The family of Nick Eisele — twin brother of Big Hassle Media publicist Michael Eisele and one of two people allegedly murdered over the weekend in Connecticut by Peter Manfredonia — has created a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral expenses. Eisele, 23, was killed at his home in Derby, Ct. early Sunday.
Manfredonia, a senior at the University of Connecticut who has a history of mental illness, is also wanted in connection with the death of 62-year-old Ted DeMers and an assault of another Connecticut man; he is also wanted for abducting a second person from Eisele’s apartment. He was a childhood acquaintance of Eisele’s.
After Eisele’s murder, Manfredonia allegedly abducted another person in the apartment at gunpoint and forced them to drive him, in Eisele’s car, to a location near the New Jersey-Pennsylvania state border. Manfredonia then left the vehicle and continued on foot. The abductee was found physically unharmed by police on Sunday and identified the abductor as Manfredonia.
Manfredonia’s parents have called on him to turn himself in.
The incident, which took place at around 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, was overheard by Eisele’s downstairs neighbor, who identified himself to Fox61 News only as Jesse. “The floor shook. As if somebody got slammed on the floor,” he told the station. “I heard loud bang. I heard a girl scream and then I heard two people arguing. It lasted about 5 or 6 minutes and then it just stopped.”
He said he considered calling the police but assumed it was just the couple arguing. “They argued like any couple does,” he said, adding that he regrets not calling police.
Nick grew up in Sandy Hook, Ct., where 26 people, including 20 children between the ages of 6 and 7, were murdered by local resident Adam Lanza in a school shooting in 2012.
Along with Michael, Nick is survived by his parents, John Eisele and Michele Eisele; and two sisters, Jessica and Gianna.