1 of the Corrections Officers Charged in Prison Death Pleads Guilty

One of the Corrections Officers charged in the beating death of inmate Robert Brooks has pleaded guilty on Monday in Oneida County Court.

36-year-old Christopher Walrath pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and as a result, will receive 15 years in state prison. The plea deal vacated a second-degree murder charge that Walrath was facing. He'll be sentenced on August 4th.

On Thursday, February 20, 2025, 10 corrections officers at the Marcy State Correctional Facility faced charges in regards to Brooks' death in December.

Six of the officers were charged with murder, three faced manslaughter charges and one faced a charge of tampering with evidence. Additionally, nine people were accused with watching the beating and not intervening, including a member of outside medical staff. In total, 17 people were suspended pending firing, and one has resigned.

The beating of Brooks was caught on several body cameras and the videos were discovered following the investigation into the death of Brooks. The body cameras recorded "passively" - meaning they were not turned on, but recorded in the background without audio. The videos showed much of the beating, kicking and punching that Brooks endured before being transported to Wynn Hospital in Utica where he was pronounced dead.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick was named special prosecutor in this case, and in the alleged beating death of 22-year-old Messiah Nantwi, an inmate at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, who died March 1. 10 corrections officers were indicted by an Oneida County Grand Jury on April 17, in that case.