VERNON — Sandy Hook resident Peter Manfredonia, 26, pleaded guilty February 8 in Rockville Superior Court to Murder, Assault in the First Degree, and Home Invasion according to a release from Matthew C. Gedansky, Tolland State’s Attorney.

Manfredonia’s plea follows his arrest in connection with the May 22, 2020 killing of Theodore DeMers, 62, and the wounding of John Franco, 80, in Willington with a sword, and a home invasion in Willington in which he held the homeowner hostage overnight.

Manfredonia is still facing additional charges in connection with the murder of former Sandy Hook resident and fellow Newtown High School graduate Nicholas Eisele, 23, and the kidnapping of Eisele’s girlfriend in Derby on May 24, 2020.

Following the crimes, Manfredonia fled Connecticut. Local, state and federal authorities captured him in Maryland after a six-day search. Police found the girlfriend unharmed at a rest stop in New Jersey.

The charges related to those victims are being prosecuted by Ansonia/Milford State’s Attorney Margaret E. Kelley.

Manfredonia is scheduled to appear in Milford Superior Court on February 16.

According to initial reports in The Newtown Bee, Manfredonia was reportedly looking for a young woman he knew when he began his eastern Connecticut rampage, according to the wife of his first victim. Cyndi DeMers, who had been married to Ted DeMers for 42 years, said in an interview that Manfredonia was looking for a female acquaintance when he walked down the road in front of their Willington home wearing a motorcycle helmet.

When asked why he was walking down the rural road, Manfredonia reportedly said his motorcycle had broken down. Ted DeMers was killed with a machete after giving Manfredonia a ride back to his bike.

“He said to my husband, ‘I know so-and-so,’ who is one of our neighbors, which then opened up the door to trusting this person,” Cyndi DeMers said. “I think he got in the way of what he was going to do. He was clearly walking to her home with a mission, with a machete in his backpack.”

Franco, another neighbor, went to the aid of Ted DeMers. Franco was also attacked and suffered serious hand injuries.

DeMers said she talked with their young neighbor’s father and was told the family had been considering a restraining order against Manfredonia, who had been to the home in the past.

The arrest warrant made note of “a known female acquaintance” who lived near the DeMerses. The female told police she had last seen Manfredonia on April 25, 2020, and “had stopped seeing Manfredonia after she learned Manfredonia had managed to hack into her social media accounts.”

DeMers was remembered as a kindhearted man, always willing to help anyone in need. That, his widow said, was what he was doing when he was killed.

“He was like the neighborhood watch,” she said. “He was home all the time, so he kind of kept an eye out. He was that guy.”

A Samurai sword believed to have been used in the homicide and in the assault of Franco, along with “a black, wooden scabbard” were both located during early processing of the area near the attacks.

The home invasion situation involved an individual who initially told police he woke “abruptly” at 5:15 am Saturday, May 23, 2020 to find a male in his bedroom, holding him at gunpoint.

“I saw a young white man in his early 20s who was dressed in a black T-shirt and black sweat pants that appeared soiled like he had been in the woods and he was barefoot. He had a blank look on his face,” the affidavit notes.

The witness described the next 24 hours, during which time Manfredonia reportedly moved the witness into his basement, used duct tape to bind him to a chair, and allowed him to watch television. After a news report showed a photo of Manfredonia and described the events of the previous day, the suspect admitted to who he was.

After a suggestion to turn himself in, Manfredonia “made it clear that wasn’t an option,” the victim stated. “He told me he was going to have two good weeks and then he figured it would end in either a shootout, the death penalty, or life in prison.”

A Ford F-150 registered to the home invasion victim was eventually taken by Manfredonia and was involved in a minor accident. It was abandoned in Derby the following morning, after which the second murder and kidnapping occurred.

State Police troopers first made attempts to contact the truck's registered owner on the phone, and then went to his residence. When there was no answer at the door, troopers forced entry inside and found the man tied to the chair in his basement.

Manfredonia faces a total effective sentence of 55 years in prison when he is sentenced in Rockville Superior Court on April 20.

That case is being prosecuted by Gedansky.

Editor John Voket can be reached at editor@thebee.com.