STATE OF VERMONT
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
VERMONT STATE POLICE
CASE#: 25B4002345
RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME: Detective Sgt. Jesse Robson
STATION: Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations Troop B West – Rutland
CONTACT#: 802-773-9101
DATE/TIME: 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 5, 2025
INCIDENT LOCATION: Café Provence, 11 Center St., Brandon, VT
INCIDENT TYPE: Stabbing
VICTIM: Robert Barral
AGE: 71
CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Brandon, VT
ACCUSED: Jozef I. Eller
AGE: 32
CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Hancock, VT
SUMMARY OF INCIDENT:
Saturday night, Jozef I. Eller was ordered jailed without bail on charges of attempted second-degree murder and violating a no-trespassing order. He is due to appear for arraignment at 12:30 p.m. Monday, April 7, 2025, in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Rutland.
Stabbing victim Robert Barral was transported to the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, where his condition was reported to be stable late Saturday.
No additional details are currently available. The affidavit of probable cause will be filed with the court and made public following Eller's arraignment.
***Update No. 2, 10:20 p.m. Saturday, April 5, 2025***
Members of the Vermont State Police located suspect Jozef I. Eller in Rochester at about 10:10 p.m. Saturday, April 5, 2025, and arrested him without further incident.
VSP is working with the Rutland County State's Attorney's Office and will provide an update when charges have been filed. The state police thanks members of the public for their assistance with this investigation.
***Update No. 1, 10:05 p.m. Saturday, April 5, 2025***
The Vermont State Police is releasing several additional photographs of stabbing suspect Jozef Eller. Two of the attached images show him as he was leaving Café Provence following the attack at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 5, 2025. The third is a photograph from August 2024.
In the current photographs, Eller has long, unkempt hair and a scruffy beard. He is wearing light khaki-colored pants and a green jacket.
Eller has ties to the areas of Burlington and Granville, Vermont, but his current whereabouts remain unknown.
Police continue to encourage anyone with information to call VSP in Rutland at 802-773-9101 or leave an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
***Initial news release, 8:50 p.m. Saturday, April 5, 2025***
The Vermont State Police is investigating a stabbing that occurred Saturday afternoon, April 5, 2025, at a restaurant in the town of Brandon. VSP is warning the public to be on the lookout for the suspect.
The incident occurred at about 4:30 p.m. at Café Provence when a former employee, identified as Jozef I. Eller, 32, of Hancock entered the restaurant and attacked the chef and owner, Robert Barral, 71, of Brandon. Following the assault, Eller fled the scene driving north on U.S. Route 7 in his white 2017 Ford F-150 pickup truck with Vermont license plate 473A799. His whereabouts are unknown.
Eller should be considered extremely dangerous, and members of the public should not approach and instead call 911 immediately if they see him. Eller is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 170 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Several photographs of Eller are attached to this release, including his driver's license image and several more recent images that more closely resemble his current appearance. A photograph of his Ford truck also is attached.
Chef Barral was brought by ambulance to Rutland Regional Medical Center, where he was receiving treatment Saturday night. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, but the extent is currently unknown.
Anyone with information that could assist the state police on this matter or who has information about Eller's location should call the VSP barracks in Rutland at 802-773-9101. Anonymous tips also can be submitted online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
No further information is available at this time. The state police will provide updates as the investigation continues.
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