USA TODAY Network
Published 12:07 a.m. ET May 28, 2020
A college student wanted for the slayings of two people in Connecticut was caught and arrested on Wednesday night following a six-day manhunt, according to law enforcement officials in Maryland.
Hagerstown Police Chief Paul Kifer said he got a text message at 9:26 p.m. after his investigators learned Peter Manfredonia, 23, was in custody. Police were told Manfredonia walked out of a wooded area behind a truck stopand turned himself in, Kifer said.
The U.S. Marshals Service and Washington County Sheriff’s Office were at the scene along with state police, authorities said.
Connecticut State Police said Manfredonia is wanted in the machete killing of 62-year-old Ted DeMers and wounding of another man in Willington on Friday. Manfredonia went to another man’s home, held him hostage and stole his guns and truck, then drove about 70 miles southwest to Derby, Connecticut, state police said.
**UPDATE**Suspect, Peter Manfredonia has been found & is in custody. CSP Eastern District Major Crime are on scene in Hagerstown, MD. No injuries to any law enforcement personnel or Manfredonia. More info will be provided on Thurs, May 28 @PAStatePolice@FBINewHaven@FBI@MDSPpic.twitter.com/QFnUDuOqn0
— CT State Police (@CT_STATE_POLICE) May 28, 2020
In Derby, police found Manfredonia’s high school friend, Nicholas Eisele, 23, shot to death in his home. Authorities believe Manfredonia then forced Eisele’s girlfriend into her car and fled the state. The girlfriend was found unharmed with her car at a rest stop on Interstate 80 in New Jersey, police said.
Manfredonia then took an Uber to a Walmart in East Stroudsburg, not far from the New Jersey border, Pennsylvania State Police said.
A lawyer for Manfredonia’s family said he has struggled with mental health problems, but did not show signs of violence.
Hagerstown Police were notified Wednesday afternoon that Manfredonia might have come into the area, Kifer said. That was more than a day after Manfredonia was dropped off downtown, he said.
Information from the Pennsylvania State Police, Chambersburg Police Department and U.S. Marshals Service revealed Manfredonia abandoned a stolen vehicle in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, according to a Hagerstown police news release. Authorities discovered the stolen vehicle on Wednesday. The other agencies investigating determined Manfredonia then took an Uber to Hagerstown.
Pennsylvania State Police on Wednesday afternoon said they had received a tip about a possible sighting of Manfredonia in Chambersburg. Witness descriptions and surveillance video images matched that of Manfredonia, according to police.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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