Crime / Steven Hayes Triple Murderer Hayes Welcomes Death Sentence It will be a 'relief,' he tells courtroom By John Johnson, Newser Staff Posted Dec 2, 2010 4:40 PM CST Copied Dr. William Petit Jr. leaves Superior Court in New Haven, Conn., after the sentencing of Steven Hayes, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill) Steven Hayes, convicted in the brutal triple murder of a mother and her two daughters, learned his fate in a Connecticut courtroom today: He'll be executed on May 27, 2011. Among the quotes in the Hartford Courant coverage of the sentencing: Hayes: "I am tormented and have nightmares about what happened in that house. Death will be a welcome relief." Surviving husband/father William Petit: "I had spent every waking moment, and there were plenty, thinking of that night and replaying everything that occurred over and over again." Hayes: "I oftentimes looked at Dr. Petit and became sick to my stomach knowing what he has been through and what he continues to go through to this day." Petit: "I seriously considered suicide many times." The judge: "This is a terrible sentence, but it is a sentence you wrote for yourself." Hayes: "I am deeply sorry for the pain I have caused." Petit, speaking of his wife: "We were best friends." (More Steven Hayes stories.) Report an error