Waiting for Justice: Inside trial delays in the murder of Cpl. Keith Heacook

DELMAR, Del.- It’s been well over two years, or 781 days to be exact, since the arrest of Randon Wilkerson, the man charged in the death of Delmar Police Cpl. Keith Heacook. So, after all of this time, why has there still not been a trial?

That’s a question many have been asking as the public continues to wonder why it’s taken so long to try Wilkerson.

Doug Marshall, a local businessman and organizer of Heacook Fest, an event to honor the memory of Cpl. Heacook, says he was one of the first to respond that night and remembers the tragedy vividly. He questioned why there has not yet been a trial and said it sends the wrong message to law enforcement.

“These prosecutors, these defense attorneys, go ahead and extend, extend, extend, but what you’re sending a message to is the police that we don’t care about you,” Marshall said. “It was a horrifying experience that caused a lot of us not to really sleep a full night since.”

47 ABC News reached out to the Delaware Attorney General’s Office to ask why the legal process has taken so long. Matt Marshall, a spokesman with the Del. Department of Justice, issued a statement saying in part quote:

“The justice system works slowly so that it can work carefully,” Marshall stated. “When society chooses whether to deprive someone of their freedom — potentially for life — nothing matters more than making the right decision.”

To further understand why a case like this could take so long, we sat down with Sussex County attorney and legal expert John Brady. While he’s involved in the case, he has reviewed some of the court documents. Brady tells us the trial has been delayed for a number of reasons, starting with the defense.

“I can articulate from the record the defense is looking at every possible defense out there,” Brady emphasized. “We had two continuations from the defense and no continuation requests from the state, so they agreed that we need a little further time to develop, this now pushed it over into the two year period.”

Since Wilkerson’s arrest, the defense team has filed multiple continuances in the case that has resulted in the trial being pushed back several times. Most recently, both the state and the defense filed a joint continuance which pushed the trial date to later this year – October 16, 2023.

“That is the date,” Brady said. “It has to start at that point. The court has basically indicated that it’s not going to continue it anymore.”

The COVID-19 pandemic also played a role in slowing down the legal process involving the right to a speedy trial, a policy put in place by the Delaware State Supreme Court that requires all major cases be tried within six months. That policy was put on hold during the pandemic due to the court’s overload of cases.

“These charges came in towards the end of the pandemic. Well, actually, right in the middle of it, so the speedy trial, which is not a law but a rule of the Supreme Court, was put on hold during the pandemic,” Brady stated. “It’s allowing the defense to put together their best case possible. What does it do for the community? What does it do for the Corporal’s family? It just prolongs the agony.”

Brady says after reviewing the docket in full, he feels the court is doing their best to ensure a fair trial takes place.

“The court gets criticized because people believe they’re sitting on the case,” Brady said. “From review of this docket, they’re not. They’re trying to push this along as best as they can to get a fair trial in place.”

What’s clear is that pretrial motions, mostly from the defense, are the main reason for the delay of trial, which is not out of the ordinary, according to Matt Marshall with the DOJ.

“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,” Matt Marshall explained. “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.”

Matt Marshall concluded by saying the state is “determined to secure justice for a hero who died protecting his community.”

As of right now, the trial is scheduled to begin on October 16, 2023 and is expected to last a month as both sides present their case.