Watertown, Connecticut – A UPS employee accused of fatally assaulting a co-worker who was helping deliver packages told police he stabbed the man before fleeing into the woods, according to an arrest warrant issued Thursday. His arrest came after a 15-hour manhunt, according to WFSB-TV, a CBS Hartford subsidiary.
When he was arrested Wednesday afternoon by state soldiers at a gas station in Plymouth, Elijah David Bertrand, 19, of Bristol, asked officers, “How long did it take you to find me?” according to the mandate.
The document indicated that Bertrand was found after using his debit card at the gas station, WFSB said.
Bertrand was charged Thursday with murder charges, accused of killing UPS driver Nathan Burk, 28, of Waterbury. The arrest warrant said Bertrand was working as Burk’s “assistant / runner” on Tuesday, the day of the assault.
One reason is still unclear.
The bond for Bertrand remained at $ 2 million, WFSB said.
Connecticut State Police via AP
His lawyer, Robert Pickering, called for the bail to be reduced, arguing that Bertrand was not at risk of absconding and has a strong connection to the state. Betrand is scheduled to appear in court again on January 6.
Pickering told The Associated Press that the case is “a terrible thing for all parties involved,” especially considering it happened just before Christmas and during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The empathy of my client’s family is amazing,” he said. “Whether my client is responsible for this or not, this young man’s death should never have occurred during the holidays.”
Apparently, Bertrand and Burk were in the same vehicle, state soldier Joseu Dorelus said Wednesday. According to the arrest warrant, the couple stopped at Burk’s girlfriend’s house and had dinner, for about an hour, before they allegedly turned on the UPS truck.
Burk’s girlfriend started calling her boyfriend about half an hour later, hoping he would have returned home by then because the house is near the UPS warehouse. But the calls went unanswered, the order said.
WFSB-TV
Soldiers initially responded to a call about a UPS truck-related accident in Watertown on Tuesday evening. They found the vehicle on his shoulder in a northerly direction on Route 8. Burk did not respond and fell on the steering wheel, appearing stabbed.
A blood-folding knife was found at the scene, which Bertrand’s father later confirmed to police that it belonged to his son. Waterbury State Attorney Maureen Platt told the court Burk had been stabbed eight times.
Burk was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Dozens of loved ones and co-workers in Burk gathered Wednesday at the Watertown UPS facility. Many said they wanted answers.
“We all want to know. We all want to know why,” one told WFSB.
“It’s heartbreaking … It was such a good soul,” Kerry Langdeau of Waterbury told NBC Connecticut.
“I woke up in the morning. I was all set to deliver 200 packages and come home and never get home,” said Sean O’Brien, treasurer of Teamsters Joint Council 10, a union representing drivers of all of New England.