NEWS BRIEF: Eric Frein sentenced to death

NEWS+BRIEF%3A+Eric+Frein+sentenced+to+death

Rachael Eyler, Multimedia Editor

Pike County Judge Gregory H. Chelake sentenced Matthew Frein to death on Thursday, April 27, after being found guilty of 12 charges including first-degree murder, attempted murder and attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.

Pike County jurors weighed the decision to send Frein to prison or execution according to NBC News, after the trial was moved to a sentencing phase.

On September 12, 2014, Frien ambushed the Blooming Grove state police barracks and opened fire on two officers. The sniper attack killed Corporal Bryon K. Dickson and injured Trooper Alex T. Douglass.

According to Commonwealth of Pennsylvania police reports, authorities searched for Frein for 48 days through the Poconos before he was captured on Oct. 30, 2014, at an abandoned airport hangar in Pocono Township.

Officials stated in the police reports that Frein was able to evade authorities for weeks by following the news on his laptop using unsecured internet connections.

Frein’s trial began on April 4, with over 500 pieces of evidence collected by police, including DNA samples from the weapon, surveillance footage, a letter from Frein to his parents and notes detailing the ambush of Corporal Dickson found at a campsite.

Due to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s statewide moratorium on using the death penalty,  it is undetermined if the sentence will be carried out.

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