5/26/2020
By Ivan Pereira
Police are searching for an SUV that was stolen near the eastern Pennsylvania vicinity where a University of Connecticut senior who is wanted for the murder of two people was last seen.
Pennsylvania state police said they are looking for a 2012 Black Hyundai Santa Fe with the Pennsylvania license plate KYW-1650 that was taken Monday around 9 p.m. The car was near East Stroudsburg, Monroe County, the last known location of Peter Manfredonia, 23, who is on the lam after he allegedly killed two people in Connecticut over the weekend, invaded a home, stole guns and two cars and abducted a person, according to police.
Pennsylvania State Trooper Anthony Petroski said police didn’t immediately know if Manfredonia stole the Santa Fe, but he urged the public to be on the lookout for the vehicle and the suspect.
“Anyone with information should call 911 immediately and DO NOT APPROACH!” Petroski tweeted Tuesday.
Police say Manfredonia was seen wearing dark-colored shorts and a white T-shirt and was carrying a large duffel bag.
The hunt for Manfredonia, which is being aided by the FBI, has already crossed three state lines.
On Friday, Manfredonia allegedly attacked two men in Willington, Connecticut, with an edged weapon, killing Theodore Demers, 62, and wounding the unidentified second suspect, according to police. On Sunday, officers responded to a 911 call of a home invasion in Willington where Manfredonia allegedly stole pistols and long guns and a truck, police said. The homeowner was not injured, according to police.
The suspect allegedly drove to Derby, Connecticut, where he allegedly killed an acquaintance, Nicholas J. Eisele, 23, inside his home, abducted another resident, stole a car and fled, according to police. The kidnapped victim was found later Sunday unharmed in Paterson, New Jersey, and identified Manfredonia as her captor, police said.
The car was found in New Jersey, police said. On Tuesday, investigators said an Uber cab dropped Manfredonia off at an East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Walmart.
Officers interviewed the Uber driver who said the suspect walked behind the store and on the train tracks. Manfredonia has no connections in the area or a vehicle, according to investigators.
Pennsylvania state police released a surveillance photo Sunday that they say shows Manfredonia walking on train tracks near East Stroudsburg.
On Monday, Michael Dolan, the Manfredonia family’s lawyer, held a press conference to address the incident, according to ABC affiliate WTNH-TV in New Haven. Dolan described Manfredonia as an honor student and athlete who has long struggled with mental health issues and sought help from therapists.
“Peter, if you are listening you are loved,” Dolan said, calling out to his client. “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.”
Dolan expressed his condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims. He said he’s had no contact with Manfredonia.
A UConn representative said Manfredonia was a student at the joint School of Engineering / School of Business MEM (Management and Engineering for Management), and he was not attending summer classes or living on campus.
“The university expresses its deepest, most heartfelt sympathies to the victims and their families in this horrible, incomprehensible tragedy. They are all in our thoughts,” school spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz said in a statement.
