NEWTOWN — The attorney representing the family of a University of Connecticut student wanted in connection with two homicides says he’s suffered from mental health issues for years, but the deadly crime spree “came out of nowhere.”

On Tuesday, Peter Manfredonia remained on the run — believed to be in the Poconos area of eastern Pennsylvania — after police say he killed two people in Connecticut, including shooting his former Newtown High School classmate in the head, according to the state’s chief medical examiner.

In an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media, attorney Michael Dolan said Manfredonia’s parents had been in regular contact with him until the series of events began on Friday.

His father, Robert Manfredonia, is facing charges of his own, according to Lt. Aaron Bahamonde, a spokesman for the Newtown Police Department. Robert Manfredonia, 54, of Newtown, is free on $50,000 bond after being charged in April with second-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and two counts of providing alcohol to a minor.

According to his warrant, Robert Manfredonia provided alcohol to two underage teen girls in Newtown on April 10. One of the girls also told investigators they “smoked a little weed,” the warrant stated. After one of the girls left, Manfredonia groped the other teen, the warrant stated.

When confronted the next day by the girl’s mother, Manfredonia did not “deny or dispel the allegations,” the warrant stated.

Dolan said he was not aware of the charges against Robert Manfredonia.

Robert Manfredonia declined to comment when reached Tuesday. Efforts to reach Peter Manfredonia’s mother, Jeanette, were unsuccessful.

Dolan did not know when the last time Manfredonia spoke to his parents, but said they had a heightened concern about his history of mental health issues when they heard about the alleged crime spree.

“He certainly did have mental health issues, but he had no history of violence,” Dolan said. “This really came out of nowhere.”

His parents, who are divorced, are cooperating with the investigation, Dolan said.

Peter Manfredonia grew up in his family’s former home on the same Sandy Hook street as Adam Lanza, according to property records. According to posts on his social media feeds, Peter Manfredonia supported Sandy Hook charitable organizations that formed to end gun violence after Lanza killed 20 students and six educators in 2012.

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to all of the families and people impacted by the shootings and attacks linked to UConn student Peter Manfredonia,” a statement reads from Sandy Hook Promise. “We can confirm that he participated in an athletic event in 2019 and chose Sandy Hook Promise as one of his fundraising recipients. We hope he surrenders peacefully to the authorities and that no one else is hurt or killed.”

Peter Manfredona was recently living in an off-campus apartment in Storrs, according to Dolan, who did not know if he had any roommates.

Dolan said he’s trying to use the media to reach out to Peter Manfredonia, who was last seen in Pennsylvania Sunday afternoon and is considered “armed and dangerous,” according to police.

“On behalf of the family, I’m pursuing every avenue to reach their child, including cooperation with police,” Dolan said.

Manfredonia, an accomplished football player and track athlete at Newtown High School where he graduated in 2015, is a senior at the University of Connecticut, where he is a finance and mechanical engineering student.

Stephanie Reitz, a UConn spokeswoman, declined to comment whether Manfredonia had a disciplinary record at the school.

UConn President Tom Katsouleas said in a statement that the university has been working with Connecticut state police and other agencies to help in the search for Manfredonia.

“The horrific and incomprehensible loss of life is reminiscent of so many other tragedies at so many other places around the country and the world,” Katsouleas said. “Though rare, we have been sadly reminded that none are immune from such random acts, and that they don’t always happen somewhere else.”

Lt. John Aiello, commanding officer of the Connecticut state police Eastern District Major Crimes Squad, addressed Manfredonia during a press conference Tuesday afternoon at the agency’s Middletown headquarters.

“Peter, we’ve talked to your family. 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,” Aiello said. “We know this is not who you are.”

While Aiello urged for Manfredonia to surrender, Pennsylvania state police said the fugitive has continued to elude authorities.

Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Anthony Petroski said a black Hyundai Santa Fe with Pennsylvania license plate KYW-1650 was stolen around 9 p.m. Monday from the area where Manfredonia was last seen. However, he said police have not confirmed whether Manfredonia stole the vehicle.

Bahamonde said Newtown police have increased their manpower for each shift and have taken “a defensive standpoint” in case Manfredonia returns to Connecticut.

Bahamonde said Newtown police have assisted state troopers in conducting “some searches” in town, including at Robert Manfredonia’s Queen Street residence.

Manfredonia was last seen Sunday afternoon in eastern Pennsylvania near the Poconos. The Pennsylvania state police said Manfredonia used an Uber to flee into East Stroudsburg Sunday afternoon after ditching a woman he kidnapped in Connecticut and her car at the New Jersey border.

Pennsylvania state police have released an image of Manfredonia walking along railroad tracks carrying what appeared to be a large duffel bag shortly after he was dropped off by the Uber. Pennsylvania state police said they believe the bag is filled with guns Manfredonia is accused of stealing during a Connecticut home invasion over the weekend.

It remains unknown what sparked the alleged crime spree that began Friday when police say Manfredonia attacked two men with a type of machete in upstate Connecticut. However, a source close to the investigation said Manfredonia was on his way to meet a former girlfriend when his motorcycle broke down in Willington.

Theodore DeMers offered Manfredonia a ride on his ATV when police say the 62-year-old man was attacked with an “edged” weapon. A second man who came to the aid of DeMers was critically injured, police said. By Tuesday, officials said he was in stable condition.

Chief Medical Examiner James Gill said DeMers’ death was caused by “sharp force and chop injuries of head with sharp force injuries of torso and extremities.” The manner of death was classified as homicide, Gill said.

On Sunday, a Willington man reported being held captive by Manfredonia, who stole his guns, food, supplies and his truck during a home invasion, according to police.

A few hours later, police recovered the stolen truck in Derby, setting off an extensive search that led authorities to a Roosevelt Drive home about a mile away. Police said video surveillance showed Manfredonia walking “directly” toward Nicholas Eisele’s home between 5 and 6 a.m. Sunday. Eisele also graduated Newtown High in 2015 and was described by police as an “acquaintance” of Manfredonia.

Gill said Eisele’s cause of death was “gunshot wounds of head.” Gill said Eisele’s manner of death was ruled homicide.

By the time police arrived, Manfredonia had fled and kidnapped Eisele’s girlfriend in her 2016 Volkswagen Jetta. The woman and the car were recovered later Sunday in New Jersey. Police said the woman was unharmed and returned to Connecticut where she was interviewed by investigators.

Staff writers Ben Lambert, Rob Ryser and Kendra Baker contributed to this story.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Derby police at 203-735-7811, state police at 860-896-3200 or the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI. Any sightings of Manfredonia should be called in to 911.

NEWTOWN — The attorney representing the family of a University of Connecticut student wanted in connection with two homicides says he’s suffered from mental health issues for years, but the deadly crime spree “came out of nowhere.”

On Tuesday, Peter Manfredonia remained on the run — believed to be in the Poconos area of eastern Pennsylvania — after police say he killed two people in Connecticut, including shooting his former Newtown High School classmate in the head, according to the state’s chief medical examiner.

In an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media, attorney Michael Dolan said Manfredonia’s parents had been in regular contact with him until the series of events began on Friday.

His father, Robert Manfredonia, is facing charges of his own, according to Lt. Aaron Bahamonde, a spokesman for the Newtown Police Department. Robert Manfredonia, 54, of Newtown, is free on $50,000 bond after being charged in April with second-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and two counts of providing alcohol to a minor.

According to his warrant, Robert Manfredonia provided alcohol to two underage teen girls in Newtown on April 10. One of the girls also told investigators they “smoked a little weed,” the warrant stated. After one of the girls left, Manfredonia groped the other teen, the warrant stated.

When confronted the next day by the girl’s mother, Manfredonia did not “deny or dispel the allegations,” the warrant stated.

Dolan said he was not aware of the charges against Robert Manfredonia.

Robert Manfredonia declined to comment when reached Tuesday. Efforts to reach Peter Manfredonia’s mother, Jeanette, were unsuccessful.

Dolan did not know when the last time Manfredonia spoke to his parents, but said they had a heightened concern about his history of mental health issues when they heard about the alleged crime spree.

“He certainly did have mental health issues, but he had no history of violence,” Dolan said. “This really came out of nowhere.”

His parents, who are divorced, are cooperating with the investigation, Dolan said.

Peter Manfredona grew up in his family’s former home on the same Sandy Hook street as Adam Lanza, according to property records. According to posts on his social media feeds, Peter Manfredonia supported Sandy Hook charitable organizations that formed to end gun violence after Lanza killed 20 students and six educators in 2012.

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to all of the families and people impacted by the shootings and attacks linked to UConn student Peter Manfredonia,” a statement reads from Sandy Hook Promise. “We can confirm that he participated in an athletic event in 2019 and chose Sandy Hook Promise as one of his fundraising recipients. We hope he surrenders peacefully to the authorities and that no one else is hurt or killed.”

Peter Manfredona was recently living in an off-campus apartment in Storrs, according to Dolan, who did not know if he had any roommates.

Dolan said he’s trying to use the media to reach out to Peter Manfredonia, who was last seen in Pennsylvania Sunday afternoon and is considered “armed and dangerous,” according to police.

“On behalf of the family, I’m pursuing every avenue to reach their child, including cooperation with police,” Dolan said.

Manfredonia, an accomplished football player and track athlete at Newtown High School where he graduated in 2015, is a senior at the University of Connecticut, where he is a finance and mechanical engineering student.

Stephanie Reitz, a UConn spokeswoman, declined to comment whether Manfredonia had a disciplinary record at the school.

UConn President Tom Katsouleas said in a statement that the university has been working with Connecticut state police and other agencies to help in the search for Manfredonia.

“The horrific and incomprehensible loss of life is reminiscent of so many other tragedies at so many other places around the country and the world,” Katsouleas said. “Though rare, we have been sadly reminded that none are immune from such random acts, and that they don’t always happen somewhere else.”

Lt. John Aiello, commanding officer of the Connecticut state police Eastern District Major Crimes Squad, addressed Manfredonia during a press conference Tuesday afternoon at the agency’s Middletown headquarters.

“Peter, we’ve talked to your family. 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,” Aiello said. “We know this is not who you are.”

While Aiello urged for Manfredonia to surrender, Pennsylvania state police said the fugitive has continued to elude authorities.

Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Anthony Petroski said a black Hyundai Santa Fe with Pennsylvania license plate KYW-1650 was stolen around 9 p.m. Monday from the area where Manfredonia was last seen. However, he said police have not confirmed whether Manfredonia stole the vehicle.

Bahamonde said Newtown police have increased their manpower for each shift and have taken “a defensive standpoint” in case Manfredonia returns to Connecticut.

Bahamonde said Newtown police have assisted state troopers in conducting “some searches” in town, including at Robert Manfredonia’s Queen Street residence.

Manfredonia was last seen Sunday afternoon in eastern Pennsylvania near the Poconos. The Pennsylvania state police said Manfredonia used an Uber to flee into East Stroudsburg Sunday afternoon after ditching a woman he kidnapped in Connecticut and her car at the New Jersey border.

Pennsylvania state police have released an image of Manfredonia walking along railroad tracks carrying what appeared to be a large duffel bag shortly after he was dropped off by the Uber. Pennsylvania state police said they believe the bag is filled with guns Manfredonia is accused of stealing during a Connecticut home invasion over the weekend.

It remains unknown what sparked the alleged crime spree that began Friday when police say Manfredonia attacked two men with a type of machete in upstate Connecticut. However, a source close to the investigation said Manfredonia was on his way to meet a former girlfriend when his motorcycle broke down in Willington.

Theodore DeMers offered Manfredonia a ride on his ATV when police say the 62-year-old man was attacked with an “edged” weapon. A second man who came to the aid of DeMers was critically injured, police said. By Tuesday, officials said he was in stable condition.

Chief Medical Examiner James Gill said DeMers’ death was caused by “sharp force and chop injuries of head with sharp force injuries of torso and extremities.” The manner of death was classified as homicide, Gill said.

On Sunday, a Willington man reported being held captive by Manfredonia, who stole his guns, food, supplies and his truck during a home invasion, according to police.

A few hours later, police recovered the stolen truck in Derby, setting off an extensive search that led authorities to a Roosevelt Drive home about a mile away. Police said video surveillance showed Manfredonia walking “directly” toward Nicholas Eisele’s home between 5 and 6 a.m. Sunday. Eisele also graduated Newtown High in 2015 and was described by police as an “acquaintance” of Manfredonia.

Gill said Eisele’s cause of death was “gunshot wounds of head.” Gill said Eisele’s manner of death was ruled homicide.

By the time police arrived, Manfredonia had fled and kidnapped Eisele’s girlfriend in her 2016 Volkswagen Jetta. The woman and the car were recovered later Sunday in New Jersey. Police said the woman was unharmed and returned to Connecticut where she was interviewed by investigators.

Staff writers Ben Lambert, Rob Ryser and Kendra Baker contributed to this story.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Derby police at 203-735-7811, state police at 860-896-3200 or the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI. Any sightings of Manfredonia should be called in to 911.

NEWTOWN — The attorney representing the family of a University of Connecticut student wanted in connection with two homicides says he’s suffered from mental health issues for years, but the deadly crime spree “came out of nowhere.”

In an interview Tuesday with Hearst Connecticut Media, attorney Michael Dolan said Peter Manfredonia’s parents had been in regular contact with him until the series of events began on Friday.

His father, Robert Manfredonia, is facing charges of his own, according to Lt. Aaron Bahamonde, a spokesman for the Newtown Police Department. Robert Manfredonia, 54, of Newtown, is free on $50,000 bond after being charged in April with second-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and two counts of providing alcohol to a minor.

Dolan said he was not aware of the charges against Robert Manfredonia.

Peter Manfredona, 23, grew up in his family’s former home on the same Sandy Hook street as Adam Lanza, according to property records. According to posts on his social media feeds, Peter Manfredonia supported Sandy Hook charitable organizations that formed to end gun violence after Lanza killed 20 students and six educators in 2012.

Peter Manfredona was recently living in an off-campus apartment in Storrs, according to Dolan, who did not know if he had any roommates.

Dolan did not know when the last time Manfredonia spoke to his parents, but said they had a heightened concern about his history of mental health issues when they heard about the alleged crime spree.

“He certainly did have mental health issues, but he had no history of violence,” Dolan said. “This really came out of nowhere.”

His parents, who are divorced, are cooperating with the investigation, Dolan said.

Robert Manfredonia declined to comment when reached Tuesday. Efforts to reach Peter Manfredonia’s mother, Jeanette, were unsuccessful.

Dolan said he’s trying to use the media to reach out to Peter Manfredonia, who was last seen in Pennsylvania Sunday afternoon and is considered “armed and dangerous,” according to police.

“On behalf of the family, I’m pursuing every avenue to reach their child, including cooperation with police,” Dolan said.

Manfredonia, an accomplished football player and track athlete at Newtown High School where he graduated in 2015, is a senior at the University of Connecticut, where he is a finance and mechanical engineering student.

Stephanie Reitz, a UConn spokeswoman, declined to comment whether Manfredonia had a disciplinary record at the school.

Manfredonia was last seen Sunday afternoon in eastern Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania state police said Tuesday that Manfredonia used an Uber to flee into East Stroudsburg Sunday afternoon after ditching a woman he kidnapped in Connecticut and her car at the New Jersey border.

Pennsylvania state police have released an image of Manfredonia walking along railroad tracks carrying what appeared to be a large duffel bag shortly after he was dropped off by the Uber. Pennsylvania state police said they believe the bag is filled with guns Manfredonia is accused of stealing during a Connecticut home invasion over the weekend.

It remains unknown what sparked the alleged crime spree that began Friday when police say Manfredonia attacked two men with a type of machete in upstate Connecticut. Theodore Demers was killed during the incident in Willington and another man was critically injured, police said.

On Sunday, a Willington man reported being held captive by Manfredonia, who stole his guns, food, supplies and his truck during a home invasion, according to police.

A few hours later, police recovered the stolen truck in Derby, setting off an extensive search that led authorities to a Roosevelt Drive home about a mile away. Police said video surveillance showed Manfredonia walking “directly” toward Nicholas Eisele’s home between 5 and 6 a.m. Sunday.

Police discovered Eisele dead inside the home and the cause remains under investigation. Eisele also graduated Newtown High in 2015 and was described by police as an “acquaintance” of Manfredonia.

By the time police arrived, Manfredonia had fled and kidnapped Eisele’s girlfriend in her 2016 Volkswagen Jetta. The woman and the car were recovered later Sunday in New Jersey. Police said the woman was unharmed and returned to Connecticut where she was interviewed by investigators.

Staff writers Ben Lambert, Rob Ryser and Kendra Baker contributed to this story.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Derby police at 203-735-7811, state police at 860-896-3200 or the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI. Any sightings of Manfredonia should be called in to 911.

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Georgia‘s attorney general appointed a black district attorney from the Atlanta area Monday to take over the case of a white father and son charged with killing a black man, making her the third outside prosecutor in a slaying that’s prompted a national outcry over suspicions that race played a role in delaying arrests.

Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was fatally shot Feb. 23 by the men who told police they chased him because they believed he matched the appearance of a burglary suspect caught on surveillance video. Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, were arrested last week, more than two months later, after video of the shooting appeared online and provoked outrage. Federal prosecutors are also considering hate crimes charges, the Justice Department said; that would allow for a separate case in federal court.

Cobb County District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes takes over the case from prosecutor Tom Durden, who the state’s attorney general said asked to be replaced by a prosecutor with a large staff as “this case has grown in size and magnitude.” Holmes is based in metro Atlanta, more than 300 miles (480 kilometres) from the coastal Georgia community in Glynn County where the shooting happened.

“District Attorney Holmes is a respected attorney with experience, both as a lawyer and a judge,” state Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, said in a statement. “And the Cobb County District Attorney’s office has the resources, personnel and experience to lead this prosecution and ensure justice is done.”

Holmes served four years a magistrate judge in suburban Cobb County before Gov. Brian Kemp appointed her to fill the vacant district attorney’s position last July. According to the Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys Council, Holmes is one of only seven black district attorneys in the state.

An attorney for Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery, applauded the appointment of a new lead prosecutor.

“In order for justice to be carried out both effectively and appropriately in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, it is imperative that the special prosecutor has no affiliation with the Southeast Georgia legal or law enforcement communities,” attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement. He asked that Holmes “be zealous in her search for justice.”

Arbery was hit by three shotgun blasts, according to an autopsy report released Monday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. One shot grazed his right wrist, and the other two struck him in the chest. Blood tests for various drugs and alcohol all came back negative.

Many have expressed frustration with the investigation, questioning whether the arrests took so long because the suspects are white and the victim black. The killing happened in a subdivision bordered by marsh just outside Brunswick, a working-class port city of about 16,000 that also serves as a gateway to beach resorts on neighbouring islands.

The McMichaels weren’t arrested until after the video became public and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was asked to look into the killing. Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, have been jailed since Thursday on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault.

With courts largely closed because of the coronavirus, getting an indictment needed to try the men on murder charges will take a while longer still. The soonest a grand jury can convene to hear the case will be mid-June.

It was not known Monday whether the McMichaels had attorneys to represent them. They had no lawyers at their first court appearance Friday.

Gregory McMichael is a former Glynn County police officer who later worked 20 years as an investigator for the local district attorney’s office. He retired a year ago.

Glynn County District Attorney Jackie Johnson recused herself from the case because the elder McMichael had worked under her. The first outside prosecutor appointed, District Attorney George Barnhill of the neighbouring Waycross Judicial Circuit, stepped aside about a month later because his son works for Johnson as an assistant prosecutor. Durden got the case in mid-April.

Attorneys for Arbery’s parents and others, including Carr and the Southern Poverty Law Center, have asked for a federal investigation to weigh whether hate crimes charges should be brought. Georgia has no hate crime law allowing state charges.

At the White House, President Donald Trump said Monday he’s following the case “very closely” and that Arbery “looks like a wonderful young guy.”

“Certainly the video, it was a terrible looking video to me,” Trump said. “But you have a lot of people looking at it and hopefully an answer’s going to be arrived at very quickly.”

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement: “We are assessing all of the evidence to determine whether federal hate crimes charges are appropriate.”

She said the department is also considering Carr’s request for federal authorities to investigate how local police and prosecutors handled the case. She said Carr has been asked to “forward to federal authorities any information that he has.”

The father and son told police they thought Arbery matched the appearance of a burglary suspect who they said had been recorded on a surveillance camera some time before, according to the Glynn County police report filed after the shooting.

Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, has said she thinks her son, a former high school football player, was just jogging in the neighbourhood before he was killed.

The leaked video shows a black man running at a jogging pace. A truck is stopped in the road ahead of him, with one white man standing in the pickup’s bed and another beside the open driver’s side door.

The running man attempts to pass the pickup on the passenger side, moving briefly outside the camera’s view. A gunshot sounds, and the video shows the running man grappling with a man over what appears to be a shotgun or rifle. A second shot can be heard, and the running man can be seen punching the other man. A third shot is fired at point-blank range. The running man staggers a few feet and falls face down.

A man who says he recorded the cellphone video of the shooting said he’s received death threats.

William R. Bryan is identified as a witness in the police report taken after Arbery’s shooting. He has not been charged.

“I had nothing to do with it,” Bryan told WJAX-TV in an interview that aired Monday. “I was told I was a witness and I’m not sure what I am, other than receiving a bunch of threats.”

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Georgia’s attorney general appointed a black district attorney from the Atlanta area Monday to take over the case of a white father and son charged with killing a black man, making her the third outside prosecutor in a slaying that’s prompted a national outcry over suspicions that race played a role in delaying arrests.

Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was fatally shot Feb. 23 by the men who told police they chased him because they believed he matched the appearance of a burglary suspect caught on surveillance video. Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, were arrested last week, more than two months later, after video of the shooting appeared online and provoked outrage. Federal prosecutors are also considering hate crimes charges, the Justice Department said; that would allow for a separate case in federal court.

Cobb County District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes takes over the case from prosecutor Tom Durden, who the state’s attorney general said asked to be replaced by a prosecutor with a large staff as “this case has grown in size and magnitude.” Holmes is based in metro Atlanta, more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) from the coastal Georgia community in Glynn County where the shooting happened.

“District Attorney Holmes is a respected attorney with experience, both as a lawyer and a judge,” state Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, said in a statement. “And the Cobb County District Attorney’s office has the resources, personnel and experience to lead this prosecution and ensure justice is done.”

Holmes served four years a magistrate judge in suburban Cobb County before Gov. Brian Kemp appointed her to fill the vacant district attorney’s position last July. According to the Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys Council, Holmes is one of only seven black district attorneys in the state.

An attorney for Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery, applauded the appointment of a new lead prosecutor.

“In order for justice to be carried out both effectively and appropriately in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, it is imperative that the special prosecutor has no affiliation with the Southeast Georgia legal or law enforcement communities,” attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement. He asked that Holmes “be zealous in her search for justice.”

Arbery was hit by three shotgun blasts, according to an autopsy report released Monday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. One shot grazed his right wrist, and the other two struck him in the chest. Blood tests for various drugs and alcohol all came back negative.

Many have expressed frustration with the investigation, questioning whether the arrests took so long because the suspects are white and the victim black. The killing happened in a subdivision bordered by marsh just outside Brunswick, a working-class port city of about 16,000 that also serves as a gateway to beach resorts on neighboring islands.

The McMichaels weren’t arrested until after the video became public and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was asked to look into the killing. Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, have been jailed since Thursday on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault.

With courts largely closed because of the coronavirus, getting an indictment needed to try the men on murder charges will take a while longer still. The soonest a grand jury can convene to hear the case will be mid-June.

It was not known Monday whether the McMichaels had attorneys to represent them. They had no lawyers at their first court appearance Friday.

Gregory McMichael is a former Glynn County police officer who later worked 20 years as an investigator for the local district attorney’s office. He retired a year ago.

Glynn County District Attorney Jackie Johnson recused herself from the case because the elder McMichael had worked under her. The first outside prosecutor appointed, District Attorney George Barnhill of the neighboring Waycross Judicial Circuit, stepped aside about a month later because his son works for Johnson as an assistant prosecutor. Durden got the case in mid-April.

Attorneys for Arbery’s parents and others, including Carr and the Southern Poverty Law Center, have asked for a federal investigation to weigh whether hate crimes charges should be brought. Georgia has no hate crime law allowing state charges.

At the White House, President Donald Trump said Monday he’s following the case “very closely” and that Arbery “looks like a wonderful young guy.”

“Certainly the video, it was a terrible looking video to me,” Trump said. “But you have a lot of people looking at it and hopefully an answer’s going to be arrived at very quickly.”

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement: “We are assessing all of the evidence to determine whether federal hate crimes charges are appropriate.”

She said the department is also considering Carr’s request for federal authorities to investigate how local police and prosecutors handled the case. She said Carr has been asked to “forward to federal authorities any information that he has.”

The father and son told police they thought Arbery matched the appearance of a burglary suspect who they said had been recorded on a surveillance camera some time before, according to the Glynn County police report filed after the shooting.

Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, has said she thinks her son, a former high school football player, was just jogging in the neighborhood before he was killed.

The leaked video shows a black man running at a jogging pace. A truck is stopped in the road ahead of him, with one white man standing in the pickup’s bed and another beside the open driver’s side door.

The running man attempts to pass the pickup on the passenger side, moving briefly outside the camera’s view. A gunshot sounds, and the video shows the running man grappling with a man over what appears to be a shotgun or rifle. A second shot can be heard, and the running man can be seen punching the other man. A third shot is fired at point-blank range. The running man staggers a few feet and falls face down.

A man who says he recorded the cellphone video of the shooting said he’s received death threats.

William R. Bryan is identified as a witness in the police report taken after Arbery’s shooting. He has not been charged.

“I had nothing to do with it,” Bryan told WJAX-TV in an interview that aired Monday. “I was told I was a witness and I’m not sure what I am, other than receiving a bunch of threats.”

Copyright © 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Justice Department said Monday that federal prosecutors are weighing possible hate crime charges in the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man gunned down after being pursued by two armed white men in a Georgia subdivision.

Arbery was fatally shot Feb. 23 by a father and son who told police they chased him because they believed he was a burglar. They were arrested last week, more than two months later, on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault after video of the shooting appeared online.

Attorneys for Arbery’s parents and others, including Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and the Southern Poverty Law Center, have asked for a federal investigation. Georgia has no hate crime law allowing charges at the state level.

RELATED: Special prosecutor appointed in Ahmaud Arbery case

“We are assessing all of the evidence to determine whether federal hate crimes charges are appropriate,” Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement Monday.

Previously, a Justice Department spokesman had said the FBI is assisting in the investigation and the department would assist if a federal crime is uncovered.

Kupec’s statement Monday also said the Justice Department was considering Carr’s request for federal authorities to investigate how local police and prosecutors handled the case. She said Carr has been asked to “forward to federal authorities any information that he has.”

Gregory McMichael, 64, and his 34-year-old son, Travis McMichael, are jailed on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault in Arbery’s slaying. Gregory McMichael is a former Glynn County police officer who later worked 20 years as an investigator for the local district attorney’s office. He retired a year ago.

The father and son told police they thought Arbery matched the appearance of a burglary suspect who they said had been recorded on a surveillance camera some time before, according to the Glynn County police report filed after the shooting.

Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, has said she thinks her 25-year-old son, a former high school football player, was just jogging in the neighborhood before he was killed.

Meanwhile, a man identifying himself as the person who recorded the cellphone video of the shooting said he’s received death threats.

RELATED: Man who recorded the Ahmaud Arbery shooting has been receiving threats, attorney says | What we know about the deadly shooting of Ahmaud Arbery

William “Roddie” Bryan is identified as a witness in the police report taken after Arbery’s shooting. He appears to be mentioned in a single sentence of the report, which says Gregory McMichael told an officer that “‘Roddy’ attempted to block (Arbery) which was unsuccessful.”

Bryan has not been charged in the case.

Outside prosecutors were appointed to handle the case. But the McMichaels weren’t arrested until last week. After video of the shooting leaked online Tuesday, the lead prosecutor on the case asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into the shooting. The McMichaels were arrested Thursday.

It was not known Monday whether the McMichaels had attorneys to represent them. They had no lawyers at their first court appearance Friday.

The leaked video shows a black man running at a jogging pace. The truck is stopped in the road ahead of him, with one of the white men standing in the pickup’s bed and the other beside the open driver’s side door.

The running man attempts to pass the pickup on the passenger side, moving just beyond the truck, briefly outside the camera’s view. A gunshot sounds, and the video shows the running man grappling with a man over what appears to be a shotgun or rifle. A second shot can be heard, and the running man can be seen punching the other man. A third shot is fired at point-blank range. The running man staggers a few feet and falls face down.

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The Justice Department said Monday that federal prosecutors are weighing possible hate crime charges in the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man gunned down after being pursued by two armed white men in a Georgia subdivision.

Arbery was fatally shot Feb. 23 by a father and son who told police they chased him because they believed he was a burglar. They were arrested last week, more than two months later, on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault after video of the shooting appeared online.

Attorneys for Arbery’s parents and others, including Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and the Southern Poverty Law Center, have asked for a federal investigation. Georgia has no hate crime law allowing charges at the state level.

“We are assessing all of the evidence to determine whether federal hate crimes charges are appropriate,” Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement Monday.

Previously, a Justice Department spokesman had said the FBI is assisting in the investigation and the department would assist if a federal crime is uncovered.

Kupec’s statement Monday also said the Justice Department was considering Carr’s request for federal authorities to investigate how local police and prosecutors handled the case. She said Carr has been asked to “forward to federal authorities any information that he has.”

Gregory McMichael, 64, and his 34-year-old son, Travis McMichael, are jailed on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault in Arbery’s slaying. Gregory McMichael is a former Glynn County police officer who later worked 20 years as an investigator for the local district attorney’s office. He retired a year ago.

The father and son told police they thought Arbery matched the appearance of a burglary suspect who they said had been recorded on a surveillance camera some time before, according to the Glynn County police report filed after the shooting.

Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, has said she thinks her 25-year-old son, a former high school football player, was just jogging in the neighborhood before he was killed.

Meanwhile, a man identifying himself as the person who recorded the cellphone video of the shooting said he’s received death threats.

William “Roddie” Bryan is identified as a witness in the police report taken after Arbery’s shooting. He appears to be mentioned in a single sentence of the report, which says Gregory McMichael told an officer that “‘Roddy’ attempted to block (Arbery) which was unsuccessful.”

“I had nothing to do with it. I’m trying to get my life back to normal, and it’s been smeared for the last week,” Bryan told WJAX-TV in an interview that aired Monday. “I was told I was a witness and I’m not sure what I am, other than receiving a bunch of threats.”

Bryan has not been charged in the case. The TV station reported Bryan would not discuss his involvement in the events that led to Arbery’s death.

Outside prosecutors were appointed to handle the case. But the McMichaels weren’t arrested until last week. After video of the shooting leaked online Tuesday, the lead prosecutor on the case asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into the shooting. The McMichaels were arrested Thursday.

It was not known Monday whether the McMichaels had attorneys to represent them. They had no lawyers at their first court appearance Friday.

The leaked video shows a black man running at a jogging pace. The truck is stopped in the road ahead of him, with one of the white men standing in the pickup’s bed and the other beside the open driver’s side door.

The running man attempts to pass the pickup on the passenger side, moving just beyond the truck, briefly outside the camera’s view. A gunshot sounds, and the video shows the running man grappling with a man over what appears to be a shotgun or rifle. A second shot can be heard, and the running man can be seen punching the other man. A third shot is fired at point-blank range. The running man staggers a few feet and falls face down.

SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Justice Department said Monday that federal prosecutors are weighing possible hate crime charges in the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man gunned down after being pursued by two armed white men in a Georgia subdivision.

Arbery was fatally shot Feb. 23 by a father and son who told police they chased him because they believed he was a burglar. They were arrested last week, more than two months later, on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault after video of the shooting appeared online.

Attorneys for Arbery’s parents and others, including Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and the Southern Poverty Law Center, have asked for a federal investigation. Georgia has no hate crime law allowing charges at the state level.

“We are assessing all of the evidence to determine whether federal hate crimes charges are appropriate,” Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement Monday.

Previously, a Justice Department spokesman had said the FBI is assisting in the investigation and the department would assist if a federal crime is uncovered.

Kupec’s statement Monday also said the Justice Department was considering Carr’s request for federal authorities to investigate how local police and prosecutors handled the case. She said Carr has been asked to “forward to federal authorities any information that he has.”

Gregory McMichael, 64, and his 34-year-old son, Travis McMichael, are jailed on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault in Arbery’s slaying. Gregory McMichael is a former Glynn County police officer who later worked 20 years as an investigator for the local district attorney’s office. He retired a year ago.

The father and son told police they thought Arbery matched the appearance of a burglary suspect who they said had been recorded on a surveillance camera some time before, according to the Glynn County police report filed after the shooting.

Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, has said she thinks her 25-year-old son, a former high school football player, was just jogging in the neighbourhood before he was killed.

Meanwhile, a man identifying himself as the person who recorded the cellphone video of the shooting said he’s received death threats.

William “Roddie” Bryan is identified as a witness in the police report taken after Arbery’s shooting. He appears to be mentioned in a single sentence of the report, which says Gregory McMichael told an officer that “’Roddy’ attempted to block (Arbery) which was unsuccessful.”

“I had nothing to do with it. I’m trying to get my life back to normal, and it’s been smeared for the last week,” Bryan told WJAX-TV in an interview that aired Monday. “I was told I was a witness and I’m not sure what I am, other than receiving a bunch of threats.”

Bryan has not been charged in the case. The TV station reported Bryan would not discuss his involvement in the events that led to Arbery’s death.

Outside prosecutors were appointed to handle the case. But the McMichaels weren’t arrested until last week. After video of the shooting leaked online Tuesday, the lead prosecutor on the case asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into the shooting. The McMichaels were arrested Thursday.

It was not known Monday whether the McMichaels had attorneys to represent them. They had no lawyers at their first court appearance Friday.

The leaked video shows a black man running at a jogging pace. The truck is stopped in the road ahead of him, with one of the white men standing in the pickup’s bed and the other beside the open driver’s side door.

The running man attempts to pass the pickup on the passenger side, moving just beyond the truck, briefly outside the camera’s view. A gunshot sounds, and the video shows the running man grappling with a man over what appears to be a shotgun or rifle. A second shot can be heard, and the running man can be seen punching the other man. A third shot is fired at point-blank range. The running man staggers a few feet and falls face down.

Four star football players at Eastside Catholic High School remained on the powerhouse team in 2018 while they were under criminal investigation for allegedly gang raping a 16-year-old girl from another school, a KING 5 investigation found.

It’s undisputed, based on a review of hundreds of pages of law enforcement records, that four high school players took turns having sex with the girl in the open-air bed of a pickup truck as it drove through the wealthy Bellevue suburbs of Hunts Point and Medina. Two other teenagers, including another Eastside Catholic standout player, watched from inside the cab.

At issue is whether the football players assaulted the alleged victim or whether the sex acts were consensual. A five-month police investigation, which involved seven law enforcement agencies in King County, led police to recommend prosecutors file charges against the four football players accused of raping the girl. The players were never charged with a crime, prosecutors said, because authorities lacked the evidence they needed to be successful in court.

KING 5 is not identifying any of the individuals involved in the April 2018 incident because no criminal charges were filed in the case. The female is not identified because she is an alleged victim of sexual assault.

The alleged victim, suspects and witnesses involved in the 2018 incident declined to be interviewed for this story.

‘We Believed In Our Case’ 

Seven months after the incident that April, the accused football players and their Eastside Catholic teammates celebrated a blockbuster win. 

On November 30, 2018, the Crusaders swept past the O’Dea Fighting Irish, 31-13, to grab the 3A state football title for the third time in five years. Many considered the squad the best high school football team in the state, if not one of the best in the country.

But behind the on-field celebrations, the dark secret of that spring night— and the criminal investigation that followed — hovered over the team and the entire private school, located on the Sammamish Plateau.

“We took (the case) very seriously,” said Kyle Kolling, chief of police at the Clyde Hill Police Department.

The Clyde Hill Police Department was the lead agency investigating the case, with the help of six other law enforcement agencies: Bellevue, Pacific, the King County Sheriff’s Office, Snoqualmie Police, Issaquah and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

“We believed in our case, absolutely,” Chief Kolling said. “Just because a case didn’t get charged (by the King County Prosecutor’s Office), doesn’t mean a crime didn’t occur. It just means other circumstances may prevent them from prosecuting the case.”

A 521-page investigative file, obtained through a public records request, shows that April evening began with the alleged victim drinking shots of whiskey with friends and then meeting up with a few of the Eastside Catholic players. She told police she was having fun with the players, but events escalated into an out-of-hand-assault. 

“I was pretty drunk… I wasn’t in the condition to give consent or anything,” the teen told a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) nurse who conducted an examination and an interview of the teenage girl at Evergreen Hospital on April 26. “They tossed me around the truck bed a lot.”

Conflicting Accounts 

While none of the records dispute the fact that the sex acts occurred, police records detail conflicting accounts of how the night played out.

The alleged victim told investigators that one of the four suspects was “very aggressive, pushing me around and choking me.”

Police concluded that during the drive, two more players joined the group, bringing the total to six high school boys in the vehicle.

“All the boys would take turns and fight over me like I was an object,” the alleged victim told detectives.

She told police the football players held her down when other vehicles would pass by “so that the other drivers would not see.” She said she was “too scared to say anything…if (I) showed fear, it would make everything worse.”

In a later interview with police, in August 2018, the alleged victim told the lead investigator from the Clyde Hill Police Department that her actions that night might make it difficult to prove the case.

“I guess the way I was acting… I didn’t seem like I wasn’t okay,” the teenage girl said. “I don’t know if I talked a bunch but I know I was talking more than usual… just trying to lighten the situation for myself I guess.”

Police heard another version of the story from the two witnesses inside the truck’s cab. According to documents, the witness who attends Eastside Catholic said the teenage girl was a willing participant and “the initiator.” The second witness inside the truck was an athlete from another high school in the Bellevue area.

In August 2018, the student submitted a 9-page statement to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office that he prepared with his attorney. In the statement, the witness said he asked the girl several times if she was okay, and that she responded: “I’m great.” 

The witness also wrote it’s “a lie” that the girl was drunk….and that “at no time did I think she was doing anything against her will and at no time was I worried about (her) safety. If I was, I would have put a stop to it….she was 100% in control of the situation.”

In addition, Clyde Hill police tracked down the Uber driver who gave the girl a ride after the incident that night. He said she “seemed fine”…and that “nothing jumped out as a red flag.”

Charging Recommendations

After the months-long police investigation that included interviews with more than a dozen people, records show the Clyde Hill Police Department recommended to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office that the 18-year-old suspect, the only adult in the group, should be charged with rape of a child in the third degree.

The department recommended that prosecutors review if the three players who were minor suspects should face sexual assault charges. The two witnesses, one from Eastside Catholic and a football player from another school, were both offered limited immunity in exchange for cooperating in the case.

According to documents authored by Emily Peterson, the senior deputy prosecuting attorney on the case, neither witness was considered a suspect.

“At present, all available evidence gives the State no reason to believe that you bear any criminal responsibility for anything that occurred that evening,” Peterson wrote.

‘There Was Definitely A Video’

The investigative file shows videos of the incident were sent out via the popular app, Snapchat, and then were widely circulated throughout high schools including Eastside Catholic and others on the eastside.

A student from a Bellevue-area public school told KING he watched a portion of the video during his math class. The student, who asked to remain anonymous, said his friend in class received the video in a group chat that included approximately 17 students.

“There was definitely a video,” said the student, who does not know the football players involved. “They were in a truck and they were having sex and there was more than one guy. A guy (inside) the truck said ‘are you having fun?’ and I believe she nodded ‘yes.’

Police records show detectives spoke with several other students who viewed videos of the alleged assault, but investigators could never get copies of them, despite obtaining one of the player’s phones with a search warrant.

In a probable cause statement to obtain the warrant, detectives wrote there was evidence the suspects committed the crime of “dealing, distribution and possession of child pornography,” in addition to “rape in the second degree” and “unlawful imprisonment.”

The Bellevue Police Department assisted in the investigation by analyzing the phone in their digital forensics lab. No videos were found. Law enforcement officials said that is a typical pattern when Snapchat is used because the app automatically deletes videos.

“(It was) very problematic (when the videos weren’t located),” said Lt. Dawn Hanson, who oversaw the Clyde Hill Police Department’s investigation. “So without the video being able to review, all we could prove was that videos were sent and received… It was very frustrating. It would have helped our case a lot.”

In December 2018, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office officially declined to file charges in the case.

In a statement, an attorney for one of the suspects in the case applauded the decision.

“We commend the prosecutor for making the correct and just decision,” the attorney wrote in a statement. The attorney asked not to be named in an effort to further protect her client’s identity.

After The Incident

The teens ended that April 2018 night in Hunts Point, according to police records. The alleged victim had “several bruises and scrapes on her legs and knees.”

The now 18-year-old female wrote in a declaration to a King County court last month that her life fell apart after the incident occurred two years ago. She said she was partially hospitalized “for a period of months” and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She added that she dropped out of her school and continues to struggle academically.

The Eastside Catholic players remained on the team and went on to win another state championship title in 2019. The three males who still attend the school also obtained scholarships to play football at prestigious universities.

One of the witnesses in the case received a football scholarship from Stanford University. He was set to attend the school and play this fall, but the university rescinded their scholarship offer and revoked his admission status this week.

In a statement, Stanford officials explained their policy allows them to rescind a student’s admission once they receive and review additional information.

“The university has taken that step with regard to an incoming undergraduate for fall 2020 who was scheduled to be a football student-athlete,” wrote Brian Risso, a spokesman for Stanford Athletics.

Eastside Catholic declined an interview request. A school spokeswoman wrote in a statement that school officials were aware a sexual assault investigation was underway, but they couldn’t get details of the case from police. She said administrators heard “rumors” but did not have evidence of wrongdoing.

“Eastside Catholic believes the police and the prosecutor’s office were in the best position to investigate and review this matter,” Karen Hatch, the spokeswoman, wrote in a statement.

The KING 5 investigation: “Glory and Shame at Eastside Catholic” continues. The next report will focus on why prosecutors didn’t file charges in the case. 

*Editor’s note: KING 5 previously reported extensively on Gee Scott, Jr., a prominent Eastside Catholic High School football player, who will play for Ohio State University in the fall. Gee Scott Jr. was not a witness or a suspect in the alleged crime, and he was not present on the night in question, police records show.