ALBANY, N.Y. — An extradition hearing to bring Greenfield murder suspect Taaniel Herberger-Brown from Albany to Greenfield to stand trial was delayed until June 28, or until New York Gov. Kathy Hochul approves a governor’s warrant to extradite him.

Surrounded by law enforcement officers from the Albany County Sheriff’s Office and his attorney Nicholas Horgan, Herberger-Brown, dressed in a yellow jumpsuit, appeared before Albany County Court Judge William Little Friday morning. At his last court appearance on April 29, Herberger-Brown did not waive his right to an extradition hearing, prompting the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office to submit an application for a governor’s warrant to Governor Maura Healey.

According to First Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Steven Gagne, Healey has signed the warrant and it now awaits Hochul’s review. Gagne said Healey’s office forwarded the paperwork to Hochul’s office earlier this week.

“We anticipate [Herberger-Brown] will likely be back in the commonwealth of Massachusetts before the month of June has passed, so sometime in the next few weeks,” Gagne said.

Herberger-Brown, 42, was arrested on a murder charge at Albany International Airport on April 23 after reports of a foul odor brought police to his former apartment at 92 Chapman St. earlier that day. Upon arrival, Greenfield Police Officer Brent Griffin discovered a decomposing body, later identified as Christopher Hairston, 35, of Pittsfield.

While being investigated by Greenfield Police and Massachusetts State Police, Herberger-Brown allegedly told officers that a man, who he believed to be on drugs, had broken into his apartment and engaged in a physical altercation with him. Toward the end of the altercation, Herberger-Brown told police that the victim’s “heart stopped.”

Herberger-Brown, a Northampton High School Class of 1999 graduate, four-year honor roll student and U.S. Navy veteran, has had several brushes with the law, such as an incident in February 2008, when he was arrested on kidnapping and assault charges in Northampton for allegedly “keeping his girlfriend against her will in a hotel bathroom while holding a broken ceramic dish to her neck,” according to a Daily Hampshire Gazette report.

Between 2018 and 2020, the defendant had been arrested for a number of offenses, including breaking and entering, assault and battery, and disorderly conduct. After facing misdemeanor breaking and entering charges in 2020, he was ordered to take medication and continue his mental health treatment as terms of his probation.

Herberger-Brown also had a reputation in the community as an altruistic member of society. Herberger-Brown was featured in a 2021 Washington Post article for his volunteer work at Stone Soup Cafe in Greenfield. Stone Soup Cafe Executive Director and Chef Kirsten Levitt said Friday that Herberger-Brown was a “respected and cared-for member of [the] community” at the time the article was written. Levitt said Herberger-Brown would volunteer at Stone Soup Cafe almost every week.

In the days following his arrest, Daniela Schunk, who identified herself as Herberger-Brown’s mother, wrote about her son in a Facebook post, noting that he habitually left his door unlocked on Chapman Street. She said it was likely that her son came home to an intruder and acted in self-defense.

“He’s done a lot of volunteer work, in many capacities, has been a leader in Alcoholics Anonymous and has been well-known in his community as a gentle soul who’s always willing to lend a helping hand,” Schunk said. “Unfortunately, against my advice, he has never locked his door of his apartment on 92 Chapman Street, and sometimes even left it wide open.”

Gagne said the DA’s office has been working around the clock to gather evidence in Herberger-Brown’s case.

Horgan, Herberger-Brown’s defense attorney, declined to comment on his client’s case.

“The investigation has remained very active and ongoing,” Gagne said. “The lead investigator and myself have been working on this case pretty much every day since [Herberger-Brown’s arrest]. We’re interviewing additional witnesses and we’re gathering additional evidence. I would say things are proceeding very well.”

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.