On Friday morning, Ted DeMers was driving down a leafy street he knew well, in a rural town in northeast Connecticut, when he spotted a young man on foot wearing a motorcycle helmet. DeMers stopped to speak to him and the man climbed into his vehicle.

Moments later, the young man fatally attacked DeMers, 62, with an edged weapon and seriously injured a neighbour who tried to help, the police said.

The young man, Peter Manfredonia, 23, a senior at the University of Connecticut, fled and broke into a nearby home and held the homeowner captive before stealing his guns and a truck, the police said.

On Sunday, he drove to an acquaintance’s house about an hour away and killed him, too, before kidnapping another person, stealing a car and driving to New Jersey. There he released his captive, abandoned the vehicle and fled alone into Pennsylvania, where he was last seen on foot in the Poconos region.

Now, the FBI and state authorities have embarked on a sprawling, multistate manhunt for Manfredonia as investigators continue to make sense of a spasm of violence that has stunned the area and left two families devastated.

The authorities believe that Manfredonia, last seen on Sunday afternoon, is still armed and dangerous.

Michael Dolan, an attorney representing the Manfredonia family, said that Peter Manfredonia has struggled with mental health issues for several years and had worked with a number of therapists.

“They’ve asked me to begin by expressing their condolences to the families of those who have suffered,” Dolan said. He added, “Peter, if you are listening, your parents, sisters and entire family love you.'

“You have their complete and total support. No one wants any harm to come to you or anyone else,” he continued.

“They are begging you to surrender so they can help you through this process.”

New York Times News Service