A man held without bail for murder has been formally charged with attempting to escape from the St. Johnsbury prison, according to Vermont State Police.
Law enforcement and Department of Corrections staff had previously said that Seth Brunell had attempted to break out of the Northeast Correctional Complex with a makeshift grappling hook and using bedsheets as rope in a failed attempt to scale a 12-foot-high fence topped by razor wire.
The razor wire ripped the bedsheets, leading Brunell to abandon the escape attempt, according to corrections officials.
On Monday, state police announced in a press release that Brunell had been charged with felony attempt to escape. He is set to be arraigned on the charge June 5.
Brunell, 44, has been held without bail since April 2022 on a charge of second-degree murder in the killing of Fern Feather, a transgender woman from Hinesburg.