Judge to decide if girl, 9, can testify in Connecticut home invasion murders (VIDEO)

The 9-year-old daughter of Joshua Komisarjevsky, convicted over the Connecticut home invasion murders, may testify as part of a defense bid to save him from a death sentence.

A Connecticut judge will hold a hearing later this month to consider a motion by Komisarjevsky's defense attorneys to have his daughter testify, a move opposed by prosecutors, ABC News reported. 

Komisarjevsky, 32, was convicted last month for his part in the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and Hayley Petit, 17, and the sexual assault and murder of Michaela Petit, 11.

Their bodies were found in the charred remains of the house. The girls were alive and tied to their beds when the fire began, and the triple murder has been called the most horrific crime in Connecticut's history. 

(GlobalPost reports: Joshua Komisarjevsky found guilty: Connecticut now decides on death penalty)

A jury of seven women and five men has been hearing from witnesses for eight days as part of the sentencing phase of Komisarjevsky's triple murder trial.

As part of that phase, Komisarjevsky's sister told a jury Monday that he sexually abused her as a child for years, "but she said he wasn't a violent person and wouldn't intentionally kill," The Associated Press reported, without revealing her name.

She reportedly said the abuse by Komisarjevsky, which didn't involve sexual intercourse, began when she was about 7 and lasted until she was 9 or 10.

Defense attorneys have said that Komisarjevsky was sexually abused as a teenager by a member of his foster family, and later by someone else, although prosecutors say Komisarjevsky's claims were made "years later when he faced prison time for 19 nighttime residential burglaries."

And in a further twist, Komisarjevsky’s former Sunday school teacher testified Thursday that Komisarjevsky had been mixed up in a Satanic cult, the New Haven Register reports.

Armen Abrahamian testified that around 1995, one of Komisarjevsky’s mentors rescued him at a home where a satanic ritual was taking place. 

And Rex Hutto, pastor of the Evangelical Bible Church in New Hampshire, which the Komisarjevsky family attended in the mid-1990s, told the jury: "There was a part of Josh that really wanted to do the right thing… He wanted to honor God. He wanted to live up to the principles that were important to his parents."
 

Attorneys for Komisarjevsky want his daughter to testify, possibly by videotape. But an attorney for the girl’s guardian filed a motion to quash their subpoena, citing sensitive issues.

New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue ruled that the evidentiary hearing will be held Nov. 14 and be closed to the public.