An image from the GoFundMe page set up in May that was used to help cover funeral expenses for the family of Nick Eisele.
MILFORD — For the first time, the public was able to hear the thoughts of a young woman who was kidnapped after seeing her boyfriend gunned down in his apartment on Roosevelt Drive in Derby two months ago.
Her words were read by her lawyer, Gene Riccio, outside Superior Court in Milford Tuesday where Peter Manfredonia, the man accused of murdering her boyfriend, Nicholas Eisele, 23, was arraigned on a bevy of criminal charges.
The woman, whose name has not been released because she is a victim of a crime, thanked various law enforcement agencies, including state and Derby police, for capturing Manfredonia, 23, who was on the run for almost a week after allegedly killing Eisele May 24 in Derby and, on May 22, 62-year-old Theodore DeMers in Willington.
She also thanked a Good Samaritan who called police on her behalf after Manfredonia left her at a truck stop after forcing her to drive to Columbia, N.J.
Her statement then turned to seeking justice:
“The healing process cannot begin until we can be assured that justice can be served and Peter Manfredonia is held accountable for his actions that altered and destroyed the lives of both Nick, myself, and countless others,” she said.
Gene Riccio, lawyer for kidnap victim, reads statement outside court. pic.twitter.com/MHl6tVKUvj
— Ethan Fry (@ethanfry) July 21, 2020
The woman was sleeping in Eisele’s apartment on Roosevelt Drive when Manfredonia allegedly got into the residence just before 6 a.m. and shot Eisele in the head. She had tried to call 911 but told police Manfredonia knocked her cell phone from her hand. Eisele had struggled with Manfredonia in the moments before he was shot, she told investigators.
She then had to leave her dying boyfriend, whose body was discovered at 11 a.m. by his father, and travel with Manfredonia on an aimless ride into New York and then south to New Jersey, during which she considered crashing the car but feared he would kill her.
Her statement, read aloud by Ricci to a group of reporters, pointed out that Eisele had tried to stop Manfredonia, who grew up in Newtown, Eisele’s hometown.
“Nicholas Eisele will be forever remembered as a loving, protective boyfriend, but also a hero following his own selfless actions on that day,” Ricci said. “If there is a face or a name to be remembered, it should be his.”
She acknowledged that the violence and trauma of May 24 can’t be erased — which is why it’s important that Manfredonia should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
In the meantime, Manfredonia was arraigned via teleconference inside Superior Court, where he entered a not guilty plea to charges of murder, kidnapping, carrying a pistol w/out a permit, home invasion, and first-degree robbery.
Manfredonia is being held on a $5 million bond and is due back in court Sept. 1.
NOTE: The information in this story was reported by Ethan Fry, a Hearst Connecticut journalist who was the pool reporter for the court appearance.
