peter manfredonia

Manfredonia Faces Murder Charges in Derby Killing

Connecticut State Police

The 23-year-old man charged with murder in Willington is now facing charges of murder in the death of his childhood friend in Derby.

Peter Manfredonia was charged Monday with murdering Nicholas Eisele on May 24, and with kidnapping Eisle's girlfriend and forcing her to drive him to New Jersey.

Manfredonia, who is accused of killing 62-year-old Ted DeMers in Willington on May 22, ended up at Eisle's Derby apartment on May 24 where he shot and killed Eisele, according to an arrest affidavit. Eisele and Manfredonia grew up together in Newtown.

Eisele's girlfriend told police she woke up that Sunday morning around 5:45 a.m. and heard Eisele saying "relax" and "calm down" loudly from the living room, according to the warrant. When she asked if everything was OK, Eisele said Peter Manfredonia was in the apartment and she should call 911, the warrant states she told police.

As the girlfriend grabbed her cellphone to dial 911, she told police Manfredonia and Eisele came through the bedroom door and Manfredonia grabbed the cell phone from her hand.

She said she ran into the living room and then heard shots. She screamed and Manfredonia told her to "shut up."

The girlfriend told police Manfredonia admitted to shooting Eisele in the head and that he was dead, according to the arrest affidavit.

Manfredonia took approximately $5,000 to $7,000 that was in the apartment and kidnapped Eisele's girlfriend, according to the warrant.

He made her drive on back roads through Newtown and they eventually ended up in New Jersey, where they pulled into a truck stop in Columbia, New Jersey. Manfredonia asked some people in the truck stop to help him secure an Uber to Pennsylvania. Once he did that, he left Eisele's girlfriend in her car and she told someone at the truck stop that she had been kidnapped and that Manfredonia had killed someone in Connecticut, the warrant stated.

Manfredonia was captured in Hagerstown, Maryland, after a multi-state manhunt five days after the initial attack.

He was returned to Connecticut on June 12 and charged with the Willington murder.

He now also faces charges of murder, felony murder, and first-degree kidnapping in connection with Eisele's death and the kidnapping of his girlfriend in Derby.

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