Hayes, Cheshire suspect, hospitalized

New Haven (WTNH) - Steven Hayes, one of two men charged in the Cheshire home invasion deaths, remains in a medically induced coma after apparently trying to kill himself, reports said.

Correction officers found Hayes, 46, unconscious in his cell at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield Sunday morning.

Chief state's attorney Kevin Kane said Sunday that Hayes had some kind of "apparent medical emergency."

The Hartford Courant reports Hayes overdosed on medication. Citing a source, The Courant reported Hayes faked taking his medication for several days then took it all at once in an attempt to kill himself.

Hayes is in the Intensive Care Unit at the UConn Health Center in Farmington but any details about the accused killer's medical condition aren't being released at this time.

In fact, almost all information connected to Hayes' health and what happened are being kept under wraps with officials citing privacy laws and a court-issued gag order.

The situation is postponing jury selection and Hayes' own lawyer said he can't get details telling a judge he found out nothing about how long this situation will last.

Jury selection is underway in the trial of Hayes which was set to begin in September. He is charged with capital felony and other crimes in the 2007 attack on the Petit family home, but that is likely to come to a halt.

"What it's really going to mean is that there won't be any jury selection or trial for the foreseeable future until the defendant has recovered and is competent to stand trial," QU law professor Jeffrey Meyer said.

Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky are accused of killing Jennifer Hawke Petit and her two daughters Hayley and Michaela. Komisarjevsky's trial was expected to begin in 2011. Both men face the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.

William Petit, the sole survivor of the incident, declined to comment on Hayes.

The judge plans to meet with lawyers later this week to get a status on Hayes' condition and its impact on the case.