Tri-state manhunt underway for suspect in Connecticut double homicide

Police in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are on the lookout for a 23-year-old man suspected of killing two people as part of a larger crime spree over Memorial Day weekend.

Peter Manfredonia is wanted as a suspect in a deadly assault that took place on Friday evening in Willington, Connecticut, and as a suspect in a homicide that took place on Sunday morning in Derby, Connecticut.

Authorities warned the public that Manfredonia is armed and dangerous and urged people to call 911 if they see him. Police said he stole weapons in a home invasion and took a man's car. The vehicle was recovered near the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but the suspect remains at large.

Police said Manfredonia is the suspect in the killing of 62-year-old Ted DeMers and the assault of another man. Cynthia DeMers, DeMers's wife, told the Hartford Courant that her husband and one friend offered to give Manfredonia a ride after seeing him walking alone on his way back to his motorcycle. A few minutes later, a neighbor alerted Cynthia DeMers that the two men had been attacked and Manfredonia had fled the scene. Both men were taken to the hospital, where Ted DeMers was declared dead and the other man was in serious condition after being attacked with what authorities believe was a machete or sword.

“It could have been anybody who offered him a ride,” she said. “It could have been any of my neighbors’ husbands. It just happened to be mine.”

A man called police on Sunday morning and reported that he had been held against his will by Manfredonia since he broke into his home on Friday. He called the authorities after he said Manfredonia stole food and several weapons before taking off in his truck.

Police recovered the truck that crashed outside of Derby. While searching for Manfredonia near the crash site, officers were notified that he had an acquaintance in the area. Police went to that home and found Nicholas Eisele, 23, dead. Police said Manfredonia kidnapped Eisele's girlfriend and took off in his Volkswagen Jetta.

Eisele's girlfriend, who has not yet been named, was found by police near the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border, where the Jetta was also recovered.

Police described Manfredonia as 6 feet, 3 inches tall and 250 pounds. Manfredonia is from Newtown, Connecticut, and is a student at the University of Connecticut.