Multi-state manhunt underway for University of Connecticut student suspected of 2 murders
Suspect wanted for two homicides, kidnapping, home invasion, and assault; former D.C. detective and Fox News contributor Ted Williams weighs in.
As the three-state manhunt continues Tuesday for the University of Connecticut student wanted in connection to two homicides, a home invasion, and a kidnapping, his family issued a statement pleading for him to turn himself in and begin the “healing process.”
Peter Manfredonia, 23, is believed to be using Uber, and other ride-sharing services, to get around after his second stolen getaway car, as well as his kidnapping victim, was found abandoned at a New Jersey rest stop near the Pennsylvania state border Sunday, authorities said.
Manfredonia, who was last seen on local surveillance footage in Stroudsburg, Pa., is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached if spotted, authorities said.
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In the latest update Tuesday, Pennsylvania State Police said Manfredonia was dropped off by an Uber in front of the East Stroudsburg Walmart on Sunday.
“Through interviews with the driver and recovered security camera footage, troopers were able to determine Manfredonia walked behind Walmart and other businesses onto a set of train tracks and was still in possession of a duffle bag full of guns he stole from a home invasion in Connecticut,” according to the press release.
Police describe him as a 6 feet, 3 inches tall white man. He was last seen wearing dark-colored clothes, a white t-shirt, and carrying a black duffle bag.
Bensalem, Pa. Public Safety Officer Fred Harran told Fox News that authorities may have difficulty identifying the suspect as many people choose to wear masks in public amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Michael Dolan, an attorney for his family, issued a statement on their behalf outside his Hamden, Conn. law office Monday evening, saying “they’re in shock by these events,” and have not been in contact with Manfredonia since he first kicked off his weekend crime spree Friday, according to the Hartford Courant.
“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,” Dolan told reporters.
“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.
“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.”
Manfredonia, a senior majoring in finance and mechanical engineering, is suspected of killing 62-year-old Ted DeMers, an artist and Marine veteran, and stabbing another man in Willington, Conn. on Friday. The two men reportedly were attacked after finding Manfredonia walking along a road and offering him a ride back to his motorcycle.
Most current photos of the suspect, Peter Manfredonia, who was last seen in East Stroudsburg, Penn. on Sunday. (Connecticut State Police)
Police said Manfredonia then committed a home invasion in Willington later Friday and held a 73-year-old man against his will until early Sunday morning, when he left with stolen food, three shotguns, a pistol, and the man’s truck.
That vehicle was found abandoned at 6:45 a.m. near Osbornedale State Park in New Haven County, Conn. and appeared to have been crashed, lodged into an elevated embankment.
Investigators believe Manfredonia walked about 1 mile away from the crash site to the Derby, Conn. home of an acquaintance, 23-year-old Nicholas Eisele, whom he shot dead. Manfredonia then allegedly kidnapped the man’s girlfriend and stole their 2016 Black Volkswagen Jetta to make his escape.
That car was located by New Jersey State Police Sunday afternoon at a rest stop near the Pennsylvania border. The woman, who hasn’t been identified by authorities, did not appear to be harmed when troopers found her with the stolen vehicle on Interstate 80 in Knowlton Township, Warren County.
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The FBI, as well as numerous other law enforcement agencies, including Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania State Police, and local police departments in Derby and Ansonia, Conn., are continuing their active search and investigation.
Manfredonia is a 2015 graduate of Newtown High School. He is a senior at the University of Connecticut, but has not lived on the campus in Storrs, Conn., at the time of the crimes or during recent semesters, UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz told WVIT.
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