Topline: A Pennsylvania police corporal is now facing voluntary manslaughter charges after a 22-year-old college student who’d gone to the wrong house was shot dead with his hands raised.
Published: September 4, 2026 7:04 am ET
Randy Shaw
I cut my teeth in journalism when I began looking into what I saw as abuses of power in my local government. From then on, I was hooked on the dopamine rush of uncovering information.
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Sean Farrell, left, and Glenwood ‘Bubba’ Pysher (via Montgomery County District Attorney's Office / Family handout)
NORRISTOWN, PA — A Pennsylvania police corporal has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after prosecutors said he fatally shot a 22-year-old college student who’d ended up at the wrong house late at night and was waiting for friends to pick him up.
According to News4JAX and an Associated Press report citing the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Upper Pottsgrove Police Cpl. Sean Farrell, 58, was charged in the Aug. 23 death of Glenwood Earl Pysher IV after investigators reviewed body camera footage and concluded deadly force wasn’t legally justified.
Prosecutors said Farrell responded after a resident called 911 to report someone trying to break into the back door of a home on Snyder Road. Body camera footage showed Farrell moving down the driveway with his gun drawn and using its light to scan the area before he spotted Pysher on the patio near the back door and ordered him to show his hands and get on the ground.
Investigators said Pysher raised his hands and began walking toward the officer as Farrell kept shouting commands. Before finishing a warning of “Stop or I’ll…,” Farrell fired two shots into Pysher’s chest, according to the release, even though prosecutors said Pysher was unarmed, was 17 to 20 feet away, and wasn’t a threat.
The district attorney’s office said Farrell had less-lethal options on his utility belt, including a Taser, and was positioned behind a car at a safe distance when he opened fire. Detectives also said Pysher had been out celebrating a friend’s 21st birthday, left one gathering to walk about half a mile to another friend’s house to keep drinking, and mistakenly ended up at the wrong home before contacting friends who were on their way to get him.
Farrell turned himself in Tuesday and was awaiting arraignment by video, where bail and a preliminary hearing were expected to be addressed. An attorney for Pysher’s family said they were grateful for the district attorney’s work and described the shooting as preventable, reckless conduct that took their son’s life.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Pennsylvania Officer Charged With Voluntary Manslaughter in Fatal Shooting of College Student
A Pennsylvania police corporal is now facing voluntary manslaughter charges after a 22-year-old college student who’d gone to the wrong house was shot dead with his hands raised.
By Randy Shaw
Published: September 4, 2026 7:04 am ET
Sean Farrell, left, and Glenwood ‘Bubba’ Pysher (via Montgomery County District Attorney's Office / Family handout)
NORRISTOWN, PA — A Pennsylvania police corporal has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after prosecutors said he fatally shot a 22-year-old college student who’d ended up at the wrong house late at night and was waiting for friends to pick him up.
According to News4JAX and an Associated Press report citing the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Upper Pottsgrove Police Cpl. Sean Farrell, 58, was charged in the Aug. 23 death of Glenwood Earl Pysher IV after investigators reviewed body camera footage and concluded deadly force wasn’t legally justified.
Prosecutors said Farrell responded after a resident called 911 to report someone trying to break into the back door of a home on Snyder Road. Body camera footage showed Farrell moving down the driveway with his gun drawn and using its light to scan the area before he spotted Pysher on the patio near the back door and ordered him to show his hands and get on the ground.
Investigators said Pysher raised his hands and began walking toward the officer as Farrell kept shouting commands. Before finishing a warning of “Stop or I’ll…,” Farrell fired two shots into Pysher’s chest, according to the release, even though prosecutors said Pysher was unarmed, was 17 to 20 feet away, and wasn’t a threat.
The district attorney’s office said Farrell had less-lethal options on his utility belt, including a Taser, and was positioned behind a car at a safe distance when he opened fire. Detectives also said Pysher had been out celebrating a friend’s 21st birthday, left one gathering to walk about half a mile to another friend’s house to keep drinking, and mistakenly ended up at the wrong home before contacting friends who were on their way to get him.
Farrell turned himself in Tuesday and was awaiting arraignment by video, where bail and a preliminary hearing were expected to be addressed. An attorney for Pysher’s family said they were grateful for the district attorney’s work and described the shooting as preventable, reckless conduct that took their son’s life.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Latest Articles
Pennsylvania Officer Charged With Voluntary Manslaughter in Fatal Shooting of College Student
A Pennsylvania police corporal is now facing voluntary manslaughter charges after a 22-year-old college student who’d gone to the wrong house was shot dead with his hands raised.
By Randy Shaw
Published: September 4, 2026 7:04 am ET
Sean Farrell, left, and Glenwood ‘Bubba’ Pysher (via Montgomery County District Attorney's Office / Family handout)
NORRISTOWN, PA — A Pennsylvania police corporal has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after prosecutors said he fatally shot a 22-year-old college student who’d ended up at the wrong house late at night and was waiting for friends to pick him up.
According to News4JAX and an Associated Press report citing the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Upper Pottsgrove Police Cpl. Sean Farrell, 58, was charged in the Aug. 23 death of Glenwood Earl Pysher IV after investigators reviewed body camera footage and concluded deadly force wasn’t legally justified.
Prosecutors said Farrell responded after a resident called 911 to report someone trying to break into the back door of a home on Snyder Road. Body camera footage showed Farrell moving down the driveway with his gun drawn and using its light to scan the area before he spotted Pysher on the patio near the back door and ordered him to show his hands and get on the ground.
Investigators said Pysher raised his hands and began walking toward the officer as Farrell kept shouting commands. Before finishing a warning of “Stop or I’ll…,” Farrell fired two shots into Pysher’s chest, according to the release, even though prosecutors said Pysher was unarmed, was 17 to 20 feet away, and wasn’t a threat.
The district attorney’s office said Farrell had less-lethal options on his utility belt, including a Taser, and was positioned behind a car at a safe distance when he opened fire. Detectives also said Pysher had been out celebrating a friend’s 21st birthday, left one gathering to walk about half a mile to another friend’s house to keep drinking, and mistakenly ended up at the wrong home before contacting friends who were on their way to get him.
Farrell turned himself in Tuesday and was awaiting arraignment by video, where bail and a preliminary hearing were expected to be addressed. An attorney for Pysher’s family said they were grateful for the district attorney’s work and described the shooting as preventable, reckless conduct that took their son’s life.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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