Trial for alleged killer of Keith Heacook set for October

The man accused of killing Delmar police Cpl. Keith Heacook in April 2021 is scheduled to face trial in Delaware Superior Court in Georgetown starting Monday, Oct. 16.

Randon Wilkerson, 32, faces two counts of first-degree murder, as well as attempted murder, assault and weapons charges. If convicted of the first-degree murder charges, Wilkerson faces life in prison.

Even though Wilkerson is only alleged to have killed one person, Heacook, Delaware law on first-degree murder can have two or more statutory definitions applied, allowing the state to charge him for two counts of first-degree murder instead of one. 

On April 25, 2021, police say, Wilkerson, who had been staying at a nearby residence, entered the Delmar home of Steve and Judy Franklin. A fight ensued, and Delmar police were called to the scene. Heacook, a 22-year police veteran and graduate of Cape Henlopen High School, responded alone to the scene. There, police say he and Wilkerson engaged in an altercation. Witnesses say, in court documents, that Wilkerson was standing over Heacook and stomping his head into the floor. Additional officers arrived on the scene and found Heacook unconscious on the floor. He was sent to R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where he died from his injuries.

Wilkerson was indicted by a grand jury in June 2021 and pleaded not guilty in July of that year. He was originally set for trial in November 2022, but that date has been continued twice. 

While he could not go into specifics of the case, Department of Justice spokesman Mat Marshall said, “The justice system works slowly so that it can work carefully. When society chooses whether to deprive someone of their freedom – potentially for life – nothing matters more than making the right decision. It’s normal for either side of a criminal case to raise any number of pretrial motions in the interest of a vigorous defense, an informed prosecution, the defendant’s constitutional rights, etc. Lawyers have an ethical duty to file and respond to these motions, and judges have a corresponding duty to evaluate them carefully – all of which takes time.”

Marshall said he expects the trial to last about four weeks.