Eric Frein, the Pennsylvania man who ambushed a police barrack and fatally shot an officer and injured another in 2014, has been found guilty on all charges.
Frein, a 33-year-old survivalist who eluded authorities for nearly 50 days when he disappeared into the Pocono Mountain region following the killing, was convicted of 12 charges by a jury on Wednesday. The charges included first-degree murder, attempted murder and terrorism, local WNEP reported.
A jury must now decide if Frein will spend the rest of his life in prison or face the death penalty.
On Sept. 12, 2014, Frein fatally shot Pennsylvania state trooper Bryon Dickson and injured trooper Alex Douglass in a sniper attack during a shift change at State Police barracks at Blooming Grove. Frein, who authorities said harbored “anti-government” feelings, then fled into the dense Pocono woods for 48 days.
Frein wrote a detailed letter the night of the shooting that was later discovered by police.
“Got a shot around 11 p.m. and took it,” Frein wrote. “He dropped. I was surprised at how quick. I took a follow-up shot on his head, neck area. He was still and quiet after that. Another cop approached the one I just shot. As he went to kneel, I took a shot at him and he jumped in the door. His legs were visible and still. I ran back to the jeep.”
Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens called Frein’s letter “cold blooded and absolutely chilling.”
“I can only describe Eric Frein’s actions as pure evil,” he said shortly after the attack.
More than 300 state troopers contributed to the costly manhunt that left local residents on edge.
“He’s made us a prisoner in our own homes,” a patron at Old Ranger’s Inn in Canadensis, who did not wish to be identified, told HuffPost at the time. “You’re afraid to walk your dog if you hear a crack in the woods.”
Clues, including empty cigarette packages and “soiled diapers” left in the woods eventually led police to an abandoned airport hangar where Frein was hiding, 30 miles from where the attack happened. After seven weeks on the run, he was taken into custody without incident.
“This case is not yet over,” Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin told WNEP after Wednesday’s convictions. “We have a serious and somber proceeding to go through. I hope businesses in the Poconos and all the residents take some solace that justice has been done to this date, and we’ll be looking for full justice next week.”
The penalty phase of the trial is set to begin Thursday afternoon.