The Petit Family

New Haven, Conn. (WTNH) - During sensational trials like this one is expected to be, so much attention is placed on those on trial -- the suspects. But in this case it's not easy to forget the victims.

49-year-old Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, did not survive the home invasion.

The Petit Family Foundation was established to continue the memories of the three Petit women.

Jennifer Hawke-Petit was a nurse at Cheshire Academy. The family had been very active in the community as well as several charities, most notably the Connecticut Chapter of the MS Society. Hawke-Petit had suffered from the disease.

Hayley had been a student at Miss Porter's was accepted into Dartmouth. She was planning to be a doctor. She had already made her mark on the community. Her mother suffered from multiple sclerosis and Hayley raised money for research through her group “ Hayley's Hope .”

Michaela, a middle school student at Chase Collegiate in Waterbury, was the family chef and was preparing to take up the mantle of charity work with “ Michaela's Miracle. ”

Police say the victims had been stalked while shopping at a local store in Cheshire earlier on that July, 2007 day and followed home.

During the overnight hours the suspects allegedly broke into the home through an unlocked hatchway in the basement. They're accused of dragging Dr. Petit to the basement and beating him with a baseball bat to within inches of his life.

They're then accused of raping Hawke-Petit and one of her daughters.

They also allegedly took Hawke-Petit to the bank, forcing her to withdraw money. It was at that point that she was able to alert others about what was going on back on Sorghum Mill Road by passing a note to the teller.

By the time police arrived things were happening quickly. The house was set on fire. All three victims were found inside.

Police say Hawke-Petit had been strangled to death. The two girls died of smoke inhalation.

Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky were arrested the same day, and have been locked up ever since.

The shock and pain that followed was overwhelming and in the three years since, Dr. Petit has struggled to deal with the most devastating loss imaginable.

In a previous interview, he said: "I'd be lying, you know, there's days I don't wake up and say, my God, what am I supposed to do here cause I don't know everyday.

"I'm just a guy, I've had really bad luck, I didn't ask for this really bad luck and part of me says, well, you might as well try to help something good out of it.

Dr. Petit has now dedicated his life to their work continuing to support the MS society through the Petit Family Foundation. The mission of the foundation is to help young people affected by chronic illness and those affected by violence.