An attorney for the family of UConn murder suspect Peter Manfredonia has urged the alleged killer to give himself up.
Manfredonia is being hunted by Connecticut state police and the FBI after allegedly killing two people with a machete knife before abducting another woman, who was rescued alive on Sunday.
The 23-year-old UConn senior was last seen walking along railroad tracks in Pennsylvania on Sunday.
Family lawyer Mike Dolan said ‘it’s time to surrender’ after promising Manfredonia that ‘your entire family loves you’ and that ‘nobody wants any harm to come to you’.
‘It is time to let the healing process begin. From your parents – we love you. Please turn yourself in,’ he said.
Police describe Manfredonia as a 6ft 3in white man who should be considered armed and dangerous, dismissing a rumor last night that he had been captured.
Police are hunting UConn senior Peter Manfredonia (pictured) left and right), 23, who allegedly killed two people and was still on the run last night
Family lawyer Mike Dolan (pictured) said ‘it’s time to surrender’ after promising Manfredonia that ‘your entire family loves you’ and that ‘nobody wants any harm to come to you’
The search for Manfredonia spans three states and more than 100 miles of territory
Manfredonia is suspected of killing 23-year-old Nicholas Eisele (left) and 62-year-old Ted DeMers (right) before forcing Eisele’s girlfriend into her car and fleeing Connecticut
Manfredonia is suspected of killing Ted DeMers, 62, and Nicholas Eisele, 23, before forcing Eisele’s girlfriend into her car and fleeing the state with her.
The 23-year-old woman was located in her Volkswagen Jetta near Paterson, New Jersey on Sunday and was not hurt, police said. Authorities have not named her.
Manfredonia was separately seen carrying a duffel bag near train tracks in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, around an hour further west on Interstate 80.
The alleged killer is thought to be armed with several guns stolen during a home invasion.
Family lawyer Dolan said Manfredonia had struggled with mental health issues and ‘sought the help of a number of therapists’.
‘You have your parents’ and your sisters’ and your family’s entire support. So, Peter, from your parents, we love you, please turn yourself in,’ he said.
Manfredonia, a finance and mechanical engineering major, is accused of killing DeMers and assaulting another man in Willington on Friday, after they found him walking along a road and offered him a ride back to his motorcycle.
The other man suffered severe wounds described as sword or machete wounds, state police said.
The second victim, Nicholas Eisele, was found dead at his home Sunday in Derby, which is about 60 miles south-west of Willington.
State police described Eisele, who worked with his father in a landscaping business, as an acquaintance of Manfredonia’s. The medical examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine cause of death.
Manfredonia was last seen walking along railroad tracks in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, wearing dark shorts and carrying what appears to be a duffel bag
Manfredonia is wanted in connection with the death of Ted DeMers (pictured left, and right with his wife Cynthia), of Willington, Connecticut
Police were led to Eisele after they found out the suspect had driven to Derby on Sunday
Earlier on Sunday, a Willington man reported being held against his will by Manfredonia, who then left with food, several guns and the man’s truck.
The truck was later found abandoned near Osbornedale State Park in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Eisele’s family set up an online fundraiser to help cover funeral expenses and far exceeded the goal of $10,000 in just a few hours.
On the page, friends and family shared memories, including his love of his mother’s German shepherds, Trooper and Sandy.
The car Manfredonia is suspected of stealing from Eisele was found in New Jersey at the Pennsylvania border on Sunday afternoon, police said.
Connecticut State Police on Sunday released a photo of the 2016 black Volkswagen Jetta which bears a Connecticut license plate with the number CT AU78524.
Police said that the driver’s side of the car has a bumper sticker paying tribute to the 26 victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, which took place in Newtown.
Manfredonia, a senior at the University of Connecticut, was last seen in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Police in Willington, Connecticut, on Friday are seen above gathering evidence near the area where the grisly murder and assault took place
Earlier on Monday, the FBI announced that agents would be helping with the manhunt for Manfredonia
The University of Connecticut on Sunday released a statement confirming that records show Manfredonia is enrolled as a student in the joint school of engineering/school of business program.
Manfredonia first enrolled at UConn in the fall of 2015, and is a senior.
‘He is not attending summer courses, and had not been living on the UConn campus either at the time of the incident in Willington or during recent semesters,’ UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said.
Reitz said the university is in contact with authorities to provide assistance that might help the investigation.
‘The university expresses its deepest, most heartfelt sympathies to the victims and their families in this horrible, incomprehensible tragedy,’ Reitz said.
‘They are all in our thoughts.’
When asked if the university knew of any problematic behavior by Manfredonia in years past, she said the university couldn’t discuss specific individuals and cases.
She did say, however, that ‘UConn strives to do everything possible to identify and engage with students of concern and to provide them with all the assistance and resources we can both for their own well-being and that of the wider community’.