An order that was released Monday detailed troubling allegations against the University of Connecticut student who led police on a manhunt in several states last month.
23-year-old Peter Manfredonia is accused of killing a 62-year-old man with a samurai sword and injuring another elder in Willington before fleeing. The 62-year-old neighbor, identified as Theodore DeMers, was found by his neighbors with a severed right hand, the flesh of his triceps area almost completely separated from his body, a severed left thumb and index finger, and multiple lacerations to his head. and back.
A witness told police that on the morning of May 22, he saw a man approximately 6 feet tall in a motorcycle helmet fighting with another person, later identified as DeMers, before attacking DeMers with a metal instrument. slim, said the order. The man then turned to an 80-year-old man who was not identified by police.
The witness ran in and told a woman what was happening, and yelled at the attacker to stop and that they were calling the police, according to the order. Then they ran inside and closed their doors when the man started to approach them. The man left on a red motorcycle described by the witness, according to the order, as a “crotch rocket.”
DeMers was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. The 80-year-old man who was also attacked survived and is in stable condition.
Police found an abandoned Kawasaki Ninja sports bike registered in nearby Manfredonia, as well as a samurai sword covered in a blood-like substance, the order said.
They also found an abandoned white motorcycle helmet with a red and green pattern and a dark colored shirt that had Chinese letters along with the phrase “world peace” both covered in a blood-like substance.
University of Connecticut police searched for information about Manfredonia, and authorities interviewed a friend of the student, who told authorities that Manfredonia had an “obsession with samurai swords” and that she owned at least two. She also told police that she stopped seeing Manfredonia on May 18 because she discovered that she had hacked her social media accounts in April.
Another man, unidentified by police, corroborated his story, adding that they recently argued that he had received a restraining order against Manfredonia, according to the order.
Two days after DeMers’ death, a man claimed that Manfredonia held him captive in his home. Soldiers went to see the Willington man after Derby police said his F-150 truck was found damaged and abandoned.
The man, only identified in the arrest warrant as Witness 11, was found tied to a chair in the basement. He told police in a statement that he was asleep in his recliner when a young man holding a gun to the back of his head woke him up abruptly at 5:15 am on May 23, the day after he died. from DeMers.
He turned his head to see a young man in his 20s wearing what looked like dirty black sweatpants and a black T-shirt.
“He had a blank look,” said the captive in his statement. “There were no emblems or logos on his shirt or pants. I still hadn’t seen a photo of the murder suspect on the news, but I was thinking it was probably him. “
The captive had his hands tied with ties he suspected were from his garage and was glued to a chair. At the time, Manfredonia identified himself as Rick, but the man he later held captive discovered was a lie in trying to speak to his kidnapper about his family and his life.
“As we were talking, the news came up and showed a picture of the Willington murder suspect and his name,” the statement said. “When I saw the photo on the news, he looked like the young man who was with me but a younger photo of him. I asked him if his name was really Peter.
Manfredonia later confirmed that his name was Peter, not Rick, according to the captive’s statement.
The captive then asked if Manfredonia wanted to talk about the murder and what happened. Manfredonia allegedly told him that he had not slept in five days and that he simply “broke”.
“He said he did not know why he did it and was sorry for it,” the statement said. “I suggested that we call the authorities and try to work something out for him. He was calm and apologetic, but couldn’t explain why he did that. “
During their conversation, Manfredonia allegedly rejected the idea of surrendering.
The Manfredonia captive said a neighbor came at some point and called to say he was at his door, after the neighbor’s wife called to see how he was doing. When the neighbor asked to meet in the morning, the captive agreed even though Manfredonia ordered him to say that they would meet within two days.
“We ended the phone call and Peter told me that my friend teased him the next morning about it,” the statement said.
Manfredonia took food, money, a lighter, and other household items in preparation for leaving the next morning, according to the order. Manfredonia told the man that he would call the Connecticut State Police at noon if no one found him in the morning, then left at approximately 5:15 am, according to the man’s statement.
Manfredonia is also accused of killing 23-year-old Nicholas Eisele in Derby that same day, May 24.
Authorities finally found Manfredonia three days later in Maryland after a nearly week-long manhunt.
He currently faces multiple charges including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, trespassing, and assault of an elderly person.
A judge ordered that Manfredonia be held on $ 7 million bail and placed under suicide surveillance. She has not filed a statement and is expected to appear in court on July 10.
Records from the Connecticut Department of Corrections show that Manfredonia is still in custody at the Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown.
