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Eric Frein Pleads Not Guilty in Arraignment

A survivalist accused of killing one Pennsylvania state trooper and wounding another in a barracks ambush pleaded not guilty.

A formal arraignment for Eric Frein, 31, was arraigned Thursday at the courthouse in Milford. He participated by video from the county jail and answered yes-or-no questions from his lawyer, who entered the not-guilty plea on his behalf.

Frein faces charges to first-degree murder, terrorism and related charges in the September ambush that killed Cpl. Bryon Dickson and severely wounded Trooper Alex Douglass outside the state police station in Blooming Grove.

Authorities captured Frein, of Canadensis, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 30 in an abandoned airport hangar after a 48-day manhunt throughout the Pocono Mountain region in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Frein's capture ended a terrifying hold on a northeast Pennsylvania community -- school was canceled and local kids nearly missed out on Halloween.

He is expected to participate in the arraignment by video from the Pike County Correctional Facility, according to Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin.

The accused killer sent a letter to his parents that was read at his preliminary hearing.

"I do not have a death wish but I know the odds. I tried my best to do this thing without getting identified, but if you are reading this then I was not successful," the letter said.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Frein.

During a January hearing, when a judge ordered Frein to stand trial, the suspect's attorney at the time said his primary goal was to save Frein's life.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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