State police photo
Peter Manfredonia
Hours after savagely attacking two men at random with a samurai sword, killing one, 23-year-old Peter Manfredonia allegedly took a man hostage in Willington, where, instead of inflicting more violence, he talked about motorcycles, his parents — and made sure his captive had access to prescription medication.
The strange details come from a harrowing state police arrest warrant that was unsealed last week.
The 11-page document paints a picture of a young man who exploded with horrific violence the morning of Friday, May 22, holding a samurai sword hand-over-hand as he raised the blade over his head again and again to repeatedly slash 62-year-old Theodore DeMers while the man was on the ground.
Manfredonia allegedly severed the man’s right hand, two fingers on his left hand, and struck so hard DeMers’ skull fractured. The former UConn student then attacked an 80-year-old man, knocking that man to the ground as the sword rained down.
The elderly man somehow survived, but DeMers, a former Marine who did nothing more than try to help Manfredonia under the impression that the suspect’s motorcycle had broken down on an isolated road in Willington, died in an ambulance on his way to a hospital.
The warrant notes several witnesses in the residential neighborhood saw the attack. Several more witnesses identified Manfredonia’s motorcycle in the area around the time of the attack.
Manfredonia’s terror moved to Roosevelt Drive in Derby roughly two days later when he allegedly shot and killed childhood acquaintance Nicholas Eisele, 23, in his apartment and took his girlfriend hostage, releasing her later on the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border.
Derby police are working on a warrant that will presumably charge Manfredonia with murder, so a shroud of mystery remains over why the suspect specifically targeted Eisele.
Meanwhile, the arrest warrant unsealed last week sheds new light on what Manfredonia was doing on Mirtl Road in the first place, and confirms details previously reported by the reporting of The Harford Courant.
The warrant also provides details on what Manfredonia was up to after the alleged sword attack, during which he took a random Willington resident hostage for a night, according to the warrant.
Manfredonia has a history of mental health issues — but the warrant also shows Manfredonia to be calm and calculating in the hours after the unhinged bloodshed on Mirtl Road in Willington.
Why Willington?
The warrant states that Manfredonia, who lived in an apartment in Mansfield while attending UConn, had a history of some type with a female who lived on the road. The warrant does not specify the nature of the relationship, but notes she “has stopped seeing Manfredonia” on May 18 after learning he had “hacked” her social media accounts, according to the warrant.
An unidentified person who lives with the woman on Mirtl Road said they were considering getting a restraining order against Manfredonia, according to the warrant.
After attacking the two men Friday morning, police believe Manfredonia took off on his Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle. The bike was found about 12:45 p.m. Friday roughly five miles away from Mirtl Road.
A bloody motorcycle helmet and a bloody shirt were found nearby. The warrant states the shirt was found at a stream, where police believe Manfredonia had tried to wash it.
By this time a manhunt was underway, but Manfredonia managed to elude authorities — something he’d do for nearly a week and across multiple states.
Home Invasion
At 5:15 a.m. Saturday, 20 hours after the sword attack, Manfredonia allegedly woke up a man who lives alone on Turnpike Road in Willington, a little more than 1 mile from where Manfredonia’s motorcycle, by sticking a gun to the back of his head and threatening to blow his brains out if he turned around.
The warrant does not provide details about the resident, who is described as “Witness 11,” but indicates the man may have been of advanced age or of limited physical mobility (he had trouble navigating stairs while being taken hostage, and opted to scoot down stairs in a sitting position instead of walking).
The resident had fallen asleep in front of his television — with a gun next to him, a decision made after hearing that police were hunting for a murder suspect in his area. The resident had several other weapons, the names and descriptions of which where redacted in the warrant.
According to the warrant, Manfredonia took the man hostage for the next 24 hours (until roughly 5:15 a.m. Sunday), during which the resident constantly talked to the homicide suspect, suggesting twice he turn himself in.
They watched television together, the resident tied to a chair. Manfredonia allowed him to use the bathroom several times, though he was still bound.
The suspect was concerned about visitors, and checked the resident’s phone messages fearing that someone would be stopping by to check on him. The messages were from people asking the resident about the nearby murder, but the resident was able to reassure Manfredonia. At one point someone knocked on the man’s door, but neither answered.
Suspect Talked?
They watched a news report on television together that identified Manfredonia by name. The hostage got Manfredonia to talk about motorcycles, his family from Newtown, even a little about the senseless attack that took a good samitarin’s life.
The information the hostage provided will undoubtedly be used in the court case against Manfredonia.
“I asked if he wants to talk about what took place with the murder and he told me he hadn’t slept for five days and that he just flipped,” the resident told police. “He said he didn’t know why he did it and that he was remorseful for it. I suggested that we call the authorities and try to work something out for him. He was calm and apologetic but couldn’t explain why he did that.”
The resident also asked Manfredonia how he managed to get into the house. He wasn’t wearing shoes and looked dirty, the resident told police according to the warrant.
Manfredonia had the wherewithal to get a ladder from the man’s property and use it to get to an air vent in his garage. He popped the vent, and shimmied down a pole into the garage. He allegedly collected zip ties and tape in the garage, then used a saw to cut a hole in a door to get into the main house.
He reached through the hole to unlock the door, at which point he had access to the resident, the resident’s weapons, and the man’s food (Manfredonia, before leaving, offered the man a meal, and allowed the man to take medication).
When the resident awoke about 2 a.m. Sunday, Manfredonia had shaved and was getting ready to leave. He used a clothes line to bound the man into a chair even tighter.
“I could tell his whole demeanor was different and it was all business with him,” the resident told investigators.
The resident told Manfredonia the binding was extremely tight and joked that he should just shoot him instead.
“You want me to shoot you?” Manfredonia allegedly replied.
“I knew I could not joke with him anymore,” the resident said, according to the warrant.
State police happened upon the resident hours later, after the man’s pickup truck was discovered abandoned in Derby near Hawthorne Avenue and Cullens Hill Road.
Security cameras allegedly captured Manfredonia walking along nearby Roosevelt Drive in Derby making his way toward what would be his next crime scene.
Click here to read how Manfredonia was eventually taken into custody.
Right now Manfredonia is charged by state police with the Willington crimes only. They include murder, attempted murder, first-degree assault of an elderly person, home invasion, first-degree kidnapping, assault of an elderly person, and various larceny, robbery, and weapons charges.
He is next scheduled to appear in court July 30.
