Police Lead Multistate Manhunt For UConn Student Suspected Of Double Murder

Christian Winthrop·
The BuzzThe Net

MARLO SAFI
CULTURE REPORTER

Police in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New Jersey are searching for a University of Connecticut student suspected of murdering two people before fleeing across state lines, numerous sources reported.

Peter Manfredonia, 23, a senior at the University of Connecticut, is a suspect in the killing of a 62-year-old man and a 23-year-old male acquaintance in Connecticut, the Hartford Courant reported. 

Manfredonia is suspected of killing Ted DeMers, 62, after DeMers offered him a ride in Willington, Connecticut. Manfredonia is also suspected of assaulting another man with a sword or machete, state police said according to CBS News. 

Police found Nicholas J. Eisele, 23, dead in his home Sunday, and suspect Manfredonia killed Eisele in Derby, Connecticut and then stole a black 2016 Volkswagen Jetta from the home. (RELATED: In Pennsylvania 68% Of Coronavirus Deaths Occurred At Nursing Homes)

Manfredonia also kidnapped the victim’s girlfriend after fleeing the scene, but he released her and abandoned the vehicle at a truck stop along I-80 in Columbia, New Jersey, according to the Hartford Courant. She identified Manfredonia as her captor after calling 911, and was returned to Connecticut unharmed.

Pennsylvania State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Manfredonia was last seen in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He is a 6’3 white male who was seen in surveillance photo wearing a white shirt, dark shorts, and carrying a large duffel. Police are urging the public to not approach Manfredonia if he’s seen because he is armed and dangerous, and to immediately call 911.

Manfredonia is a senior student at UConn’s joint School of Engineering/School of Business and had not been living on campus at the time of the incident or during recent semesters, a university spokesperson told the Hartford Courant. 

The attorney for the suspect’s family has publicly pleaded with Manfredonia to turn himself in Monday night, according to CNN.

“Now Peter, if you’re listening, you are loved. Your parents, your sisters, your entire family loves you. Nobody wants any harm to come to you,” Michael Dolan, the attorney for Manfredonia’s parents, said in a press conference. “It is time to let the healing process begin. It’s time to surrender. You have your parents and your sisters and your family’s entire support. So Peter, from your parents, who love you, please turn yourself in,” Michael Dolan said.

The attorney also added that Manfredonia had mental health issues that he sought help from therapists for over the last several years.

Dolan also extended the Manfredonia family’s condolences “to the families and loved ones of those who have been injured and have suffered over the past several days by the events that have led to Peter’s flight from the area.”

 

– MARLO SAFI