The Jury found Eric Frein guilty on all charges.
Governor Tom Wolf released the following statement regarding Eric Frein’s conviction on all charges related to the fatal ambush at the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Pike County:
“Today justice was served and a brutal murderer will be held accountable for his heinous and cowardly acts against members of the Pennsylvania State Police. On behalf of all Pennsylvanians, I want to express my sincere gratitude for the sacrifices made every day by the men and women of the Pennsylvania State Police and their families to keep their fellow citizens safe.”
The jury was deliberating in the murder case against accused cop killer Eric Frein. Closing arguments began Wednesday morning in Pike County court.
Family members of Corporal Bryon Dickson were inside. He died during the ambush at the Blooming Grove barracks in 2014.
Also in court was Trooper Alex Douglass who was severely wounded during the attack.
The parents of Eric Frein are also in court.
Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin’s closing argument lasted an hour and a half.
The prosecutor started by saying, “with murder in his heart, plan in his mind and a rifle in his hand, the defendant slithered through the woods under cover of darkness that September night. 87 yards away from the barracks, he waited to strike.”
Speaking of Cpl. Dickson, Tonkin said, “his service expired. The defendant decided to end that service because he wore a uniform.”
Jurors took one final look at the copious amount of evidence against Frein who faces charges including first-degree murder, attempted murder, and terrorism.
The same jury will decide if Frein should be sentenced to death or spend life in prison. Frein’s attorneys appeared to be more focused on saving his life than the defense.
“We want them to know he’s human, that he has all the qualities of human beings as well, want them to see background who he is, who his family is, that sort of thing,” explained his attorney Michael Weinstein.
The prosecution rested its case Tuesday just before noon. Their final witness was a forensic pathologist who described the gunshot wounds that killed Corporal Bryon Dickson.
The defense rested without calling any witnesses.
“There has to be a defense that is based in fact and it doesn’t appear to me that they had any factual basis for a defense,” commented Tonkin.
“We did cross-examine those witnesses we thought warranted cross-examination and only on these issues that we thought were cross-examinable. A lot of this was technical,” Weinstein explained.
