Freeman family murders


The Freeman family murders took place in Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania on February 26, 1995. Together with their cousin, Nelson "Ben" Birdwell III, Bryan and David Freeman killed their parents, Brenda and Dennis Freeman, and their 11-year-old brother, Erik Freeman. For several years the brothers had been embracing neo-Nazi culture, though this had escalated in the months before the killings, with them going so far as to tattoo Nazi slogans on their foreheads. At the time of the murders, Bryan was 17 years old and David was 16. 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.