Out of tragedy, rebirth.
Six years after he lost his family in a home-invasion massacre in Cheshire, Conn., Dr. William Petit Jr. and his new wife have released a photo of their healthy 5-day-old boy.
“Our son is a beautiful Thanksgiving and Christmas gift,” Petit, 57, said of William III in a prepared statement .
“He is very lovable and sweet.”
The couple had married in August 2012. The bride, Christine Paluf, is a photographer. The two met when Paluf volunteered at many of the Petit Family Foundation fund-raising events.
“Little Bill” weighed in at six pounds, 14 ounces and measured 19 inches. He was delivered by Caesarean after a long and strenuous labor, the couple said.
“Though we were expecting him in a couple of weeks and hoped to have his nursery a little farther along, it’s such a sweet blessing to have something this amazing happen right before Thanksgiving,” Christine said in the statement.
“I’m filled with happiness and so grateful for his health.”
Petit had been left widowed and childless by a single act of brutality in July 2007.
Two men broke into Petit’s family home, beat him nearly to death, then tied him up in his basement. They raped and strangled his first wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and assaulted and burned to death their daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11.
The men, Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes, have been sentenced to death.
Petit said his slain family’s memory will live on in William.
“I will tell him of his two big sisters, Hayley and Michaela, and how they always helped others with smiles on their faces,” he said.
“I am sure they and their mother, Jennifer, are smiling down upon him.”
Both the mother and father said they are overjoyed.
“He’s so gentle, tiny and adorable, and the feeling of having created a new little family is so peaceful,” Christine said.
“I could just stare at him all day.”