A Vermont prisoner accused of severely beating his cellmate last December will be charged with murder after an autopsy report concluded that the victim’s death months later stemmed from his injuries.

Mbyayenge “Robbie” Mafuta, 22, was arraigned in March on a charge of attempted murder after police say he critically wounded Jeff Hall, 55, while the two were detained at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans. Hall was hospitalized until his death that same month.

On Tuesday, Vermont State Police said the state medical examiner’s office had ruled Hall’s death a homicide, determining he succumbed to “complications of blunt force trauma of the head.”



Mafuta, who remains in prison, is expected to be arraigned on the upgraded charge of second-degree murder later this month.

Hall and Mafuta had been cellmates for only a few days prior to the December 22, 2022, altercation, which unfolded inside their cell while correctional officers were conducting a routine head count. Prisoners and correctional staff told investigators that they heard Hall cry for help and then saw Mafuta exit the cell with blood on his clothes. Hall was found unconscious on the floor of the cell.

Mafuta had recently returned to the general population after he was briefly placed in a segregation unit for his own safety. He'd reported hearing voices and having thoughts of harming himself or others, according to an excerpt of a clinician's note included in court documents.

Mafuta’s public defenders have notified the court that their client may pursue a mental health defense.