CT Multi-Homicide Suspect Arrested In Maryland

HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND — University of Connecticut student Peter Manfredonia, on the run for the past six days after being accused of two homicides, a home invasion and an abduction in Connecticut, was found in Maryland and taken into custody, Connecticut State Police said late Wednesday.

Manfredonia, 23, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Washington County Sheriff's Office near a Pilot truck stop on Halfway Boulevard in Hagerstown, police said. The city is near the center of Maryland's border with Pennsylvania, about 390 miles from Storrs and about 75 miles northwest of Baltimore.

Connecticut State Police were in Maryland at the scene of the arrest. Police said more details will be released Thursday.

"His family is relieved that Peter has brought this to a peaceful conclusion," the Manfredonia family's attorney Michael Dolan told WTNH News 8.

Manfredonia was wanted in connection with the slayings of Theodore DeMers, 62, in Willington Friday and Nicholas Eisele, 23, in Derby Sunday. The Connecticut Medical Examiner's Office said Tuesday that DeMers was killed by "sharp force and chop injuries of the head with sharp force injuries of the torso and extremities," while Eisele's death was caused by "gunshot wounds to his head."

News that Manfredonia may be in Hagerstown surfaced Wednesday afternoon.

A stolen Hyundai Santa Fe was recovered earlier Wednesday near a Sheetz convenience store in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The SUV was reported stolen from East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, where the last confirmed sighting of Manfredonia had occurred, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Anthony Petroski said.

Surveillance video showed a man resembling Manfredonia inside the convenience store. He then summoned an Uber driver and set out for Hagerstown, Petroski said. Hagerstown is less than 25 miles from Chambersburg.

Hagerstown police believed he was carrying a large black duffel bag that contained firearms. Residents were warned to keep their doors locked.

"Manfredonia was wanted for murder, multiple home invasions and numerous other crimes. If he is seen, call 911 immediately," Hagerstown police said earlier Wednesday.

A police department in Duryea, Pennsylvania, reported a possible sighting of Manfredonia late Tuesday night, though a search produced no results.

Around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, a Duryea firefighter called police after seeing a man carrying a large backpack and hiding behind a dumpster behind the Germania Hose fire company. The fireman reported asking the man what he was doing, but the man fled toward a wooded area and railroad tracks. The description provided by the fireman was similar to Manfredonia, according to Duryea police.

Detectives and Pennsylvania State Police troopers went to the scene and searched the wooded area and railroad tracks, aided by a state police helicopter. After several hours of searching the area, no one was found, Duryea police said.

Duryea is about nine miles south of Scranton and about 50 miles northwest of East Stroudsburg, where Manfredonia was last believed to have exited a rideshare vehicle and walk onto railroad tracks behind a Walmart Sunday night, according to Petroski.

See also: A Look At the Life of Fugitive Peter Manfredonia

• Family, Friends Pay Tribute to Ted DeMers

Following DeMers' death, Manfredonia was reported to have left the scene on a motorcycle, which was recovered mid-afternoon Friday at the end of Old Town Road in Willington.

Police said Manfredonia broke into a home in the Turnpike Road area of Willington early Sunday morning and stole multiple firearms, along with the homeowner's vehicle, which was located in the area of Osborndale State Park in Derby.

In the aftermath of Eisele's shooting death, Manfredonia reportedly abducted the victim's girlfriend and stole a Volkswagen Jetta. Both the woman and car were found several hours later off Interstate 80 in New Jersey, near the Pennsylvania border, police said.

Patch editor Deb Belt contributed to this story.