Wilkerson found guilty for murder of Cpl. Keith Heacook

October 16, 2023 13

A Delaware Superior Court judge found Randon Wilkerson guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in the death of Delmar police officer Cpl. Keith Heacook, a Cape Henlopen High School graduate.

Wilkerson, 32, sat passively in court during a short bench trial Oct. 16, as Judge Craig Karsnitz found him guilty of 16 charges related to a night of violence that also included the assault of two neighbors. While Heacook was the only person who died, Delaware law allowed him to be charged for an additional count of first-degree murder because Heacook was a police officer.

Wilkerson will be sentenced Friday, Dec. 8, at Delaware Superior Court in Georgetown. He faces mandatory life sentences for both the murder charges and additional time to be determined for two counts of first-degree assault, multiple counts of possession of a deadly weapon during commission of a felony, a count of third-degree assault and terroristic threatening, among other charges.

Wilkerson elected a bench trial instead of jury trial due, in part, to the evidence against him and to move forward with an appeal faster. That meant there was no eyewitness testimony from the stand and little physical evidence presented. Instead, Karsnitz entered in two pieces of evidence: a statement of the facts as agreed on by Deputy Attorney General David Hume and defense attorney Patrick Collins and a 17-minute body cam video.

Inside a packed courtroom, Karsnitz read the timeline of events and the key witness testimony.

On April 25, 2021, Heacook responded, alone, to the home of Charles Meagher, where Wilkerson had been staying with six other people. According to Wilkerson’s housemates, he had taken methamphetamine, crack cocaine and heroin, and had also been drinking because it was his birthday. Wilkerson had argued with his girlfriend and, at one point, assaulted her. Wilkerson had been behaving erratically and had turned violent, throwing a 10-pound dumbbell at one roommate’s door, and had fought with Meagher.

When Heacook entered the house, Wilkerson assaulted him with a dumbbell and, later, Heacook’s police baton. Heacook was pronounced dead from injuries sustained in the assault.

Wilkerson then went to the nearby home of Steve and Judy Franklin, claiming that someone had been raped at his house. Unprovoked, Wilkerson attacked them with a porcelain figurine. For reasons unknown, Wilkerson stopped his assault and left the home.

It is at that point that the police body cam footage picks up. Karsnitz said he wrestled with the decision to release the footage publicly, as it is graphic, but decided it was in the public interest to show it in court.

The footage shows responding officers finding Heacook facedown on the floor. As the officers secure the scene, one of the officers drags Heacook out of the house. Heacook is not moving or responding, and his face is bloodied. Other officers arrive and try to perform CPR, but Heacook does not respond.

The other people staying at the house were removed. All testified to investigators that Wilkerson had been using meth and had been acting belligerent toward them prior to the assault on Heacook. None of them said they saw Wilkerson attack Heacook as they were either sleeping or hiding in their rooms from Wilkerson.

At the end of the video, the officers encounter Wilkerson, looking dazed and confused, sitting in a truck. Blood was later found on Wilkerson’s hands and he was arrested.

Wilkerson was taken to Delaware State Police Troop 5 in Bridgeville. During his time in custody, police overheard Wilkerson say, “I beat the cop in the head. I smashed his head.” A digital recorder was placed near the holding area where Wilkerson was detained. On the tape, which was not played in court, Wilkerson said he smashed Heacook over the head with a weight. Later, while waiting for arraignment with a justice of the peace, Wilkerson admitted in front of a police officer that he killed “that police officer that walked in the house.”

Later investigation found Wilkerson’s DNA on Heacook’s baton and notepad, and at the Franklins’ house.

Following the verdict, Attorney General Kathy Jennings said, “We came together to promise full accountability under the law and to ensure that justice is done. Today, we are delivering on that promise.”

Speaking of Wilkerson, Jennings said, “He will serve the rest of his life in prison.”

“I know that closure for anyone involved in this case – for the relatives and family members and neighbors – is more elusive than justice. We won a criminal case, but the path to healing and the path to true peace is still before us,” she added.

Delmar Police Chief Ivan Barkley said, “Today was a long time coming. It turns the page on another chapter. Mr. Wilkerson will spend a long time behind bars, but that does not compare with what happened to Keith. A life taken before his time.”

Barkley said Heacook, a Cape Henlopen High School graduate and 22-year veteran of the police force, was contemplating retirement and was considering teaching at Salisbury University.