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Testimony Ends in Eric Frein Trial, Closing Arguments Expected Wednesday

MILFORD — Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday morning in the murder trial of accused cop killer Eric Frein and Frein’s defense team rested without...

MILFORD -- Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday morning in the murder trial of accused cop killer Eric Frein and Frein's defense team rested without calling a single witness in the case.

Tuesday morning, prosecutors showed jurors photos of slain state trooper Cpl. Bryon Dickson as they finished their case against Frein.

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Frein is accused of shooting two state troopers at the Blooming Grove barracks in September of 2014, killing Cpl. Dickson and severely wounding Trooper Alex Douglass.

Frein likely has one more day until jurors start to decide whether he's guilty of the deadly attack on the state police barracks.

"It's their job to evaluate the testimony. It's their job to evaluate the evidence and see whether it rises to the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. That's their job," said Frein's attorney Michael Weinstein.

Jurors will have plenty of evidence to help them make up their minds on 12 counts including first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer.

Prosecutors put a few dozen witnesses on the stand over two weeks of the trial, the result of a state police investigation into the deadly shooting of one of their own.

"It really spanned numerous agencies," said Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin. "Many of those agencies contributed to the finding of Eric Frein and bringing him here today to the steps of justice."

The final prosecution witness was a forensic pathologist who used a mannequin and autopsy photos of Corporal Bryon Dickson's body to describe the fatal gunshot wounds.

Without calling a single witness for the defense, Frein's attorneys are prepared to attempt to save his life at the penalty stage of trial, calling friends and family to the stand if the accused cop killer is convicted of the most serious charge against him.

"We hope the jury will understand that Eric Frein is a human being, and displays qualities of humanity and a core of goodness we all have," said Frein's attorney Bill Ruzzo.

Frein was captured after a 48-day manhunt in Monroe and Pike Counties.

Closing arguments are expected in Pike County Court Wednesday morning.

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