New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Accused UConn student in custody in Maryland
Peter Manfredonia was taken into custody Wednesday night on day six of the hunt for the 23-yearold, who is accused of two homicides, an assault, a home invasion and an abduction that all started late last week.
Connecticut State Police said shortly before 10 p.m. that Manfredonia had been found and was in custody.
The agency said the state police Eastern District Major Crime Squad was on scene in Hagerstown, Maryland.
“No injuries to any law enforcement personnel or Manfredonia,” state police said, adding that more information would be shared Thursday.
The news of Manfredonia being taken into custody came roughly an hour after Hagerstown police clarified some information regarding the latest sightings of him.
The department said in a statement that it “received information (Wednesday) that fugitive Peter Manfredonia may be in the Hagerstown area ... We believe that Manfredonia may still be carrying a large black duffel bag and that the bag contains firearms.”
Hagerstown police said Manfredonia abandoned a stolen vehicle in the parking lot of a Sheetz gas station in Chambersburg, Pa., on Tuesday. Police said the vehicle was discovered on Wednesday.
“The other agencies learned through their investigation that after Manfredonia abandoned the vehicle he took an Uber to the Hagerstown area (Tuesday),” the state said. “At this time, we believe that the suspect was and possibly still is, in the Hagerstown, Washington County area.
The search for Manfredonia extended Wednesday into Maryland, where police say the fugitive used an Uber to cross state lines after ditching a stolen SUV in southern Pennsylvania.
The landlord for the University of Connecticut student described him as a “normal guy” who kept to himself.
Xiomara Ruiz said Connecticut State Police notified her Saturday evening after they broke open the door to Peter Manfredonia’s off-campus apartment in Storrs. The woman said state police did not provide any information, only alerting her to the door that needed to be repaired.
For the past four months, Ruiz said Manfredonia had been renting a place at Renwood Apartments, a complex consisting of ranch-style buildings offering small one- and two-bedroom apartments that are each about 1,000 square feet and cost about $1,000 a month, according to online listings .
Ruiz said she hasn’t been contacted by Manfredonia’s family or state police about accessing the apartment on Darmouth Road. Ruiz said she always saw Manfredonia alone and there were no other names on the lease.
“He always paid on time,” Ruiz said. “He was a normal guy, a normal, young guy.”
Manfredonia, 23, who police say has been on the run since his alleged violent spree began Friday, has been spotted several times in recent days.
Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Anthony Petroski on Wednesday afternoon released new images of Manfredonia inside a convenience store in Chambersburg, Pa. A Hyundai Santa Fe, which was reported stolen Monday night near where Manfredonia was seen in East Stroudsburg, was recovered nearby, Petroski said.
“Witness descriptions and images from surveillance videos match that of Peter Manfredonia,” Petroski said in a news release.
Petroski said Manfredonia was then seen on video getting into an Uber, which drove him about 25 miles into Maryland, where he was last seen in Hagerstown. It was the second time police said Manfredonia used an Uber to cross state lines. Police said he also called for one Sunday afternoon to cross into eastern Pennsylvania after leaving a woman he kidnapped and her car at a New Jersey rest stop.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations is assisting the state police agencies with the case. Agent Charles Grady with the Connecticut FBI office said Manfredonia could face federal charges for allegedly taking the woman across state lines.
“There are a plethora of crimes involved,” Grady told Hearst Connecticut Media on Wednesday. “The federal nexus is the kidnapping.” Police said Manfredonia has been on the run since killing two people over the weekend in Connecticut, including shooting his former Newtown High School classmate in the head, according to the state’s chief medical examiner.
Attorney Michael Dolan, who was hired by Manfredonia’s family, said Wednesday he has not received an update on his whereabouts.
“State police have been great about providing information,” Dolan said. “I get the sense they want this to end peacefully.”
The search for Manfredonia began Friday morning after police say he attacked two men with a type of machete in the northeast Connecticut town of Willington. A source close to the investigation said Manfredonia was on his way to meet a former girlfriend when his motorcycle broke down.
Theodore DeMers offered Manfredonia a ride on his four-wheeler when police say the 62-year-old man was fatally attacked with an “edged” weapon.
John Franco, 80, was critically injured in the attack when he came to help his neighbor. Alice Franco told Hearst Connecticut Media on Wednesday that her husband, who grew up in Trumbull and is a U.S. Navy vet, is now in stable condition.
A Willington man was left unharmed Sunday after police say Manfredonia stole his guns, food, supplies and his truck during a home invasion.
A few hours later, police recovered the stolen truck in Derby, setting off an extensive search that led authorities to a Roosevelt Drive home about a mile away. Police said video surveillance showed Manfredonia walking “directly” toward Nicholas Eisele’s home between 5 and 6 a.m. Sunday.
Eisele, who was described by police as an “acquaintance” of Manfredonia, was killed after being shot several times in the head, the state’s medical examiner said.
By the time police arrived, Manfredonia had fled and kidnapped Eisele’s girlfriend in her 2016 Volkswagen Jetta. The woman and the car were recovered later Sunday in New Jersey. Police said the woman was unharmed and returned to Connecticut where she was interviewed by investigators.