The man accused of attempting to escape incarceration at the St. Johnsbury prison allegedly used a sheet tied in knots to try to scale a fence, according to the Vermont Department of Corrections.
Corrections officials reported Seth Brunell’s alleged attempt to escape the Northeast Correctional Complex on Tuesday night, but provided few details.
On Thursday, Al Cormier, chief of operations for the corrections department, said Brunell used the bedding as a rope as he tried to scale the 12-foot high fence with razor and barbed wire on top. Brunell apparently abandoned the effort when the sheet broke apart, returning into a building, Cormier said.
Brunell would have needed to have scaled a second similar fence at least 20 feet away, according to Cormier. He was identified by video footage and an investigation is ongoing.
The 44-year-old has been held without bail since April on a charge of second-degree murder in the killing of Fern Feather, a transgender woman from Hinesburg.
