HARTFORD, Conn. _ Police in Pennsylvania say they believe University of Connecticut senior Peter Manfredonia, wanted for two homicides in Connecticut, was spotted in Chambersburg, Pa., Tuesday morning and then used a rideshare service to continue onto Hagerstown, Md.
Pennsylvania state police released the information Wednesday afternoon, nearly 30 hours after the sighting occurred.
The man matching Manfredonia's description was seen at a Sheetz convenience store in Chambersburg, just off I-81 in southern Pennsylvania, at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. A black Hyundai Santa Fe stolen from East Stroudsburg, Pa., near where Manfredonia was sited Sunday evening, was recovered near the Sheetz store.
Police said the person they believe could be Manfredonia then received a ride from an Uber driver to Hagerstown, about 24 miles south of Chambersburg.
Police said surveillance video and witness descriptions of the man match Manfredonia's description.
Police in Pennsylvania and Connecticut did not release any additional information about the manhunt Wednesday.
Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, police near Scranton searched a wooded area near an old coal mining town after another possible sighting of Manfredonia.
Police and a crew aboard a helicopter searched a wooded area near Duryea, Pa., after a firefighter reported seeing a man matching Manfredonia's description behind a firehouse, according to Duryea police.
The manhunt for Manfredonia entered its sixth day Wednesday. The 23-year-old from Newtown was also seen Sunday evening in East Stroudsburg, about 40 miles southeast of Duryea, a borough between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Shortly after 11 p.m. on Tuesday, police in Duryea said a firefighter spotted a man with a large backpack behind a firehouse. The man fled toward nearby railroad tracks and a wooded area, officials said. The firefighter asked the man was he was doing, but he did not respond, according to Duryea police.
Police from several departments and the state police joined in the search, along with a state police helicopter, police said. The search for the man lasted several hours but came up empty, police said.
"At this time we don't have enough information to confirm it was the suspect from Connecticut but ask that residents be aware and cautious of their surroundings," police said in a statement. "We ask that residents be on the lookout for anyone suspicious or who matches the description of the subject. A white male wearing a cream or light colored shirt and a carrying a black duffel bag/backpack."
Back in Connecticut, new information emerged Wednesday about what Manfredonia was doing on Mirtl Road in Willington, where police say he killed a man and badly injured another.
Police say they believe Manfredonia was headed Friday morning to the home a young woman he knew. His intentions were unclear, but Manfredonia had left his motorcycle behind and was on foot and armed with what has been variously been described as a small samurai sword or machete.
Manfredonia never made it to the woman's house after running into Ted DeMers, a Mirtl Road resident, who offered to give the college student a lift on his four-wheeler to where Manfredonia had left his motorcycle.
There was a violent confrontation and Mirtl was brutally killed. A second neighbor, an 80-year-old man, was badly injured after he went to DeMers' aid.
Manfredonia never made it to the woman's house. She has not responded to calls and text messages from The Hartford Courant.
On Wednesday, the wife of the man who survived Friday's attack told the Courant her husband was in stable condition at a local hospital.
"His hands are the worst," she said. "He had other injuries that needed stitching."
Her husband was home on Mirtl Road Friday morning when he apparently heard the violent confrontation involving his neighbor, Ted DeMers, and Manfredonia and went to help. DeMers' widow, Cynthia DeMers, said she found both men lying on the ground after a neighbor alerted her. Ted DeMers was later pronounced dead.
The wife said she was away from home when the attack happened and came home to crime scene tape.
The 80-year-old victim worked in finance and was a U.S. Navy veteran, his wife said. He had gone back to school after retirement and also was learning to speak Italian, she said. He loved playing golf and working with his hands and had recently been building stone walls around the couple's property, Alice Franco said.
The wife said her husband of 46 years, who grew up in Trumbull, is tough, and the doctors and nurses are amazed at his resilience.
She described their neighborhood as a peaceful haven _ until Friday.
"It's been a nice, quiet wonderful neighborhood," she said. "All you hear is the stillness and the birds, and to have it broken up by something like this is so tragic."
As for Manfredonia, she said, her voice breaking, "I don't want him killed ... I pray, pray, pray that he does not kill anybody else."
Manfredonia's family and a state police lieutenant have urged Manfredonia to turn himself in.
On Tuesday, Pennsylvania State Police warned Uber and Lyft drivers that Manfredonia "may attempt to solicit ride-sharing services, possibly through third-party means, to flee the area." Law enforcement officials said he may also seek refuge in wooded areas, a hotel or motel, or an abandoned building.
Manfredonia has struggled with mental health issues for years, but has never been violent, said Michael Dolan, a lawyer for Manfredonia's family. Manfredonia grew up on the same Newtown street as Adam Lanza, the shooter in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
"They believe that he will surrender peacefully if and when he is confronted by police officers," Dolan said.
Connecticut State Police, Lt. John Aiello issued a message directly to Manfredonia on Tuesday.
"Peter, we've talked to your family," Aiello said. "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.
"We know this is not who you are. Peter," Aiello continued. "I want you to know that we are continuing our investigation. One thing we are missing right now is you. We want you to be able to tell your story. We are here to listen to you."
Aiello urged Manfredonia to call 911 and to turn himself in, assuring him if he does so he will be safe.
"Your parents, your friends, all of us back in Connecticut want a peaceful end to this," Aiello said. "Your family has hired an attorney on your behalf and your life will be safeguarded."
Brian Foley, an aide to public safety commissioner James Rovella, repeated that message Wednesday morning during an appearance on Fox News.
"Everyone in the investigation has said that this is completely out of character for him," Foley said. "We want him to turn himself in without any further violence."
After the attack in Willington on Friday morning, Manfredonia went into hiding before carrying out a home invasion elsewhere in Willington. He held a 73-year-man hostage but treated him well, authorities said, before stealing the guns, food and the man's pickup truck on Sunday morning.
Police say Manfredonia drove to Derby Sunday morning and killed another man, Nicholas Eisele, 23, an acquaintance who also grew up in Newtown. Eisele died of gunshot wounds to the head, according to the state medical examiner's office.
Manfredonia then kidnapped Eisele's girlfriend and stole her car, police say. She and the car were found along I-80 in New Jersey, about seven miles from the Pennsylvania state line and the area where Manfredonia was last seen.
Police asked anyone with information about Manfredonia or the investigation to contact the FBI tip line at (203) 503-5555.
