Suspect’s family pleads for surrender
UConn senior wanted for homicide, kidnapping
The family of Peter Manfredonia, the 23-year-old UConn senior suspected in two homicides, a kidnapping and other crimes urged him to turn himself in. A lawyer for the family delivered the message.
“Let me begin by expressing their condolences to the families and loved ones of those who have been injured and who have suffered over the past several days by the events that have led to Peter’s flight,” Hamden lawyer Michael Dolan told reporters outside his office Monday evening.
“Now Peter, if you are listening, you are loved,” Dolan said. “Your parents, your sisters, your entire family loves you. Nobody wants any harm to come to you. It is time to let the healing process begin. It is time to surrender. … Please turn yourself in.”
The lawyer also said Manfredonia has been treated for mental illness in the past.
“You won’t be surprised to hear that Peter has struggled with mental health issues over the past several years,” Dolan said. “He sought the help of a number of therapists, and he has had the help of his parents and loved ones to help him through those struggles.”
Dolan said Manfredonia has not been in contact with his family. “They’re in shock by these events,” he said.
Manfredonia has been on the run since Friday, when police say he killed a man and badly wounded another with an edged weapon in Willington. Later Friday, according to police, Manfredonia carried out a home invasion in Willington and held a 73-yearold man hostage until Sunday
morning, when he left with with food, three shotguns and a pistol and the man’s truck. That man was unharmed.
The truck was found crashed Sunday morning in Derby. Police later learned that Manfredonia had an acquaintance in Derby. When they went to that man’s home, they found him dead and his girlfriend and her black Volkswagen Jetta missing.
The girlfriend and the car were found later at a truck stop along I-80 in Columbia, N.J., about 7 miles from the Pennsylvania border, New Jersey state police Trooper Alejandro Goez said. The woman told police Manfredonia abducted her. She was otherwise OK and is back in Connecticut. Her name has not been released.
Police have not said how Manfredonia got from the truck stop to Pennsylvania.
The manhunt for Manfredonia is focused on the East Stroudsburg area of Pennsylvania, just across the Delaware River from New Jersey.
Pennsylvania state police said Monday that Manfredonia was last seen shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday walking along railroad tracks in the East Stroudsburg area. He was carrying a large duffel bag.
The brutal attacks in Willington shocked the region and the nearby UConn community, where Manfredonia is a senior in a select program studying engineering and business. Video purporting to show the inside of his apartment near UConn has made the rounds on social media.
Ted Demers, 62, was killed in the attack on Mirtl Road and another neighbor, who has not been identified, was badly injured. His injuries were described as being caused by a machete or sword.
The man killed in Derby was identified Sunday as Nicholas J. Eisele, 23. He and Manfredonia both grew up in Newtown.
Dolan said Manfredonia graduated from Newtown High School, was an honor student and was a football player who received allleague honors.
David Owens can be reached at dowens@courant.com.