Accused Pa. cop killer Frein eluded capture with laptop, wifi, court documents say

BLOOMING GROVE, Pa., Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Suspected cop killer Eric Frein used a laptop and unsecured wireless internet accounts to help him evade a massive police manhunt after he allegedly killed a Pennsylvania State Trooper during an ambush, according to court documents.

Frein, 31, was on the run for nearly two months, always seeming to be a few steps ahead of his pursuers who came upon several of his hideouts after he was already gone.

According to court documents, Frein used a Lenovo Think Pad to sign onto the internet whenever he came across wi-fi signals that were not protected by a password. Police believe he was able to track their search for him using details he found on the web from news stories and possibly from police broadcast channels accessible to the public.

Frein is charged with first-degree murder and other crimes in connection with a Sept. 12 sniper attack on a state police barracks in Blooming Grove, Pa. Cpl. Bryon Dickson died in ambush. Trooper Alex Douglass suffered severe injuries.

Frein, who has been described as an anti-police survivalist, was captured last week near an abandoned hangar at a shuttered airpark in Tannersville, Pa.

A Pennsylvania television station retraced some of the roads Frein would have travelled in the area he was finally captured and reported finding several open wi-fi networks that did not require a password to access.