Even after a month and a half, Darla Dickson was confident the man accused of killing her son would be captured. Yet that didn't stop her from feeling emotional when the moment finally took place Thursday night.
"I cried," Darla said. "It was the end for me. It was like a completion."
Eric Frein is accused of killing Darla's son, 38-year-old Pennsylvania State Trooper Cpl. Bryon Dickson, and injuring Trooper Alex Douglass during an ambush shooting outside the Blooming Grove barracks back on Sept. 12.
Frein, 31, was arrested Thursday evening, 48 days after police began the manhunt.
After U.S. Marshals surprised the fugitive in a field on a defunct airport in the Pocono Mountains, they waited some 20 minutes to formally handcuff him, according to state police audio obtained exclusively by NBC10 investigative reporter Harry Hairston.
They waited because they wanted Bryon Dickson’s shackles to bind the accused shooter’s hands.
“To confirm, the subject will be held,” an unidentified member of law enforcement said over police radio. “Blooming Grove car 2 is in route with Cpl. Dickson’s handcuffs. He’ll be there in approximately 20 minutes so we’ll stand by until that takes place.”
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After Dickson's murder, the cuffs were kept at all times in the possession of an on-duty member at the barracks, according to state police.
A sergeant from the Blooming Grove barracks, the same location where the shooting took place, drove Dickson's handcuffs — in the slain trooper's cruiser — 40 miles south to Frein’s hiding place at the Birchwood-Pocono Airpark in Tannersville. He then slapped the cuffs on Frein.
“Suspect's in custody, handcuffed,” the man said over the radio.
A short time later, Frein, an experienced survivalist who allegedly planned the ambush over a long period of time, was driven in Dickson's cruiser to the Blooming Grove barracks for questioning.
“One package in the back,” a man squawked as the caravan of state police vehicles wove through northeastern Pennsylvania on their way to the barracks.
When he arrived, a large contingent of heavily-armed troopers stood watch as he was led into the barracks, his hands behind his head. The arrest ended a $10-plus million manhunt and closed a chapter on the high-stakes investigation.
Darla Dickson said she never doubted her son's fellow troopers would find Frein.
"They honored Bryon as their brother," she said while fighting back tears. "He would be very proud of them. I'm very proud of them."
Frein is charged with first degree murder in Dickson’s death, attempted murder in the shooting of Trooper Douglass, and related weapons offenses. He is being held without bail under maximum security at the Pike County Correctional Facility following his arraignment Friday.
The suspect has spoken to investigators, but officials declined to discuss what was talked about. A knife and the hunting rifle authorities believe were used in the trooper attack were recovered at the airport, state police confirmed Thursday night.
The Pike County district attorney plans to seek the death penalty in the case.
