couch. reporter: i m rani kaye in cheshire, connecticut. tonight, a cnn special report. what happened to a wife, a husband and their two daughters in a home that became a house of horror and terror? pure evil, the killings in connecticut. for the petit family in this quiet connecticut suburb, there was never any hint of the violence that was to come. the epitome of the all-american family. a beautiful mother and two beautiful daughters. reporter: never any clue their vibrant home on this road in the town of cheshire would soon become a house of horrors. their last day together as a family was a classic summer sunday. dr. william petit, a prominent connecticut doctor, a leading expert in the field of diabetes played golf with his dad. earlier that day, his wife of 22 years, jennifer hawke-petit, and her daughter, michaela, 11, had gone grocery shopping at this stop & shop supermarket. the younger daughter was going to make a special dinner for her family. so she and
showing air traffic control airsors have skyrocketed in the last few years. some of the biggest mistakes letting an unauthorized vehicle or person out on the runway. if that wasn t bad enough, the report shows air traffic controllers have become twice as likely to read radar incorrectly resulting in several close calls like this one when two planes nearly collided at j.f.k. airport back in june. meanwhile, the mastermind behind a horrifying home invasion in connecticut now facing a possible death sentence. that guy right there due for sentencing later this month. he will face the same jury who convicted him of raping jennifer hawke and her two daughters before tying them up and setting fire to their house. dr. william petit, that is to say, the sole survivor, here s what he had to say after yesterday s verdict. i thought from the beginning that he was a lying sociopathic personality and probably at this moment doesn t think he s guilty of anything.
now facing a possible death sentence. you have joshua due for sentencing later this month. he ll face the same jury who convicted him of raping jennifer hawke petit and her two daughters before tying them up and setting their house on fire in 2007. dr. william petit, the sole survivor of the attack, here s what he had to say after yesterday s emotional verdict. i thought from the beginning that he was a lying sociopathic personality and probably at this moment doesn t think he s guilty of anything. the co-defendant steven hayes was sentenced to death last year. he s now appealing his conviction. meanwhile, the house of representatives passing the protect the life act after an emotional floor debate yesterday. the proposed law makes it legal for hospitals to deny abortions to pregnant women with life
in it a poll this afternoon, he now leads in key swing and must win florida. cain beating romney there, 34-28. this comes on the heels of a national poll yesterday which put cain in the lead. now, cnn s polls of polls show that cain is still behind romney. just in that margin of error there, 23-20. whatever the case, it is no question that herman cain s popularity is surging. the national poll has you at number one. now the poll has you leading in south carolina and florida. what s your family thinking, and why do you think this happened, that you ve surged to the top? well, my family, they are not surprised. because they know me from my business career. because i ve always done some challenging things. but i believe this happened for two reasons. and it was first evidence with that florida straw poll. first, it demonstrates that the voice of the people is more important than the voice of the media, with all due respect. because for a while, as you know, some people in the
stoically, saying very little to reporters. not long ago he spoke about the man convicted of brutalizing his family. i m not surprised is at all. i thought from the beginning that he was a lying sociopathic personality. and probably at this moment doesn t think he s guilty of anything. he s convinced himself of that i suspect. you will hear more from dr. petit and debra feyerick who was right there in the courtroom. but first, herman cain has gone from underdog to possible top dog. the latest nbc wall street journal poll shows cain with support from 27% of republican voters. mitt romney is four points behind him. ranked third is rick perry with 16% saying they would vote for him. today, as you may have seen in the last hour on cnn, cain sat down with erin burnett for an interview that covered several topics. we begin on the alleged plot to kill the saudi ambassador to the united states. watch. i happen to believe in a this attempted assassination, that iran has its fi