Man accused of beating Delaware cop to death facing murder charges

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DELMAR, Del. - Prosecutors on Tuesday brought murder charges against a man accused of beating a Delaware police officer to death and assaulting an elderly couple at a subdivision in Delmar last April.

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings charged 30-year-old Randon Wilkerson with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of possession of a deadly weapon, and nearly a dozen other crimes.

Investigators say on Apr. 25 Cpl. Keith Heacook of the Delmar Police Department responded to a call about a fight inside a home in the Yorkshire Estates Community. Upon arrival, Heacook was allegedly assaulted by Wilkerson and suffered a traumatic head injury.

Dispatchers began checking on Heacook and received no response. Additional officers were then sent to the scene. A Wicomico County Sheriffs Office Deputy and a Delaware State Trooper arrived to find the officer unconscious in the residence.

Delaware police officer declared clinically dead after being attacked while responding to fight

Cpl. Keith Heacook with the Delmar Police Department was declared clinically dead at 12:48 p.m. Wednesday.

Heacook was first transported to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional in Salisbury, but was later taken to R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, part of the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. He died three days later.

According to police, Wilkerson also forced his way into a home across the street and beat a 73-year-old man and 76-year-old woman with a glass object. Both victims were hospitalized with significant injuries.

Wilkerson was originally charged with attempted murder, two counts of first-degree assault, possession of a deadly weapon and related offenses.

"Keith Heacook was murdered in service to his community, responding to the call of a person who needed help," Attorney General Jennings said in a statement. "We can never truly fill the void that he left behind; but we must honor his sacrifice by seeking justice."

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Delaware police officer declared clinically dead after being attacked while responding to fight