Something remarkably good and kind happened this week at the otherwise dreadful trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky, accused in the notorious July 23, 2007, Cheshire home invasion.

As spectators filed into the New Haven Superior Court Tuesday, where lone survivor Dr. William Petit Jr. would later take the stand to testify about the crime that claimed his wife and two young daughters, his father-in-law did something extraordinary.

Rev. Richard Hawke, the father of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and grandfather of Hayley and Michaela Petit, went over to Benedict Komisarjevsky and offered some kind words.

"I just wanted to say I am sorry about what happened. God bless you," Rev. Hawke told the father of the man standing trial in one of the state's most heinous crimes ever.

Mr. Komisarjevsky nodded, The Hartford Courant reported.

Later, Rev. Hawke told the newspaper that the senior Mr. Komisarjevsky returned the blessing.

"He's a human being and he looked like he needed some of the strength and support that all of my family has," Rev. Hawke explained.

That sentiment, and the gesture of an obviously grieving father and grandfather, can be a lesson for all of us who are still struggling more than four years later to understand the randomness and viciousness of what happened to the Petit family.

The younger Mr. Komisarjevsky is entitled to defend himself against the accusations made against him in the court, but the fact that a Petit family member could show genuine kindness toward his father is a sign that even in the darkest days, there is hope for our future.