Overview
- A Philadelphia jury found Kenneth Frye guilty of involuntary manslaughter on June 4, 2026, after prosecutors showed surveillance video and witness testimony linking his punch to the victim’s fatal head trauma.
- The victim, 41-year-old Eric Pope, was escorted from Tabu Lounge for intoxication in April 2022, was struck outside the bar, hit his head when he fell, and died days later from blunt impact injuries.
- Prosecutors had also pursued a third-degree murder charge but jurors acquitted Frye of that count while convicting him of the lesser involuntary manslaughter offense.
- Frye was working for Mainline Private Security at the time of the incident and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31, 2026, with involuntary manslaughter carrying up to five years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines under Pennsylvania law.
- The verdict has been framed by the District Attorney’s Office as an accountability measure for violence in the city’s LGBTQIA+ neighborhood and may prompt closer scrutiny of private security practices and bar oversight.