Manfredonia gets 2nd 55-year sentence in 2020 slayings

Apr. 21—VERNON — Theodore "Ted" DeMer's life was heading in a good direction at the beginning of 2020. The chronic illness that had plagued him since his early 20's was in remission, his talent for woodworking was flourishing, and his first grandchild was months away from being born.

Then, on May 22 of that year, Peter Manfredonia rode his motorcycle down DeMer's quiet, rural Willington street while armed with a samurai sword, and for DeMer's family, friends and neighbors, nothing has been the same since.

"Every part of me changed," DeMer's wife, Cindy, said Thursday during a court hearing for Manfredonia, who was sentenced to 55 years behind bars for killing her husband — the second such sentence in two days.

"Every single thing. I was immediately lost and alone," Cindy DeMers told the judge.

Prosecutor Matthew Gedansky said it was his belief that Manfredonia drove to the area that day with plans to kill a woman he had dated, and DeMers, thinking the man's motorcycle had broken down, inadvertently got in the way.

"Mr. DeMers saved this young woman's life without even knowing," Gedansky said.

Gedansky said Manfredonia's claim that he planned to kill himself in front of the woman doesn't add up, because he could have ended his life in the following days. Instead, Manfredonia fled the scene on Mirtl Road where he killed DeMers and broke into a home in Willington where he held the resident hostage for 24 hours.

That resident, Donald Hixby, told the judge Thursday that the worst part of the experience was the invasion of his privacy, particularly in the way Manfredonia rummaged through his late wife's belongings.

Manfredonia stole Hixby's truck and traveled to Derby, where he then killed a former schoolmate, Nicholas Eisele, 23, and kidnapped his girlfriend. The woman was found unharmed in New Jersey, and Manfredonia was located in Maryland days later.

The trail of carnage began on Mirtl Road, where witnesses saw Manfredonia riding on the back of DeMer's ATV toward where he had ditched his motorcycle and then, moments later, heard screams for help when Manfredonia attacked the avid outdoorsman with a samurai sword.

One of the first people who ran to DeMer's aid was neighbor John Franco, 80 at the time, who also was severely injured. Other neighbors soon arrived and notified Cindy DeMers, who described the scene of the attack as a "warzone."

She assured her husband he was going to be OK, because the couple had been through so much together, and "dying wasn't an option." Ted was still alive when he was taken away by ambulance, but her husband never came home, Cindy DeMers said.

"The state doesn't offer the death penalty, but that would have been my choice," she told the judge Thursday.

Gedansky said he was confident the state could have prevailed in convicting Manfredonia at trial, possibly resulting in a longer sentence, but trials don't come without a cost.

"The trauma of a trial is not insignificant," he said.

In addition, part of Manfredonia's plea deal forbids him from applying for sentence modification every five years, which also can reinflict trauma for victims.

The sentence of 55 years "is essentially the rest of his life, and that was the goal," Gedansky said.

The sentence is to run concurrent with the 55 years he received Wednesday in Milford Superior Court for killing Eisele and kidnapping his girlfriend.

Jayme DeMers, Ted DeMer's daughter-in-law, said Manfredonia deserves to spend the rest of his life surrounded by cold gray walls.

She was nine months pregnant when her father-in-law was killed and is certain he would have been the best grandfather.

"Ted's family was his greatest pride and joy," Jayme DeMers said.

Manfredonia apologized to each of the victims and their families before being sentenced. He said no words could make up for what he had done, and that he did not expect forgiveness.

"My actions were senseless," he said.

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