MILFORD — The bell tolled for Eric Matthew Frein.
After 4½ hours of deliberations, the eight women and four men on the jury decided the convicted cop killer must die by lethal injection, though there is a statewide moratorium on using the death penalty.
Soon after, eight peals from the bell atop the Pike County Courthouse announced the verdict to all of Milford, a tradition last employed in the mid-1980s when Barry Gibbs received the death penalty for first-degree murder. He was later retried and sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison.
Frein’s sentence came around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, the 16th day of trial. Almost a week earlier, the jury from Chester County found Frein guilty of all 12 counts, including two counts of first-degree murder, for the Sept. 12, 2014, sniper attack at the Blooming Grove state police barracks. Frein hid in the trees across the street from the barracks and fired four shots at the front door. Two bullets killed Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II, 38, of
Dunmore, and one bullet severely injured Trooper Alex T. Douglass, 34, of Olyphant. The fourth bullet hit a tree. Frein then fled and authorities searched for him for 48 days through dense state forest in Pike and Monroe counties. U.S. marshals captured him on Oct. 30, 2014, at an abandoned airport hangar in Pocono Twp.
The defendant, 33, of Canadensis, showed no emotion as the jury foreman read the verdict. Douglass pumped his fist and exclaimed “Yes!” Dickson’s mother, Darla Dickson, teared up. Dickson’s widow, Tiffany Dickson, was not in the courtroom for the verdict.
Late Wednesday, Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin said Frein “richly deserved” the sentence.
“The jurors did deliver full justice in this matter,” he said.
A formal sentencing hearing is scheduled for today at 1:30 p.m. Some additional victim impact statements may be read at that hearing.
Over the course of the trial, prosecutors presented 54 witnesses and more than 530 pieces of evidence that linked Frein to the shootings, including: surveillance videos that captured the shooting and its immediate aftermath; the Norinco rifle used during the attack and bullet casings; pipe bombs found at a campsite Frein used while on the run; bomb-making material seized from Frein’s bedroom; a letter on a thumb drive that Frein wrote to his parents about the need for a revolution; three pages of notes detailing the shooting that Frein wrote and discarded at a campsite; DNA and handwriting analysis on items found during the manhunt and from search warrants of Frein’s home and vehicle; and the videotaped interrogation after Frein was captured in which he implicated himself numerous time in the shooting.
During the sentencing phase, the prosecution made its case to the jury for the death penalty by presenting aggravating circumstances, which make the crime more heinous. They presented several witnesses, including Dickson’s widow and mother, who talked of the devastating impact his death had on them.
In his hour and 10 minute closing argument, Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin told jurors that the heavy weight of Dickson’s murder and Douglass’ attempted murder began with Frein’s decision to aim his rifle and squeeze his trigger “again, again, again and again.”
To impose death, jurors had to unanimously find that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating circumstances. Tonkin said that the prosecution had already proven the aggravating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt, the high burden of proof needed, with the jury’s conviction last week on all counts.
Frein’s defense attorneys Michael Weinstein and William Ruzzo argued their case for a life sentence by presenting mitigating circumstances to lessen Frein’s culpability. That included testimony from Frein’s family and friends about his father, who was “self-aggrandized,” “narcissistic” and “glorified” combat and war. The defense also argued that Frein has no significant criminal history.
Prominent among the 29 mitigating circumstances the defense claimed was Weinstein’s assertion during his 35-minute closing argument that Frein is the product of a dysfunctional family.
“This is the story of two families, one family formed with love and laughter. ... Then there is another family, the Frein family,” Weinstein said. “The Frein family was formed ... on lies and anger.”
Eugene Frein, the defendant’s father, maintained a lie for decades that he served in combat in Vietnam. He finally came clean Friday when Weinstein, a Marine who suspected him of lying, confronted him and implored him to tell the truth if “he wanted to save his son’s life,” Weinstein said as the jury began deliberations.
The lie grew to include internment at a POW camp, severed ears and combat as a sniper, Weinstein said.
Eric Frein was a boy born with a stutter and a learning disability, Weinstein said. Frein worshipped his father. He couldn’t be a soldier, so he pretended to be one. He tried to become a chemist like his father, but flunked out of school and couldn’t tell him.
That story, told through defense witnesses this week, does not withstand scrutiny, Tonkin argued. The defense did not produce documents or corroborating testimony to back up the defense’s story, he said.
“This is what the defense is trying to do,” Tonkin told jurors. “Deflect from the murderer and put him (Eugene Frein) on trial.”
Tonkin asked that jurors consider the real Eric Frein, a man Tonkin would only refer to as a “murderer.” The real Eric Frein is the man who hid in the woods and fired four shots, who lied to his grandmother about graduating college, who laughed about giving the press interviews for money. The real Eric Frein deserves “full justice.”
As Tonkin spoke, a Mother’s Day photograph of Tiffany Dickson and her two sons flashed on the television screens in the courtroom. They held the slain trooper’s jacket. In the courtroom, Tiffany Dickson buried her face into Maj. George Bivens’ shoulder and cried.
“The real Eric Frein is the murdering terrorist who sits right over there,” Tonkin said and pointed at Frein.
What the Frein family did does not excuse Eric Frein’s actions, Weinstein said. He could only hope for mercy.
“Now the issue is do we kill him or do we let him live,” Weinstein said.
The jury answered. The bell tolled. Frein will go to death row.
Contact the writers: jkohut@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9144; @jkohutTT on Twitter; tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9137; @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter
Frein capital murder trial recap
A jury from Chester County found Eric Matthew Frein guilty on April 19 of 12 counts stemming from the Sept. 12, 2014 sniper attack at the Blooming Grove state police barracks that killed Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson, 38, of Dunmore, and severely wounded Trooper Alex T. Douglass, 34, of Olyphant.
Frein, 33, of Canadensis, is guilty of first-degree murder; first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer; attempted first-degree murder; attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer; assault of a law enforcement officer; two counts each of terrorism and possession of weapons of mass destruction; and one count each of recklessly endangering another person, discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure and possession of an instrument of crime.
The guilty verdicts sent the trial into a sentencing hearing, where the prosecution made its case to the jury for the death penalty by presenting aggravating circumstances, which make the crime more heinous, and the defense makes its case for a life sentence by presenting mitigating circumstances, which lessen the defendant’s culpability.
After 4 ½ hours of deliberation Wednesday, the jury sentenced Frein to death.
A formal sentencing hearing is scheduled f or today at 1:30 p.m.
Here is a recap of his three-week trial:
CAPITAL MURDER TRIAL
DAY 1, APRIL 4: Frein’s capital murder trial begins in Pike County Court with opening arguments and jury instructions from Judge Gregory Chelak.
Pike County First Assistant District Attorney Bruce DeSarro details in his 90-minute opening statement the forensic and video evidence prosecutors plan to introduce against Frein. Michael Weinstein, one of Frein’s attorneys, asks jurors to hold the prosecution up to its burden to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin questions two witnesses. Nicole Palmer, a state police dispatcher there the night of the shooting, describes her experiences during the shooting and her attempts to get the shot troopers help. Then Cpl. Warren Grabher narrates a series of surveillance videos that captured the shooting and its immediate aftermath.
DAY 2: Tonkin calls 12 witnesses. Nine of the witnesses — Christine Donahue, a state police dispatcher; Trooper William Fells; Trooper Benjamin Jones; Trooper Robert Golden; Trooper Gregory Yanochko; Trooper Brian Seymour; Michael Miller, the then-ambulance captain of the Tafton Fire Company, now fire chief; Sabrina Gumble, a former EMR, now EMT and ambulance captain; and Michael Cummings, former first lieutenant to Miller — detail the most complete picture of the sniper attack to date. Each was at the barracks the night of the shooting and helped rescue and treat Dickson and Douglass. Testimony shifts to laying the foundation for introducing crime scene photographs, photographs of evidence found at the barracks and physical pieces of evidence, including Douglass’ blood-stained uniform shirt and duty belt and the bullets found. Trooper Sean Doran, of the State Police Forensic Services Unit, testifies to evidence found inside the barracks, including photographs of Dickson’s body on the hallway inside the barracks. Trooper James Hitchcock, also of the forensic services unit, testifies about evidence recovered outside the barracks, including shell casings found across the street in the woods and damage to a tree caused by the sniper’s missed shot. Trooper George Murphy describes how he discovered the casings while searching the forest.
DAY 3: The trial starts late because Frein passed out at Pike County Correctional Facility and hit his head on a sink while brushing his teeth. He was rushed to the hospital but then discharged after tests determined he did not have a concussion. Trooper Mark Pizzuti testifies about helping organize the search of the woods across from the Blooming Grove barracks the day after the shooting. Four casings were found during that search. Sgt. Michael Joyce testifies how he forensically mapped the Blooming Grove barracks and scene where the bullets were fired. James Novak, a Pike County resident near the barracks, testifies about how he found Frein’s Jeep Cherokee while out on a walk on Sept. 15, 2014.
Cpl. Jeremy Carroll and Trooper Sean Doran, of the state police Forensic Services Unit, describe how the Jeep was secured and processed for evidence. Cpl. Alonzo Anderson, a state police SERT (tactical team) operator, testifies that he found an AK-47 partially concealed by green underbrush and two magazines of ammunition near the Jeep. Doran returns to the stand and testifies about photographs he took of the evidence Anderson found. He also holds up the unloaded AK-47 for the jury, barrel pointed at the ceiling.
Trooper James Hitchcock, also of the Forensic Services Unit, documents for the jury items found in the Jeep from a search warrant: Frein’s driver’s license, Social Security card, credit card and bank statement receipts, paperwork from Northampton Community College and state Game Commission shooting range permit, as well as two spent bullet casings with the same head stamp found on the casings across from the barracks, a black rifle case and an olive green military satchel bag, tagged with the word “Frenki.”
DAY 4: Trooper David Brodeur, a state police SERT operator, Cpl. David Andreuzzi and Trooper Sandra Van Luvender testify about items found in Frein’s bedroom after a search warrant of the Canadensis house where he lived with his parents. Items found in his bedroom included several firearms, a laptop, bullet casings, night vision binoculars, an Army training circular, “Sniper Training and Employment,” bomb-making material and lists of things to pack that included maps, a compass, a 4x scope, and 100 rounds of .308-caliber ammunition. Trooper Thomas Slavin testifies about the bomb-making material, including black powder canisters and a motor and pestle with black powder residue. Frein’s father, Eugene Frein, testifies that his son drives a Jeep Cherokee and is an “above average” marksman who “never misses.” FBI Special Agent Matthew Fontaine testifies about the 48-day manhunt for Frein and how he and a SWAT team discovered a camp in a forest in Price Twp. — a location discovered by a cell phone ping from Frein’s phone.
FBI supervising Special Agent James Reightler, Doran and Hitchcock testify about items found at the campsite, including ammunition, two pipe bombs and a water bottle that was sent for DNA testing.
Edward Hanko, the retired special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia division, testifies that the bureau put Frein on its 10 Most Wanted list during the manhunt.
DAY 5: Testimony continues with Hitchcock focusing on evidence found at the campsite police say Frein used while on the run. Of note, three pages of a journal were discovered crumpled in a plastic garbage bag, discarded by a cliff not far from the camp. The pages contained specific details of the 2014 Blooming Grove shooting and the shooter’s flight from law enforcement. Small holes were clipped from the pages so the material could be analyzed.
State police Cpl. John Bilski, of the Hazardous Device and Explosives Section, testifies he retrieved two pipe bombs at the campsite and disassembled them at the manhunt’s operations center. State police Maj. George Bivens testifies about the extent and intensity of the 48-day manhunt to find Frein.
U.S. Marshals Scott Malkowski and John Schaaf tell jurors how that manhunt ended, when on Oct. 30, 2014, they came upon Frein at an abandoned airport hangar in Pocono Twp.
State police Sgt. Michael Joyce concludes the day with testimony about how he mapped the hangar Frein used as a hideout. On cross-examination, Joyce says he did not visit the hangar on the night of Frein’s capture and instead mapped the evidence found there based on pictures the forensics team took of the scene.
DAY 6: Prosecutors play the three-hour videotaped interrogation of Frein from Oct. 30, 2014, the night he was captured. In the video, Frein implicated himself numerous times in the Blooming Grove ambush, at one point admitting under questioning that he fired another round at Dickson to end the wounded trooper’s pain. In the videotape, Frein told the two troopers interviewing him — Cpl. Benjamin Clark and Trooper Michael Mulvey — that he planned, executed and fled from the shooting alone; showed them on a map where he had stashed a rifle; explained that he picked the Blooming Grove station because the woods across the street provided good cover and he waited for a shot for about an hour before he fired at Dickson. When Douglass walked up, Frein said in the videotape that he fired a shot at him before running back to his Jeep, which he parked on a trail by a lake. He told interviewers on the videotape that he picked the targets at random. He also talked about crashing his Jeep, trying to call his parents and watching aircrafts to figure out their search patterns so he could avoid detection. By the end of the videotape, Frein admitted he shot the troopers because of a seeming dissatisfaction with life, describing himself as having no prospects for the future with nothing to lose. He also talked about his dissatisfaction with the government. Doran testifies that after the interrogation, he collected Frein’s DNA by swabbing his inner cheeks. Cpl. Robert McKee, a state police bomb technician and Sgt. Michael Ruhf, state police K9 specialist, testify that they searched the hangar where Frein stayed and found no explosives.
DAY 7: Seven witnesses testify on the physical and forensic evidence. Trooper Gerald Gustas of the state police Forensic Services Unit reads a journal authorities said Frein kept during the manhunt and testifies to dozens of photographs of Frein’s living quarters during the manhunt in an airport hangar at the abandoned Birchwood resort in Pocono Twp. There, searchers found firearms, a stockpile of batteries, tools and flashlights, a copy of animé “Cowboy Bebop” and maps of the Blooming Grove area, East Stroudsburg, Canadensis, state forest land and the Wilkes-Barre area. Clothing was laid out neatly and a system was set up to capture rainwater off the hangar’s roof. Gustas testifies he found two rifles in a loft in the hangar — an 8mm bolt-action and a magazine-fed rifle. The latter had bullets stamped AFF88, the same head stamp as the four casings found across from the barracks.
Gary Everhart of the FBI testifies that he transported two improvised explosive devices found at a campsite to Quantico, Virginia. There, FBI chemist and forensic examiner David McCollam examined the devices’ components and learned they were made of black powder, he tells the jury.
Travis McCready, an explosives and hazardous device examiner with the FBI, testifies that he reconstructed the bombs and recorded their detonation on a test range. In the slow-motion videos, the hardware nuts shoot from the fireball in every direction, leaving trails of white vapor behind them. Both bombs could be lethal, he testified.
Jessica McDonald, a physical scientist with the FBI’s Trace Evidence Unit, testifies that she discovered a latent fingerprint on what appeared to be an unfinished pipe bomb found during their investigation. Monte Swank, a physical scientist and forensic examiner of latent prints with the FBI, testifies that he determined the print to be Frein’s.
Susan Marvin, Ph.D., an FBI forensic examiner and metallurgist, examined the wire wrapped around the bombs and wire from a spool found in the investigation and testifies that both had “similar characteristics.”
DAY 8: Testimony focuses on the analysis of several key items found during the investigation and how they are linked to Frein. Cpl. Mark Garder, an expert in the field of questioned documents with a state police laboratory, testifies that handwriting in three pages of notes found discarded at a campsite are similar to Frein’s handwriting in other samples collected during the investigation.
Julia Barker, a document analyst with the U.S. Secret Service, testifies that the pages found at the campsite likely were torn from a journal found at the airport hangar.
Weinstein and Frein’s other defense attorney, William Ruzzo, challenge her analysis on cross-examination.
Brunee Coolbaugh, of the state police crime laboratory, testifies that she prepared for DNA analysis several other items found during the manhunt, including a Norinco rifle, sweatshirt and cigarette butts. Lauren Force, a forensic scientist with the state police, testifies that she found Frein’s DNA on the different items sent to her, notably the Norinco rifle. Prosecutors said the Norinco is the firearm used in the 2014 Blooming Grove shooting.
Trauma surgeon Mohammad Siddiqui, M.D., testifies about the wounds Douglass suffered in the shooting and performing surgery on the trooper in the hours immediately after the shooting. The .308-caliber round went through the trooper’s hips and did significant damage to his stomach cavity and hip joints.
After three emergency surgeries, Douglass stabilized by dawn on Sept. 13, 2014.
Cpl. Joseph M. Gober, a state police firearms examiner, testifies about his firearm analysis on the Norinco rifle. The rifle’s markings matched the spent rounds found at the Blooming Grove barracks, he says.
DAY 9: Michael Gownley, a retired state trooper, testifies he made forensic copies of two thumb drives found at the abandoned airport hangar where U.S. marshals captured Frein on Oct. 30, 2014.
Derek Fozard, also a retired state trooper, testifies he examined the thumb drives and laptop computers found in the hangar and at Frein’s Canadensis home. One thumb drive contained a letter to Frein’s parents about the need for a revolution. Search engine activity on the computers showed they were used numerous times to search for “Eric Frein” and “post shooting procedures,” among other terms, both before and after the Sept. 12, 2014 ambush.
Daniel Jones, a state Game Commission technician who did mapping for the state police during the manhunt, testifies that he used Frein’s journal to map different areas Frein visited during the 48-day manhunt. Frein used power line trails and railroad tracks to cover large distances and tapped into various WiFi signals to access the internet while on the run.
Special Agent Frederick Dressler explains to the jury how a sniper manages a scope for precise shooting.
Douglass ends the day with 50 minutes of testimony about being shot outside the barracks and his struggle to recover from his injuries. The bullet pierced his intestine, shattered his hips, disintegrated his rectum and caused a loss of feeling below his right knee, he told the jury. He endured 18 major surgeries, the most recent in February, with more on the horizon.
DAY 10: After 54 witnesses and more than 530 pieces of evidence, the prosecution wraps up its case against Frein after testimony from forensic pathologist Gary Ross, M.D., of the Northeast Forensic Center in Dunmore. Ross testifies about the autopsy he conducted on Dickson, his cause of death being from multiple gunshot wounds and his manner of death — homicide. Ross shows the jury a mannequin dressed in Dickson’s bloodied uniform to show where the bullets entered and exited his body. Two rods illustrate the bullet paths. Before Ross, Hitchcock retakes the stand and displays photographs of Dickson’s handgun and the view of the barracks’ front door through the scope police say Frein used during the shooting.
Cpl. Joseph Pericci shows photographs of Dickson’s body shortly before the autopsy.
Frein’s defense attorneys do not call any witnesses.
DAY 11: Following closing statements and about four hours of deliberation, the jury finds Frein guilty on all 12 charges.
SENTENCING HEARING
DAY 12, APRIL 20: Frein’s penalty phase begins with opening statements and gripping testimony from Tiffany Dickson, widow of Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II.
DeSarro and Ruzzo each address the jury for 25 minutes, making their cases that Frein should be executed or spared, respectively.
Dickson then testifies for more than an hour on the life she had with her husband and her life now, without him.
Jurors also hear from state police Sgt. Mike Walsh, who had known Dickson since they played pee-wee football together in the 1980s, and became close friends during their careers as state troopers.
After, Lt. Sean Jennings, now the Blooming Grove commander, testifies that Dickson was an exemplary member of the state police and once recommended him as trooper of the year.
Douglass then testifies that he had 18 major surgeries with one more to go and might have to have his right leg amputated below his knee.
DAY 13: Testimony begins from a woman whose life Dickson saved. Concetta Uckele lost her son in a 2009 shooting in Monroe County and Dickson responded to the scene.
Uckele ran into her home and swallowed pills. Dickson went in after her and pulled the pills out of her mouth, then had her sent to a hospital, she testifies. A couple of months later, Dickson returned to her home to take a report that her mailbox had been damaged. He used the opportunity to follow up with her.
John Dougherty, a retired major in the state police who had been Dickson’s troop commander at the time, testifies he wrote Dickson a letter of commendation for the act. Dougherty rarely bestowed such an honor.
Sgt. Derek Felsman then testifies to his friendship with Dickson, stretching back to their beginnings in the state police. Felsman went over to Dickson’s home every Thursday to study for the corporal examinations. They continued to work together as they progressed in their careers. Felsman helped care for Tiffany Dickson and her sons after the shooting and looks after the boys so she can have a break on weekends. He stood guard for Tiffany Dickson as she spent her final night with her husband at the funeral home. Much of the eulogy he delivered at Dickson’s funeral came to him that night.
Stacy Hinkley, Dickson’s older sister, testifies about their childhood and how Dickson would drive to her home to kill spiders she dared not go near.
Dickson’s parents, Bryon and Darla Dickson, then testify about their son. Bryon Dickson testifies that he knows he hurt his son’s feelings when he did not show up at his promotion ceremony to corporal. He always meant to sit down with him and apologize. Darla Dickson’s testimony ranges from the moment her son was born to the moment he died. He liked to play practical jokes, especially on his mother. Her boy joined the Marine Corps. and came home from Parris Island, South Carolina, a man, she testifies.
Her grandson, Bryon III, told her, “I hate Eric Frein,” and asked if she does too, she testifies. She tells the jury she does not, but Frein must be held accountable.
The prosecution rests its case in the sentencing hearing after 10 witnesses testified over two days.
Frein’s defense team calls American University professor Richard Johnson, Ph.D., as an expert witness in criminology and prison life. Johnson studies how inmates adjust to prison and, after interviewing Frein and reviewing his jailhouse record, believes Frein will adapt well to spending the rest of his life behind bars.
DAY 14: The trial starts late because Frein stopped talking and walking on his own, prompting his defense team to ask for a competency evaluation.
The Pike County District Attorney’s Office plays a recorded jailhouse phone call Frein made to his mother Saturday, in which he discussed the case, the future appeals and his dissatisfaction with his defense attorneys.
Pike County Judge Gregory Chelak denies the defense request.
Testimony begins in the afternoon with Frein’s father, Eugene Michael Frein. The elder Frein testifies that he lied about the extent of his military service through his marriage and fatherhood because he never served in Vietnam as a tank commander or was a sniper fighting the Viet Cong. “I failed Eric as a father,” he testifies. “I lied to him, so I failed there, too.”
After, Warren Ahner, a childhood friend of Eric Frein’s, testifies that they tried to avoid Eugene Frein and that Eric Frein was a good friend, without whom he would not have found success working with computers in California.
Frein’s mother, Deborah Frein, took the stand next and testifies to Eric Frein’s childhood and the learning problems he had growing up. “I don’t want my son on death row,” she testifies through tears. “How do you go on with your life?”
Jason Haller, who worked with Frein at Boy Scout Camp Minsi in Coolbaugh Twp., testifies that Frein taught marksmanship there and worked well with children.
DAY 15: The defense rests its case in the penalty phase after testimony from three more witnesses, including Tiffany Frein, the Frein family’s adopted daughter.
Jeremiah Hornbaker, an art director for films, testifies that he hired Frein for a military documentary in 2009, and he was a reliable employee. He also testifies that military re-enactment, an activity Frein enjoyed, is “simulated warfare” that involves different sides in a conflict.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution brought up uniforms Frein had with sewn-on foreign military patches. Weinstein suggests that someone reenacting a World War II battle as a Soviet soldier might have a Soviet insignia for period accuracy but “that doesn’t make them a Communist.” Hornbaker agrees.
After, Tiffany Frein testifies that she is adopted and the Frein home was abusive — which the defense hopes will help build a mitigating case to spare Frein from a death sentence.
Ellen Mitchell, Eugene Frein’s daughter from his first marriage, then testifies that her father in the early 2000s regularly called her while he was drunk to discuss his affairs, how he disliked his wife, had rage and wanted to “kill people.”
The prosecution then calls three rebuttal witnesses, two of whom address lies Eric Frein told about graduating from East Stroudsburg University and landing a job at a pharmaceutical company.
The first, Kim Barrow, who works in human resources at AstraZeneca in Delaware, testifies that the pharmaceutical company never hired him. Geryl Kinsel, the associate registrar at East Stroudsburg University, produces Frein’s transcript, which shows he never completed a degree.
Finally, Kathleen Cronin, a clerk at Pike County Correctional Facility, testifies that the jail phones record all conversations. The prosecution plays a recording of Frein and his mother shortly after his arrest, laughing and discussing plans to sell his story to the highest bidder among the press.
Frein also speaks for the first time in court when he tells the judge he will not testify in his own defense. The jury waits in the deliberation room as Frein makes his statement.
DAY 16: The jury decides Frein should be sentenced to death.