Updated at 5:15 p.m.
Vermont State Police say an incarcerated man at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield died Sunday afternoon. Police said the death does not appear to be suspicious.
Police said they were notified Sunday at about 1:45 p.m. by the Vermont Department of Corrections of the “apparent suicide” of 37-year-old Dennis Mayotte of North Springfield at the prison.
A corrections staff person conducting a cell check found Mayotte was not breathing, according to the corrections department.
Corrections attempted lifesaving measures, including the use of an Automatic External Defibrillator, while emergency medical personnel responded to the prison, the corrections department reported. Mayotte was pronounced dead at the scene and an autopsy is set to take place at the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington to determine the cause and manner of death, according to a state police press release.
Haley Sommer, a corrections department spokesperson, said she could not provide additional details, including whether Mayotte had a cell by himself or had been placed on any special observation schedule.
“So as not to interfere with any ongoing investigations, we will not be releasing this information at this time,” Sommer stated in an email.
Mayotte had been in custody since his arrest Oct. 26, the release stated. He was arrested by Brattleboro police on charges of first-degree arson, unlawful mischief, reckless endangerment and unlawful trespass, the release added.
State police said Monday the investigation is continuing and referred questions to the corrections department.
Mayotte is the 11th person in Vermont to die while incarcerated this year. Foul play is not suspected in most of the deaths, authorities have said, except one in which an incarcerated person was allegedly beaten by another man in custody late last year and died earlier this year.
There were nine deaths total in 2022 among those incarcerated by the state, according to corrections department data. From 2017 to 2021, the state averaged three deaths a year in Vermont’s prison system.
Seven of the deaths this year have occurred among people incarcerated at the Springfield prison, while in 2022 six of the deaths were individuals lodged there, according to the corrections department.
If you are in crisis or need help for someone else, dial 988 for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) or text VT to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line.
