The man accused of killing his UPS co-worker faced a judge for the first time Thursday and is being held on a $2 million bond.
19-year-old Elijah Bertrand is charged with murder in the death of 28-year-old Nathan Burk, a UPS driver. Bertrand made a virtual appearance at court in Waterbury around noon Thursday.
Bertrand was taken into custody in Plymouth Wednesday afternoon after a search to find him.
The victim, Burk, died at a hospital after he was seriously assaulted on the job, according to state police.
State police responded to what they thought was a crash on Route 8 North around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday in Watertown.
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That’s when they found Burk assaulted with multiple stab wounds, according to police, who said he later died at a hospital.
Police found a folding style knife with blood on it at the scene, according to the police report. Bertrand's father later confirmed to officers that the knife recovered at the scene belonged to Bertrand, police said.
Burk's girlfriend said Burk and Bertrand had dinner with her at their home on Tuesday evening before heading to the UPS facility to return the truck.
At a news conference on Wednesday, police said the motive for the killing was not clear.
UPS released a statement on Wednesday morning:
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague, and are cooperating with the investigation," said Matthew O'Connor, a spokesperson for UPS.
Bertrand was eventually caught by police after using a debit card in his name at a Valero gas station in Plymouth, according to state police investigators. Plymouth police detained Bertrand at the gas station and when state police arrived, Bertrand admitted his identity to officers before saying "What took you guys so long to find me," the police report states.
Police said Bertrand confessed to stabbing Burk before taking off into the woods off Route 8.
Bertrand is due back in court on January 6.
