Frein trial will cost the average Pike household $24

By Anya Tikka
MILFORD — The trial of accused trooper killer Eric Frein will contribute to a tax hike, according to the proposed Pike County budget for 2017.
The total increase is 1.2 mils, or an estimated $24 for an average household in the county.
Frein terrorized many county residents in fall of 2014, as he hid in the woods following a fatal shooting of at the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Blooming Grove. State Trooper Cpl. Bryon Dickson was killed in the ambush, and Trooper Alex Douglass was seriously wounded.
According to media reports, the commissioners factored in their estimate of the cost of transporting, housing, and feeding the jury that’s going to come from outside the county near Philadelphia, during a trial that will probably last several weeks.
An amount of $250,000 will be set in reserve to cover the trial costs. But no one can be certain at this point how much the actual trial will cost, or how long it will last.
The case is complex, and requires that the jury, which is coming from a distant county, be sequestered locally. It may greatly exceed the set-aside, or, if a plea bargain is reached, pass without almost any cost.
The $250,000 represents 5.98 percent of the total proposed expenses of $4,177,338 for the county.
The commissioners reportedly had estimates ranging from smaller sums up to $1 million.
The Frein case has already cost the taxpayer millions, first in the long manhunt lasting almost two months and involving the FBI, State Troopers, and national search operations. Frein remains in custody at the Pike County Correctional Facility, which is also costing taxpayers.
Pike County court documentation shows that group questioning prior to the individual jury selection is set to start March 9 and 10 in Chester County Courthouse in West Chester, Pa., with the individual selection to follow March 13 in Pike.
The court dockets also show that a pre-trial motion filed by the Commonwealth, and the Defendant’s Motion for reconsideration, are set to be heard by Judge Gregory H. Chelak on Dec. 23 in Pike County.
Frein's attorney, Michael Weinstein, had sought a change of venue because he believed Frein would not be able to get a fair trial in Pike County, as a result of intense media coverage. He did not get the change, but the court agreed to a jury from out of the county.
District Attorney Ray Tonkin is seeking the death penalty in the case. Pennsylvania currently has a moratorium on capital punishment.