The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Manhunt ended without incident
6 days, 4 states: On the trail of a slaying suspect
The four-state manhunt for Peter Manfredonia ended peacefully with his arrest outside a Maryland truck stop late Wednesday.
The search began Friday with a grisly — and seemingly random — crime more than 300 miles away on a quiet country road in Willington, Conn.
Around 9 a.m., police were called after Manfredonia had allegedly approached 62-year-old Ted DeMers saying his motorcycle had broken down.
The affable DeMers offered a ride to Manfredonia but was brutally attacked, dying en route to the hospital of multiple wounds to the head and chest.
Survivor’s wife: ‘He’s a very lucky man’
A neighbor, 80-year-old Navy veteran John Franco, a Trumbull native, was also injured after he tried to help DeMers, his wife, Alice Franco, told Hearst Connecticut Media Wednesday.
She credited her neighbors with saving her husband’s life after they saw the attack and began yelling, scaring Manfredonia away, then rendering first aid.
“He’s a very lucky man,” Alice Franco said of her husband, who was in stable condition as of Wednesday. “He’s hanging in there.”
After releasing a description of a suspected vehicle, state cops identified Manfredonia, a 2015 Newtown High School graduate and University of Connecticut senior, as a suspect.
Suspect’s landlord: ‘Normal, young guy’
Police searched Friday night for Manfredonia and released his photo to the public the next morning as the search continued with search warrants and witness interviews.
A landlord for the Storrs apartment complex where Manfredonia had been living said State Police notified her Saturday evening that they had broken down the door to search his place.
The woman, Xiomara Ruiz, said Manfredonia had been living there for four months and was the only name on the lease, describing him as ‘a normal, young guy.”
The next morning, state police were called to the home of a man on Turnpike Drive in Willington who said Manfredonia held him against his will, then stole food, guns and a truck, leaving the homeowner unharmed.
A killing in Derby
At 6:45 a.m., the stolen truck was found on Hawthorne Avenue in Derby, near Osbornedale State Park, setting off an extensive search that led authorities to a Roosevelt Drive home of an acquaintance from Newtown, 23year-old Nicholas Eisele, about a mile away.
Cops found Eisele shot to death inside — and determined Manfredonia had fled and kidnapped Eisele’s girlfriend in her 2016 Volkswagen Jetta.
Police then alerted other law enforcement and the public with description of the vehicle.
That afternoon, Eisele’s brother Michael tweeted images he said show Manfredonia’s bedroom, the walls of which are covered with handwritten messages that include “I’m not angry, I’m upset,” “Is this bad? and “Will I get in trouble?”
Chase leads to New Jersey, Pennsylvania
Around 1:30 p.m., New Jersey state police found Eisele’s girlfriend in New Jersey, near the Pennsylvania border, along with the stolen car.
That afternoon, Manfredonia was seen in East Stroudsburg, Pa., captured by a surveillance camera walking along railroad tracks carrying what appears to be a large duffel bag.
The hunt continued on Memorial Day.
Around 9 p.m., Pennsylvania state police said a black Hyundai Santa Fe was stolen in the area where Manfredonia was last seen the day before.
The next morning, he was seen inside a convenience store in Chambersburg, Pa. around 9:30 a.m.
Uber to Maryland, ‘absolutely no force’ used in arrest
The Santa Fe was later recovered nearby. The search then broadened into Maryland after police determined Manfredonia had allegedly taken an Uber over the state line.
Around 9 p.m. Wednesday, Maryland State Police, Connecticut State Police, U.S. Marshals and the FBI are at the Pilot Travel Center
truck stop in Hagerstown, Md. on a tip when they spotted Manfredonia walking from a wooded area about 20 feet away.
They drew their guns and approached Manfredonia, who surrendered without incident after a six-day, four-state manhunt.
“He went to the ground, he did not resist, and absolutely no force was used to effect the arrest,” Connecticut State Police Lt. Michael Pendleton said.
Pendleton said law enforcement found a gun about 200 yards away after Manfredonia walked officers to the weapon. State police have said the gun appeared to be the same weapon used in Eisele’s killing.
He is being held as a fugitive in Maryland and is expected to be extradited to Connecticut next week, according to state police.
Specific charges against Manfredonia will be determined, Pendleton said, declining to comment further on any possible motive in the case
“The investigation is not over by any stretch,” he said at a news conference Thursday.