Man accused of killing of Pennsylvania state trooper appears in court

The crowd was waiting as Eric M Frein, the suspect accused of killing a state trooper and wounding another, emerged from the courthouse yesterday in the picturesque mountain town of Milford, Pennsylvania.

Officers leading him stopped momentarily, allowing bystanders to see the man who had been the subject of an intense manhunt since the shooting on September 12th outside the nearby Blooming Grove state trooper barracks.

Bystanders shouted and heckled him as he was led to a waiting car. “You’re not a soldier,” shouted one, in reference to his military role-playing.

Inside the court moments earlier, Mr Frein had heard the charges, including first-degree murder and attempted murder, that he faced in the shooting that killed Cpl Bryon K Dickson II (38), and wounded Alex T Douglass.

Nose gashed

Mr Frein, who had bruises on the left side of his face and a gash across his nose, acknowledged the charges read by Judge Shannon L Muir. His voice, barely audible at first, got stronger with each response. Police officers lined the wall of the courthouse. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for November 12th.

Mr Frein surrendered on Thursday to federal marshals who found him hiding out in an abandoned airport in the Pocono Mountains, ending a manhunt that began on September 12th. The marshals turned him over to the Pennsylvania state police, who placed him in the murdered trooper’s handcuffs and patrol car.

On the day of the shooting, police said, Mr Frein concealed himself in woods near the Blooming Grove state trooper barracks and opened fire, killing Dickson and wounding Douglass.

After firing four rounds, authorities say, Mr Frein, a self-taught survival enthusiast, fled into the countryside.

About a week after the shootings, the FBI added him to its list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. – (New York Times service)