Freeman family murders

Last updated
Freeman family murders
Location Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DateFebruary 26, 1995
Attack type
Triple murder
WeaponsSteak knife, aluminum baseball bat, metal exercise bar, wooden pickaxe handle
Deaths3
VictimsDennis Freeman, Brenda Freeman, Erik Freeman
PerpetratorsBryan Freeman, David Freeman, Ben Birdwell

On February 26, 1995, Bryan and David Freeman murdered their parents, Brenda and Dennis, and their younger brother, Erik, at their family home with the help of their cousin, Ben Birdwell, in Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. For several years, Bryan and David had been embracing neo-Nazi culture, which escalated in the months leading up to the killings, including tattooing 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. [1]

Contents

In 2014, the sentences were upheld despite the recent Supreme Court ruling that mandatory life-without-parole sentences were unconstitutional for juveniles convicted of murder. [2] [3] In February 2024, the Freeman brothers were resentenced to 60 years to life and will become eligible for parole in 2055. [4]

Background

Dennis and Brenda Freeman lived in Salisbury Township, Pennsylvania. Dennis worked as a janitor at a local high school. [5] He and his wife Brenda had three sons; the oldest was Bryan, followed by David, and then Erik. They were a religious family and brought up their sons as Jehovah's Witnesses. Bryan and David resented their family lifestyle and turned to neo-Nazism. [6]

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. [7] 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. [8] Just days before the murders, Bryan had been suspended from Salisbury High School for drawing racist pictures in a book. [9]

Murders

On February 26, 1995, 17-year-old Bryan Freeman, 16-year-old David Freeman, and their cousin 18-year-old Nelson "Ben" Birdwell III 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. [10]

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. 11-year-old Erik was also lying asleep in bed. He was hit repeatedly with a 3-foot pickaxe handle by one or several of the perpetrators until he died. The trio then left the home armed with a 12-gauge shotgun and fled in Brenda's car, a 1988 Pontiac convertible. [11] [12]

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. [13] Coroners in Allentown described the killings as one of the most brutal acts of murder they had ever seen. [14]

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. [9] 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. [15]

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. [16] No one was convicted for Erik's murder. [3] 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. [1] [17] [18]

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. Birdwell is imprisoned in State Correctional Institution – Greene under inmate number DA9633. [19]

Perpetrators

Bryan Robert Freeman (born January 7, 1978), [19] David Jonathan Freeman (born February 9, 1979), [19] and Nelson Benjamin "Ben" Birdwell III (born February 13, 1977) [19] were identified as the three perpetrators of the crime. All three identified as neo-Nazis but they were not part of any neo-Nazi group. [20] The trio were allegedly planning on forming their own neo-Nazi group prior to the murders. Valerie Freeman had noticed a change in Bryan and David's behavior. She described her nephews as becoming defiant and combative.

The Freeman brothers expressed regret and remorse over the crime on the 20th anniversary of the killings. [21] [ failed verification ] Bryan Freeman made a statement in which he admitted to doing a terrible thing and that he deserved to be punished. [3] [22] [23]

Howorth killings

The Freeman family murders occurred in one of the most violent periods of Lehigh Valley history. Between January and May of 1995, there were a total of fourteen homicides in the area. [11] The day after the Freeman brothers and Birdwell were captured, on March 2, 1995, 17-year-old Jeffrey Howorth shot and killed both of his parents, George and Susan Howorth, with a hunting rifle. Howorth waited at his Lower Macungie Township family home for his parents to return and then murdered them separately. He then fled the area and was arrested on March 4, 1995, two days after the killings. He was apprehended in Missouri after his car ran out of gas.

At his trial, it was learned that Howorth had been inspired to commit the crime from hearing about the Freeman family murders. Howorth wrote a note in an apparent reference to the Freeman brothers. Later that year, Howorth was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was acquitted of the killings of his parents. Howorth was involuntarily committed and currently remains located at Wernersville State Hospital under state supervision in Berks County, Pennsylvania. [11]

True crime author Fred Rosen wrote a book called Blood Crimes, which was about the Freeman family murders. The book details the story of the Freeman brothers and divulges the history of the Freeman family. [24]

On December 14, 2015, WatchMojo released a video called Top 10 Most Evil Kids in History and Bryan and David Freeman were ranked sixth on the list. As of 2024, the video has over 16 million views on YouTube. [25] In 2014, the stories of both the Freeman family murders and the Howorth killings were featured in the same episode of the documentary series Killer Kids . [26]

On February 11, 2022, the murders were recounted on the Oxygen series Killer Siblings episode "Freemans."

Related Research Articles

Neo-Nazism comprises the post-World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy, to attack racial and ethnic minorities, and in some cases to create a fascist state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aryan Brotherhood</span> Neo-Nazi prison gang and organized crime syndicate

The Aryan Brotherhood is a neo-Nazi prison gang and an organized crime syndicate that is based in the United States and has an estimated 15,000–20,000 members both inside and outside prisons. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has characterized it as "the nation's oldest major white supremacist prison gang and a national crime syndicate" while the Anti-Defamation League calls it the "oldest and most notorious racist prison gang in the United States". According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Aryan Brotherhood makes up an extremely low percentage of the entire US prison population, but it is responsible for a disproportionately large number of prison murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Varg Vikernes</span> Norwegian murderer and musician (born 1973)

Louis Cachet, better known as Varg Vikernes, is a Norwegian musician and author best known for his early black metal albums and later crimes. His first five records, released under the name Burzum from 1992 to 1996, made him one of the most influential figures in the early Norwegian black metal scene. He was convicted of murder and arson in 1994 and sentenced to 21 years in prison, being released after serving 15 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyle and Erik Menendez</span> American brothers convicted of murdering their parents

Joseph Lyle Menendez and Erik Galen Menendez, commonly referred to as the Menendez brothers, are American brothers and convicted murderers who killed their parents, José and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home in 1989.

Volksfront, also known as Volksfront International, was an American white separatist organization founded on October 20, 1994, in Portland, Oregon. According to Volksfront's now defunct website, the group described itself as an "international fraternal organization for persons of European descent." The logo of Volksfront was the Algiz rune, a common rune used as a neo-Nazi symbol common among other organizations such as National Alliance. Volksfront had approximately 50 members in the United States split between four chapters designated as Pac-West, Central States, North East, and Gulf-Atlantic, and an additional 50 members dispersed in other countries including Germany, Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Spain. The goal of the movement was to create an all-White homeland in the Pacific Northwest. The flag of Volksfront was based on the Nazi flag in the colors of black, white, and red with the Volksfront logo and the slogan was "Race Over All" implying that race mattered over everything else. In August 2012, the United States branch of Volksfront announced their dissolution via their website. Citing harassment and investigations by the authorities, the group said it was disbanding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matricide</span> Act of killing ones own mother

Matricide is the act of killing one's own mother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Mason (neo-Nazi)</span> American Nazi

James Nolan Mason is an American neo-Nazi. Mason is an ideologue for the Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi terrorist organization. After growing disillusioned with the mass movement approach of neo-Nazi movements, he began advocating for a white supremacist revolution through terrorism. He was referred to as the "Godfather of Fascist Terrorism" in the Fair Observer. He has been convicted of assault and weapons charges, as well as charged with sexual exploitation and possession of pornographic images of a minor. In 2021, Mason was one of only two individuals sanctioned by the Canadian Government on its list of terror-related entities.

<i>Romper Stomper</i> 1992 film by Geoffrey Wright

Romper Stomper is a 1992 Australian drama film written and directed by Geoffrey Wright in his feature film directorial debut. The film stars Russell Crowe, Daniel Pollock, Jacqueline McKenzie, Tony Le-Nguyen and Colin Chin. The film tells the story of the exploits and downfall of a neo-Nazi group in blue-collar suburban Melbourne. The film was released on 12 November 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourteen Words</span> White-supremacist slogans

"The Fourteen Words" is a reference to two slogans originated by David Eden Lane, one of nine founding members of the defunct white supremacist terrorist organization The Order, and are accompanied by Lane's "88 Precepts." The slogans have served as a rallying cry for militant white nationalists internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right-wing terrorism</span>

Right-wing terrorism, hard right terrorism, extreme right terrorism or far-right terrorism is terrorism that is motivated by a variety of different right-wing and far-right ideologies. It can be motivated by Ultranationalism, neo-Nazism, anti-communism, neo-fascism, ecofascism, ethnonationalism, religious nationalism, anti-immigration, anti-semitism, anti-government sentiment, patriot movements, sovereign citizen beliefs, and occasionally, it can be motivated by opposition to abortion, and homophobia. Modern right-wing terrorism largely emerged in Western Europe in the 1970s, and after the Revolutions of 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it emerged in Eastern Europe and Russia.

A familicide is a type of murder or murder-suicide in which an individual kills multiple close family members in quick succession, most often children, spouses, siblings, or parents. In half the cases, the killer lastly kills themselves in a murder-suicide. If only the parents are killed, the case may also be referred to as a parricide. Where all members of a family are killed, the crime may be referred to as family annihilation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nazi Lowriders</span> White supremacist gang

The Nazi Lowriders, also known as NLR or the Ride, are a neo-Nazi, white supremacist organized crime syndicate, and prison and street gang in the United States. Primarily based in Southern California, the gang is allied with the larger Aryan Brotherhood and Mexican Mafia gangs, and fellow peckerwood gang Public Enemy No. 1. The Nazi Lowriders operate both in and outside of prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 Solingen arson attack</span> Neo-Nazi arson attack on Turkish home in Solingen

The Solingen arson attack was one of the most severe instances of racist violence in modern Germany. On the night of 28–29 May 1993, four young German men belonging to the far right skinhead scene, with neo-Nazi ties, set fire to the house of a large Turkish family in Solingen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Three girls and two women died; fourteen other family members, including several children, were injured, some of them severely. The attack led to violent protests by Turkish diaspora members in several German cities and to large demonstrations of other Germans expressing solidarity with the Turkish victims. In October 1995, the perpetrators were convicted of arson and murder and given prison sentences between 10 and 15 years. The convictions were upheld on appeal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtis Allgier</span> American murderer and white supremacist

Curtis Michael Allgier is an American white supremacist skinhead who is being held in the Utah State Prison in Draper, Utah, for the murder of corrections officer Stephen Anderson.

The Lin family murders occurred in North Epping in the northwestern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on 18 July 2009. The victims were newsagency proprietor Min Lin; his wife, Yun Lin; their sons, Henry and Terry; and Yun Lin's sister, Irene Lin. The family was bludgeoned to death. Min Lin's sister, Kathy, discovered the bodies. Jun "Brenda" Lin, 15, was the only surviving immediate family member after the incident; she was on a school trip in New Caledonia with Cheltenham Girls High School at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neo-Nazism in Russia</span> Neo-Nazi ideology in the Soviet Union and Russia

Neo-Nazism in Russia is a far-right political and militant movement in Russia. Emerging during the late Soviet era and early 1990s from white power skinheads and football hooligans, neo-Nazism in Russia has become known for a series of violent attacks and murders targeting Central Asian and Caucasian migrants. Videos of these attacks have been uploaded onto the internet by members of neo-Nazi or skinhead gangs, leading to international outcry and an eventual crackdown in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broken Arrow murders</span> Mass stabbing and familicide in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, US

The Broken Arrow murders, otherwise known as the Bever family massacre, were a familicide and mass stabbing that occurred on July 22, 2015, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The perpetrators, Robert and Michael Bever, murdered their parents and 3 siblings. It was the deadliest crime and mass murder in the city of Broken Arrow, until a murder-suicide in October 2022 which killed 8 people.

The Battle Organization of Russian Nationalists or the Combat Organization of Russian Nationalists, often abbreviated as BORN, was a Russian neo-Nazi group based out of Moscow. Members were accused of a series of murders and attempted murders, leading to the deaths of at least ten people.

The 1995 Fayetteville murders were the killings of a black couple by white supremacists in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on December 7, 1995. The killers, James Norman Burmeister and Malcolm Wright, were paratroopers at Fort Bragg where Burmeister was reportedly open about his views, and had a Nazi flag hanging in his room. The Fayetteville police reported that a search of a room rented by Burmeister had turned up a Nazi flag, white supremacist literature, and a VHS tape of Natural Born Killers.

References

  1. 1 2 Garlicki, Debbie (January 18, 2006). "Admitted killer Bryan Freeman proclaims innocence in mom's death". The Morning Call . Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  2. ↑ Koller, Mike (March 1, 1995). "Police suspect skinhead brothers killed family". The Item . Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Farris, Jaccii (February 25, 2015). "Conversation with convicted killer Bryan Freeman". WFMZ-TV . Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  4. ↑ Sheehan, Daniel Patrick (February 21, 2024). "Freeman brothers, who murdered their family nearly 30 years ago, get chance at parole in new sentences". The Morning Call . Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  5. ↑ "2 of 3 skinheads held in murders start to talk". The Baltimore Sun . March 29, 1995. Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Younger Freeman brother to be tried as an adult for murder in family slaying". Observer–Reporter . September 7, 1995. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  7. ↑ "2 Skinhead Brothers Charged With Killing Family Members". The New York Times . March 3, 1995. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  8. ↑ "One Family's Nightmare". Newsweek . March 12, 1995. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Goldberg, Debbie (March 4, 1995). "Prosecutor says sons terrorized their family". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  10. ↑ Cassi, Sarah (April 1, 2014). "Life sentences will stand for Salisbury Township's Freeman brothers who killed parents". The Express-Times . Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 Hall, Peter; Schroeder, Laurie Mason (February 28, 2015). "Freeman brothers remorseful 20 years after murdering their parents". The Morning Call . Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  12. ↑ Duncombe, Ted (April 27, 1995). "Coroner Describes Bloodbath in Slayings of Skinhead Brothers' Family". Associated Press . Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  13. ↑ Varghese, Romy (February 27, 2005). "Decade after murders, are we safer?". The Morning Call . Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  14. ↑ Usborne, David (October 7, 2015). "Neo-Nazi brothers accused of killing parents". The Independent . Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  15. ↑ Casler, Kristin (March 4, 1995). "Skinhead says he was unaware of accusations against Freemans". The Morning Call . Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  16. ↑ Franklin, Aminah (September 22, 1995). "Birdwell faces trial in Freeman killings". The Morning Call . Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  17. ↑ Garlicki, Debbie (April 27, 1996). "Birdwell to serve life in prison for murder Birdwell guilty of killing uncle verdict doesn't answer the question of who killed Erik". The Morning Call . Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Skinhead given life in prison; pleads guilty to killing mother". The Beaver County Times . December 8, 1995. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "Inmate Locator". Pennsylvania Department of Corrections . Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  20. ↑ Schroeder, Laurie Mason (June 1, 2016). "Bryan Freeman, one of the 'Berserker' brothers, gets new sentencing date". The Morning Call . Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  21. ↑ Garlicki, Debbie (April 27, 1996). "Trial drove families apart verdict doesn't end families' grief, questions". The Morning Call . Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Conversation with convicted killer Bryan Freeman". One News Page. February 24, 2015. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Neo-Nazi Brother to Get New Sentence in Parents' 1995 Killings". WCAU . March 15, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  24. ↑ Crespo, Paola (February 11, 2016). "Blood Brothers: The despicable bond between Bryan and David Freeman". The Lineup. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Top 10 Most Evil Kids in History". WatchMojo . December 14, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  26. ↑ IMDb (May 12, 2014). "Killer Kids: Allentown Massacre & the Copycat". LMN. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.