The search for a University of Connecticut student wanted in connection to two deaths entered its sixth day Wednesday as police probed whether a stolen car in Pennsylvania was connected to the suspect.
Connecticut State Police meanwhile urged the student, Peter Manfredonia, 23, to turn himself in. “We know this is not who you are,” police Lt. John Aiello said Tuesday. “Peter, we’ve talked to your family. We’ve talked to your friends and your roommates. All of them have said the same thing, that this behavior is out of the ordinary for you.”
In Pennsylvania, state police are investigating whether a car theft on Monday is connected to Manfredonia, who is wanted in connection to the deaths in Connecticut of Theodore DeMers, 62, and Nicholas Eisele, 23, and the injury of another victim.
The theft of the black Hyundai occurred around 9 p.m. Monday in the same area where Manfredonia was last seen on surveillance video, police said.
"NOT CONFIRMED that Peter Manfredonia stole the vehicle, but it was taken from the area where he was last seen. Anyone with information should call 911 immediately and DO NOT APPROACH!," police tweeted.
Manfredonia's last known location was on Sunday in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, in the Poconos region.
The search for him began after he was seen leaving the scene Friday of the killing of DeMers in Willington, Connecticut, where another victim was found injured.
On Sunday, police say Manfredonia went to another home in Willington and stole firearms and a truck, and later that day he was at the home of an acquaintance in Derby, Connecticut, Nicholas Eisele, 23, who was found dead.
Manfredonia also allegedly abducted another individual from the Derby home on Sunday, police say, and with a stolen car drove to New Jersey, where he left the abducted person uninjured and took an Uber to Pennsylvania.
FBI Philadelphia announced Monday they were assisting in the search for Manfredonia, saying he is considered "armed and dangerous."
Manfredonia was a senior at the University of Connecticut but was not living on campus at the time of the attack, a university spokeswoman said.
“We at UConn deeply mourn the loss of life and are thinking of the victims and their families,” the university president, Tom Katsouleas, wrote in a statement on Twitter Tuesday. The school said it is assisting the authorities in the search.
Attorney Michael Dolan, speaking on behalf of Manfredonia's parents, said on Monday that the 23-year-old has struggled with mental health issues over the past several years
"It's time to surrender. You have your parents and your sisters and your family's entire support," Dolan said. "So Peter, from your parents: We love you. Please turn yourself in."
