Inmate fashioned a “makeshift grappling hook”

Vermont State Police reported that an inmate at the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury fashioned a “makeshift grappling hook” and tried to scale the fence but failed when his bedsheet rope tore. Seth Brunell, 44, will face a charge of attempted escape when he appears in Caledonia Superior Court on June 5, according to a report by Detective Sgt. Lyle Decker. Brunell’s attempt happened on April 18, noted Det. Sgt. Decker, and Brunell was cited for the crime on May 3. Brunell is being held without bail at NECC on a charge of 2nd-degree murder stemming from Lamoille County. He is accused of killing Fern Feather, a transgender woman from Hinesburg. The alleged murder happened in Morristown. He was arraigned in Lamoille Superior Court and lodged in the St. Johnsbury prison a year ago.