Freeman Family Murders

The Freeman family murders occurred in Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania on February 26, 1995. Two brothers, 17-year-old Bryan Freeman and 16-year-old David Freeman, and their cousin, 18-year-old Nelson "Ben" Birdwell III, brutally murdered the brothers' parents, Brenda and Dennis, and 11-year-old younger brother, Erik, at their family home. For several years the brothers had been embracing neo-Nazi culture, though this had escalated in the months leading up to the killings, with them going so far as to tattoo Nazi slogans on their foreheads. Both brothers and their cousin were given life sentences without the possibility of parole, though none of the three were convicted in the murder of Erik Freeman. It was reported in 2014 that those sentences would be upheld, despite the recent Supreme Court ruling that mandatory life-without-parole sentences were unconstitutional for juveniles convicted of murder.

Background

Dennis and Brenda Freeman lived in Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Dennis worked as a janitor at a local high school. He and his wife Brenda had three sons; the oldest was Bryan, followed by David, and then Erik. They were a very religious family and brought up their sons as Jehovah's Witnesses. Bryan and David resented their family lifestyle and turned to neo-Nazism. Friends of Brenda spoke of how she was scared of both her older sons. Bryan and David shaved their heads, wore military uniforms, and embraced a neo-Nazi subculture. Bryan had the word "Berserker" tattooed across his forehead, and David had "Sieg Heil" tattooed above his eyebrows. Brenda reportedly telephoned counselors as well as psychologists to ask for advice. She managed to convince Bryan and David to attend "anti-skinhead" education sessions run by the police, but ultimately, her efforts to deter them from neo-Nazism failed. Bryan had been admitted to hospital for mental illness, and David had been placed in several juvenile facilities as well as receiving treatment for substance abuse. According to Salisbury police, they had visited the Freeman home a total of five times between 1993 and 1995. Police said Bryan had also threatened to kill his parents in an altercation over using the family car. Just days before the murders, Bryan had been suspended from Salisbury High School for drawing racist pictures in a book.

Murders

On February 26, 1995, brothers 17-year-old Bryan Freeman and 16-year-old David Freeman, and their cousin, 18-year-old Ben Birdwell, arrived at the Freeman family home. The three of them had been out at the movies and had returned to the family home on Ehrets Lane. 48-year-old Brenda Freeman had an argument with Bryan and David about Birdwell being in the house. As Brenda came down the stairs, Bryan grabbed hold of her and forcefully wedged a pair of shorts into her mouth. He then stabbed her repeatedly to death with a steak knife he had retrieved from the kitchen. David and Birdwell then went upstairs to the bedroom of 54-year-old Dennis Freeman, who was lying asleep in bed. The two of them then beat Dennis to death with a metal exercise bar and an aluminum baseball bat. Like his father, 11-year-old Erik was also lying asleep in bed. He was hit repeatedly with a 3-foot pickaxe handle until he died by one or several of the perpetrators. The trio then left the home armed with a 12-gauge shotgun and fled in Brenda's car, a 1988 Pontiac convertible.

Aftermath

The bodies of the Freemans were found in their home by Dennis's sister, Valerie Freeman, on the day after they had been murdered. Coroners in Allentown described the killings as one of the most brutal acts of murder they had ever seen. Lehigh County district attorney Bob Steinberg also described the murders as brutal, claiming the faces of both Dennis and Erik had been beaten and bludgeoned so badly that they were nearly beyond recognition. The Freeman brothers and Birdwell fled to Hope, Michigan, to the home of Frank Hesse, who was a skinhead associate. The Freeman brothers had met Hesse at a New Year's Eve concert and had exchanged phone numbers. They were captured and arrested at the home three days after the murders had occurred.

To avoid the death penalty, Bryan pleaded guilty to Brenda's murder, while David pleaded guilty to the murder of Dennis. Birdwell was tried for all three murders and was convicted of the murder of Dennis Freeman after DNA testing matched blood on his T-shirt as belonging to Dennis. No one was convicted for Erik's murder. Bryan confessed that the murders had stemmed from years of ongoing animosity between the brothers and their parents. All three suspects were spared the death penalty, but each was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The men are incarcerated in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Bryan is imprisoned in State Correctional Institution – Coal Township under inmate number CX3426, David is imprisoned in State Correctional Institution – Mahanoy under inmate number CX3437, and Birdwell is imprisoned in State Correctional Institution – Greene

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