Two Court-Appointed Lawyers to Represent Suspected Cop Killer Eric Frein

By Kara Seymour

The man charged with the September murder of a Pennsylvania State trooper will be represented by two court-appointed lawyers at a rate of $178 an hour, according to reports.

Eric Frein, who was captured last week after nearly 48 days in hiding, will be represented by Robert Bernathy and Michael Weinstein, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. The newspaper reported that the Pike County Public Defender’s office confirmed a judge had appointed the pair, who are “well-known” in the region for their decades of experiences in murder trials.

Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty for Frein, 31, who was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List as law-enforcement officers conducted the multimillion dollar search to find him in the rural Northeastern Pennsylvania woods.

He is charged with the Sept. 12 murder of Cpl. Bryon Dickson at the Blooming Grove State Police barracks. Trooper Alex T. Douglass was also was wounded in the shooting.

Pike County officials told the Inquirer that the trial, expected to cost at least $500,000, would be a “budget buster” because of the challenge of finding impartial jurors.