DELMAR, DE - The Salisbury man charged with the 2021 murder of Cpl. Keith Heacook in Delmar has chosen a bench trial over a jury trial, according to the Delaware Department of Justice.
A bench trial, the Legal Information Institute says, is both heard and decided by a judge alone, involving no jury.
Wilkerson was arrested on April 25, 2021. That morning, just after 5 a.m., Cpl. Heacook responded to Buckingham Drive in the Yorkshire Estates Community on reports of a fight at a home and another 9-1-1 call moments later from a man who said he and his wife had been assaulted in their nearby home.
Police say Heacook entered the home of the initial call where Wilkerson reportedly attacked him. Dispatchers then lost contact with Heacook. Witnesses said that Wilkerson repeatedly stomped on Heacook’s head while the Corporal lay unconscious on the ground.
Heacook was taken to Shock Trauma in Baltimore in critical condition. He died three days later.
Wilkerson is also accused of assaulting an elderly couple that morning, including using a glass figurine to break the eye sockets of a 76-year-old woman, according to court documents.
A Delaware Superior Court Judge will now decide whether Wilkerson is guilty of numerous charges in lieu of a jury, including two counts of first degree murder, attempted murder, and assault. Wilkerson faces life in prison if convicted.
WBOC reached out to Wilkerson’s attorney Patrick Collins to ask why Wilkerson made the decision to forgo a jury trial. Collins said he could not comment on an ongoing case, but confirmed to WBOC that the waiver of a jury trial was docketed yesterday, September 25th.
A case review is scheduled for October 9th before Wilkerson’s trial is slated to begin on October 16 in Georgetown.