MILFORD Pa. _ Convicted murderer and terrorist Eric Frein, who killed a Pennsylvania state trooper and wounded another in a 2014 ambush and set off one of the largest manhunts in the nation's history, remained silent and showed no reaction as he was sent away to death row Thursday afternoon.
"It is the hope of this court that the story of Eric Frein ends today," Pike County Judge Gregory H. Chelak said as he imposed the jury's death sentence verdict.
The Thursday afternoon hearing was largely a formality; a jury from Chester County concluded late Wednesday night that Frein should be executed for killing Cpl. Bryon Dickson and wounding Trooper Alex Douglass in a 2014 ambush on the state police barracks in Blooming Grove.
Chelak imposed an additional sentence of up to 194 years in state prison for other charges against Frein, including terrorism and attempted murder.
The hearing marked the end to a nearly three-year saga that began with the sniper-style attack that led to the manhunt that paralyzed parts of Pike and Monroe counties, drawing more than 1,000 law enforcement officers to search for him in the Poconos.
But Frein is unlikely to be executed in the next few years _ if ever.
His lawyers have vowed to appeal, and he will receive an automatic stay as a death row inmate. Pennsylvania has not carried out an execution since 1999, and Gov. Tom Wolf placed a moratorium on executions in 2015.
Rows of uniformed state troopers stood at the back of the courtroom Thursday as Frein was led in and out. He showed no visible reaction, and declined to speak.
Dickson's widow, Tiffany, who brought the couple's two young sons to court Thursday, played a photo slideshow of their lives together as music played, including the song "The Prayer" _ her wedding song.
"My heart bleeds for his wife, Tiffany, and his two young sons, who will unfortunately because of the actions of the defendant will never get to grow up with their father," State Police Commissioner Tyree Blocker told the judge in court. "That's troubling to me."
The two young boys sat with their mother and Major George Bivens, who led the state police manhunt in 2014 after Dickson's death.
Most of the jurors in the case, who came from Chester County and were sequestered in Pike County during the trial, stayed in town to attend the formal sentencing. Before the hearing began, they toured the small town with court staff members and took photos. They declined interviews, telling reporters that they had decided as a group not to speak out about the case.
Prior to the proceeding, Douglass, the trooper wounded by Frein's sniper attack, greeted and hugged the jurors gathered in the back of the courtroom. He stood with his arm around one of them, chatting and smiling.
The jury's verdict, Chelak said, "spoke loudly and clearly."
Standing on the steps of the courthouse with Douglass and members of his and Dickson's families, Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin said the jury had delivered full justice.
"It's been a long road, especially for me, and I'm sure especially for the Dickson family," said Douglass, as he gripped Tiffany Dickson's hand.
