Almost a year after a deadly break-in that ended with the deaths of three members of a Cheshire family, a new crime of "home invasion" becomes law on Tuesday.

The legislation was passed during a special session of the General Assembly in January that was convened as a result of the deaths of 48-year-old Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela.

Under the new law, a class A felony, a person commits "home invasion" by entering or remaining unlawfully in an occupied home, with the intent to commit a crime. It is punishable by 10 to 25 years in prison, with a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence.

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