Case against Eric Frein open and shut?
District attorney seeking death penalty against accused cop killer
A Pennsylvania man charged with killing one state trooper and injuring another back in 2014 led police on a 48-day manhunt through the Pocono Mountains before authorities captured him. Eric Frein now could face the death penalty in his capital murder trial if he is found guilty of killing Cpl. Bryon Dickson II and injuring Trooper Alex Douglass.
“We’re looking for fairness,” Frein’s lawyer, Michael Weinstein, said as the selection for jury members was under way at the Chester County courthouse outside of Philadelphia. “We’re looking for jurors who can keep an open mind. Compassion.”
Both the prosecution and defense agreed to select the jury from Chester County—150 miles away from the murder— because of the effect the weeks-long incident had on Pike County residents. The selected jurors will then go to Pike County for the trial.
For now, the group of jurors selected Thursday and Friday will be back in the Chester County courthouse the following week for further questioning.
A video of Frein confessing to the murder could be used in court if his lawyers are unable to suppress it. They argue that investigators didn’t tell Frein his family hired a lawyer to speak for him.
Frein has pleaded not guilty. Opening statements are scheduled for April.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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