A University of Connecticut student allegedly killed two people — one with Samurai sword — four days after his girlfriend broke up with him, an arrest warrant unsealed on Monday revealed.
A woman reportedly told authorities that she broke up with Peter Manfredonia, 23, on May 18, after discovering he was hacking into her social media accounts. She said that on May 20, she sent Manfredonia a screenshot of a state law indicating that it’s illegal to hack someone’s account.
Manfredonia didn’t respond to his ex-girlfriend’s message, according to the Hartford Courant.
Two days later, on May 22, state police responded to a road in Willington and found Theodore Demers, 62, deceased, and an 80-year-old man seriously injured. Authorities ascertained that the two men had offered Manfredonia a ride back to his motorcycle before he attacked them with a Samurai sword.
Hours after the deadly incident, the suspect’s bloodied sword, cellphone, motorcycle, and motorcycle helmet were reportedly recovered not far from the crime scene.
On May 24, state troopers learned of an abandoned truck near Osbornedale State Park. The vehicle was registered to a 73-year-old man who lived a mile from where Manfredonia’s abandoned motorcycle was found, according to the Newstimes.
Troopers knocked on the older man’s door and tried to reach him on the phone before forcing entry into his home — where they reportedly found him tied up in the basement.
Manfredonia allegedly stole the homeowner’s firearms and truck and fled. Though the homeowner wasn’t injured, he claimed he “woke up abruptly to a male with a gun to the back of my neck and shouting at me not to turn around or he would blow my (expletive) brains out,” the warrant stated.
The homeowner also claimed Manfredonia said he hadn’t slept for five days before killing Demers. Manfredonia reportedly said he “just flipped” and that he regretted his actions.
At a residence in Derby, a mile from where the abandoned truck was found, police discovered the body of Nicholas Eisele, 23, an acquaintance of Manfredonia’s and his former high school classmate. Manfredonia allegedly fatally shot Eisele before kidnapping Eisele’s girlfriend and stealing her car.
The Courant reported that Manfredonia fled to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, leaving Eisele’s girlfriend unharmed at a rest stop in Paterson, New Jersey.
Manfredonia’s alleged rampage came to an end on May 27, when he was apprehended in Hagerstown, Maryland. The NewsTimes reported that Manfredonia had the gun he used to kill Eisele days earlier.
The University of Connecticut student is facing a slew of charges, including murder, attempted murder, home invasion, first-degree assault on a person older than 60, first-degree kidnapping with a firearm, and first-degree robbery.
The Newstimes reported that Manfredonia is on suicide watch, and his bond is set at $7 million.
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Featured image: Peter Manfredonia/Connecticut State Police, Newtown Police Department]
