Manfredonia waives probable cause hearing
Peter Manfredonia — a University of Connecticut student accused of a string of crimes including two homicides, a home invasion and kidnapping — entered a not guilty plea during a court appearance Wednesday.
Manfredonia’s defense attorney, Michael Dolan, said after his client’s arrest that he would plead not guilty to the charges. He also had Manfredonia placed on suicide and mental health watch while he is held in jail.
During the court appearance on charges of murder, attempted murder, firstdegree assault, home invasion, kidnapping and other offenses related to the crimes police say he committed in Willington, Manfredonia opted for a jury trail.
“He does wish to waive his probable cause hearing,” Dolan said on his client’s behalf.
The judge confirmed Manfredonia’s decision in a series of mandatory questions linked to the hearing to ensure he understood his choice.
During that questioning, Manfredonia mostly responded with “yes, your honor” and “no, your honor.”
Manfredonia also told the judge during the questioning that prior to his arrest he, “was a senior in college ... I was studying management and engineering for manufacturing.”
Dolan confirmed to the judge that waiving the hearing was for “strategic reasons.”
A probable cause hearing must be held within 60 days of a person being charged.
During the hearing, the state must prove there is probable cause “to believe that a murder has been committed and that you committed it,” the judge told Manfredonia. He told the judge he understood his decision and still opted to waive the hearing.
Manfredonia’s next court appearance has been scheduled for Oct. 2.
The charges Manfredonia pleaded not guilty to Wednesday
were linked to violence that started in Willington on May 22.
After a six-day manhunt that spanned several states, law enforcement took Manfredonia into custody on May 27 in Hagerstown, Md.
Police say the crime spree began in Willington around 9 a.m. May 22, when Manfredonia took a ride on an ATV from 62-year-old Ted DeMers.
Manfredonia apparently told DeMers his motorcycle broke down, according to the arrest warrant for the Willington crimes said.
Manfredonia allegedly attacked DeMers and a neighbor — 80-year-old John Franco — with a sword. DeMers died from his injuries. Franco was critically injured, but was in stable condition by the time Manfredonia was taken into custody.
On the morning of May 24, police received a call from a Willington man who said Manfredonia held him against his will for hours before the Newtown resident stole food, guns and a truck from the man, according to authorities. The man was unharmed.
That truck was found near Osbornedale State Park in Derby around 6:45 a.m. May 24, setting off an extensive search in the area that led law enforcement to a Roosevelt Drive home about a mile from the park. It was the home of Nicholas Eisele, a former Newtown High School classmate of Manfredonia.
Eisele was found shot to death inside the home, police said. Manfredonia fled, taking Eisele’s girlfriend with him in the woman’s Volkswagen Jetta, police said.
The Newtown High
School graduate has not been charged with the crimes police say he committed in Derby.
By the afternoon of May 24, New Jersey State Police found Eisele’s girlfriend and her car at a rest stop near the Pennsylvania border. Police said Manfredonia was then spotted in nearby East Stroudsburg, Pa.
On May 26, police said Manfredonia had been seen in a convenience store in Chambersburg, Pa. The search extended into Maryland after police learned that Manfredonia took an Uber over the state line.
The next day, various law enforcement officers were at the Pilot Travel Center truck stop in Hagerstown, Md., when Manfredonia was seen walking from a nearby wooded area. He was taken into custody without incident, police said.