A Look At the Life of Fugitive Peter Manfredonia

CONNECTICUT — He was an honors student, an all-league athlete and a fundraiser for Sandy Hook-related charities. So how did Peter Manfredonia, a finance and mechanical engineering major at the University of Connecticut, wind up being sought by authorities in at least four Northeast states in connection with a pair of grisly murders in his home state?

Manfredonia has been eluding police since Friday morning, when he was observed leaving the scene of a homicide in Willington on a motorcycle. Since then, a home invasion, a second slaying 70 miles away in Derby, an interstate abduction and several car thefts have all been attributed to the 2015 Newtown High School honors graduate, who was reportedly last spotted Wednesday afternoon in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Not much is known about the big man, who stands 6 feet 4 inches and weighs around 240 pounds. He was an All-South West Conference football player in 2014 at Newtown, where his mom is a teacher. He grew up on Yogananda Street, as did Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza.

Friends interviewed by various media outlets say Manfredonia was "always smiling," was in the process of becoming a vegan, and had helped raise funds for Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit group dedicated to protecting children from gun violence. His Instagram account, which has since been disabled, bore a photo of Manfredonia, dated Aug. 15, 2019, holding a Sandy Hook Promise jersey, with the comment, "Proudly representing Sandy Hook Promise for the biking leg of my triathlon."

A Twitter user going by the name UConn Husky posted photos purportedly taken inside Manfredonia's apartment. Written on the wall in large letters are the words, "I'm not angry - I'm upset." Beneath that are the words, "It's so crazy it just might work!!!"

Elsewhere on the wall are the statements, "We saw what happened when Adam snapped. We saw what happened when Thanos snapped. Now they see what happens when I snap."

Michael Dolan, an attorney representing Manfredonia's family, told reporters, "He certainly did have mental health issues, but he had no history of violence."

Dolan said the family is begging Manfredonia to turn himself in to authorities. Lt. John Aiello, commander of the Connecticut State Police Eastern District Major Crime Squad, also appealed directly to the young man to surrender during a news briefing Tuesday.

See also: New Leads, Sightings of Suspect In 2 CT Homicides [UPDATED]

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