven Hayes, received the death penalty in a separate trial last year.

Komisarjevsky’s trial is scheduled to start on Sept. 19 in New Haven Superior Court.