New Haven , Connecticut ( CNN ) -- Steven Hayes , convicted of killing three members of a Connecticut family , has shown `` suicidal tendencies '' and expressed concern his food was tainted , a psychiatrist testified during the penalty phase of Hayes ' trial Monday . Dr. Justin Schechter , a Stamford , Connecticut , forensic and clinical psychiatrist , said that Hayes exhibited signs of depression after his 2007 arrest , but told him , `` I would rather they kill me '' -- reflecting Hayes ' apparent hope that he 'd be executed for his role in in the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters , 17-year-old Hayley Petit and 11-year-old Michaela Petit . The jury must decide whether to sentence Hayes to death . Hayes was n't in solitary confinement or considered `` actively suicidal , '' said Schechter , though there were concerns he had a seizure disorder , depression and anxiety . The high school dropout said he had a long history of substance abuse and had fathered two children out of wedlock , Schechter said . Hayes believed that a doctor was `` manipulating '' his food and would n't eat it , said Schechter , though he did eat food from the prison commissary . The court session ended with Schechter 's testimony on Monday afternoon , and will resume Tuesday . Hayes , 47 , was convicted this month of 16 of the 17 charges against him -- including nine counts of murder and capital murder and four counts of kidnapping -- in the deaths of Hawke-Petit and her daughters . Prosecutors allege that Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky invaded the Petit home in Cheshire , beat Jennifer Hawke-Petit 's husband bloody , strangled Hawke-Petit , set the house afire and tried to flee . Komisarjevsky is to be tried separately . Earlier in the day , Fred Levesque , former director of offender classification and population management for the state Department of Correction , testified that Hayes was written up for 24 disciplinary reports during a stretch in state prison . One of those was for hoarding medication , a charge to which Hayes voluntarily pleaded guilty . Asked by the defense if he had any knowledge of whether Hayes was a threat to the general population , Levesque answered `` no . '' Last week , a forensic psychiatrist testified that Hayes attempted suicide several times since his arrest and has said he wants to receive the death penalty . On cross-examination , Dr. Paul Amble said his panel did not address the question of whether Hayes ' suicide attempts were sincere . But in his opinion , he said , Hayes was `` making decisions that were rational , given his situation '' when he said he wanted to receive the death penalty . `` I want to plead guilty to everything now , because I just want it over now , '' Hayes told an evaluation team , said Amble , the assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine . Hayes described a plan to `` look like a monster '' to the jury , expressing no remorse , in an attempt to move the jurors to sentence him to death , Amble wrote in his evaluation of the defendant . Prosecutor Michael Dearington asked Amble whether Hayes truly wanted to be executed . `` I do n't know , '' the doctor said . `` I 'm not here to say I can exactly divine his thoughts , only what he said . '' In March , Hayes told a psychologist that he no longer wanted to commit suicide `` but intended to let the state do it , '' said Amble , who had been asked by the judge in the case to determine whether Hayes was competent to stand trial . Police testified that in the 2007 home invasion , Hayes and Komisarjevsky found evidence of a bank account containing $ 20,000 to $ 30,000 and forced Hawke-Petit to go to a bank in the morning and withdraw money from the account . Prosecutors said Hayes took her to the bank while Komisarjevsky stayed behind . When Hayes and Hawke-Petit returned with the money , officials said , the two men set the home afire and fled . Inside the home , authorities said , Hawke-Petit , 48 , was found raped and strangled . Her two daughters , one of whom had been sexually assaulted , died of smoke inhalation . Petit , the sole survivor , escaped to a neighbor 's home . CNN 'S Brian Vitagliano contributed to this report .
ER : A doctor says Hayes has exhibited ` ` suicidal tendencies '' NEW : The doctor says Hayes was worried his medication was being abused . A former Correction official testifies about Hayes ' disciplinary reports . Hayes was convicted of attempted murder in the 2007 home invasion .