VSP BCI Troop B West – Rutland / Stabbing, suspect at large

 

 

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, 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:

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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