The man accused of shooting and killing Pennsylvania state Trooper Byron Dickson was due in court on Friday, a day after the end of a seven-week manhunt for the fugitive, USA Today reported. Eric Frein, whom the newspaper described as a "self-trained survivalist," was apprehended by U.S. Marshals on Thursday evening.

The 31-year-old had been hiding near a hanger of the closed Birchwood-Pocono Airpark, about 35 miles from where Dickson was killed on Sept. 12. Authorities closed in on him over a 48-hour period after they thought they spotted him in the area. Officers had been treading lightly, the newspaper explained, "because of Frein's skills as a sharpshooter."

Items they believe belonged to the man had further augmented concerns: They included an AK-47-style weapon, ammunition and a U.S. Army manual titled "Sniper Training and Employment."

The suspect is accused of using a high-powered rifle to kill Dickson, 38, outside the state police barracks in Blooming Grove. In the incident, shots were also fired at a second state trooper, Alex Douglass. The motive for the attack was unclear, but USA Today said, "Frein had voiced strong sentiments against government and law enforcement."

"Now he will face justice,'' Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said.

Pike county District Attorney Raymond Tonkin said he would seek the death penalty as he charged Frein with first-degree murder, homicide of a law enforcement officer, attempted murder, possession of weapons of mass destruction and reckless endangerment.

Frein had managed to elude the army of law enforcement on his trail in a manhunt across the Pocono Mountains for "48 tense days," CBS News reported. Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said the fugitive was "definitely taken by surprise" when his pursuers found him.

"He was away from the hangar and in an open field when we apprehended him," Noonan said.

"[Officers] ordered him to surrender, to get down on his knees and raise his hands, which is what he did," the commissioner said. "Once they approached him, he admitted his identity, and he was taken into custody."

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