Delco man, 18, charged with fatal beating of retired postal worker

An 18-year-old man has been charged in the fatal beating of a retired postal worker last year in Darby Borough.

Tramaine Warfield was charged with second-degree murder for the Oct. 24, 2017, death of Brad Hayes, 57, of Clifton Heights, Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun M. Copeland said Thursday.

Just after 4 a.m. that day, police found Hayes unconscious in the back seat of a black 2006 Chrysler 300 parked partially on the curb in front of Penn Wood Middle School. Hayes was taken to Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital and pronounced dead.

Surveillance video showed an unknown assailant hitting and stomping Hayes and then placing his body in the backseat of the Chrysler. The assailant attempted to drive the Chrysler away but then ran away with Hayes’ wallet and mobile phone. The wallet was recovered nearby.

Copeland said Darby Borough police sent evidence, including a Donovan McNabb Eagles jersey worn by Hayes, to the Pennsylvania State Police for DNA testing. Earlier this month, Darby Borough police got back test results identifying Warfield as a possible match, Copeland said.

Warfield was interviewed by police on Dec. 11 at the Delaware County Courthouse and denied knowing Hayes, but he later confessed to encountering Hayes and that he did not intend to kill him, Copeland said.

“I’m not a monster. I just wish I could go back in time,” he told police, according to Copeland.

Court records list Warfield’s last known address as Morgantown in Berks County. Warfield, who also was charged with robbery and related offenses, was denied bail and was being held at the Delaware County prison.