New sentencing for one-time neo Nazi who murdered his father

[Guest Nicole]

Like his brother, David Freeman will be resentenced for the murder of one of his parents.

Bryan, left, and David Freeman killed their parents in 1995 at the family's Salisbury Township home.lehighvalleylive.com file photos

Freeman was 16 years old when he beat his father to death with a baseball bat in their Salisbury Township home. He was convicted of the Feb. 26, 1995, murder of 54-year-old Dennis Freeman and sentenced to life in prison.

But a Pennsylvania Superior Court panel ruled Monday he must be resentenced in Lehigh County based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year that a mandatory life sentence for juveniles violates their Constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

David Freeman's brother, Bryan Freeman, already had his request for a new sentence granted in March. He was 17 years old when he killed the Freemans' mother, Brenda Freeman, 48. Also killed was their 11-year-old brother, Erik.

An accomplice convicted for his role in the death of Dennis Freeman, Nelson "Ben" Birdwell, had turned 18 about two weeks before the deaths. Birdwell, a cousin of the Freeman brothers, also is serving a prison term of life without parole.

None of the three admitted guilt or was convicted in Erik Freeman's death.

The three were captured March 1, 1995, about 140 miles northwest of Detroit. David Freeman had "Sieg Heil" tattooed on his forehead, while Bryan Freeman and Birdwell had "Berzerker" on their foreheads.

Raised as devout Jehovah's Witnesses, Bryan and David Freeman had abandoned their religion and joined a neo-Nazi group prior to the murders, authorities have said.

Source: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/lehigh-county/index.ssf/2016/04/new_sentencing_for_then-teenag.html

Bryan, left, and David Freeman killed their parents in 1995 at the family's Salisbury Township home.