Six prison workers have been charged with murder in the second degree in connection with the death of inmate Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility in December, according to a grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday in Oneida County Court.

Nicholas Anzalone, David Kingsley Anthony Farina, Christopher Walrath, Mathew Galliher and an unnamed individual — all former corrections officers — are named in the indictment. They were also all charged with manslaughter in the first degree, the indictment says. They face a potential punishment of life in prison for those charges. All pleaded not guilty.

In addition, Galliher and an unnamed individual faces a count of gang assault in the second degree; Michael Mashaw faces a count of manslaughter in the second degree; Michael Fisher faces on a count of manslaughter in the second degree; David Walters faces a count of manslaughter in the second degree; Nicholas Anzqalone and an unnamed individual face a count of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree; and Nicholas Gentile faces a count of tampering with physical evidence.

The charges stem from an incident at Marcy Correctional caught on body-worn cameras, triggering widespread outrage and calls for justice. Body camera footage released by the New York attorney general’s office shows correctional officers hitting Brooks while he was restrained at the prison on Dec. 9. He died the next day at a hospital in Utica.

An autopsy report issued by the county medical examiner’s office in January concluded that Brooks’ death was caused by compression of the neck and multiple blunt impact injuries and that the manner of death was determined to be a homicide, according to Brooks' family attorneys.

The family of Brooks released a statement Thursday saying:

"In December, my family and I watched my father brutally beaten to death by New York Correctional Officers. Earlier this month, we received the medical examiner's painful but unsurprising conclusion that my father's death was considered a homicide. And today, I saw New York Correctional Officers finally face criminal charges for killing my father. Nothing can bring him back to us. Nothing can return to us what these men have taken away. Still, these indictments are a necessary and important step toward accountability. These men killed my father, on camera. All the world could see what happened. Waiting for these charges has been incredibly hard. These men must be fully prosecuted and convicted for what they have done. But even the convictions of these corrections officers for the murder of my father will not be enough. Every person in authority who allowed this system of violence and abuse to exist and continue for so long must also be held accountable. We pledge not to rest until we see meaningful change in how our state prisons are operated-so that no one else has to go through what my family and I have gone through."

Gov. Kathy Hochul has ordered state officials to initiate proceedings to fire more than a dozen employees implicated in the incident. 

“Robert Brooks should be alive today. The brutal attack on Mr. Brooks was sickening, and I immediately moved to terminate the employment of those involved. Now, the perpetrators have been rightfully charged with murder and State Police are making arrests," Hochul said in a statement Thursday shortly before the indictment was unsealed. “This incident is a sobering reminder of the challenges facing our correctional system. I’ve worked with Commissioner Martuscello on safety reforms, including installing new security cameras, strengthening the Office of Special Investigations and increasing compensation for our hard-working correction officers."

Brooks had been serving a 12-year prison sentence for first-degree assault since 2017. He arrived at the prison in Oneida County only hours before the beating after being transferred from another nearby facility, officials said.

Brooks’ son, Robert Brooks Jr., claimed in a federal lawsuit filed in January that those involved in his father’s incident “systematically and casually beat him to death” and that the prison system tolerates violence.

Even before Brooks’ death, employees at the medium-security prison had been accused of abusing incarcerated people.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick took over the case as a special prosecutor after state Attorney General Letitia James recused herself, citing her office’s representation of several implicated officers in separate civil lawsuits. Those employees had previously been accused of either taking part in previous beatings of inmates or letting them continue.

“We looked at three tiers of responsibility," Fitzpatrick told reporters Thursday "Those who beat Robert, who had an active role in striking him, those were there in a position of authority and did absolutely nothing while Robert was being beaten, and finally, the third tier, those who were to a lesser extent aware of what was happening to Robert or should’ve been aware of what was happening to him and did nothing.”

Fitzpatrick said his investigation found Brooks died of massive beating to his body, both externally and internally. Several of his internal organs were bruised, his hyoid bone was fractured and his thyroid cartilage was ripped. He also faced repeated restrictions to his airwaves that caused brain damage and choked on his own blood.

Fitzpatrick revealed Brooks was beaten on three separate occasions. The body camera footage released was from the third beating. The DA said Brooks was beaten two prior times that evening.

“Our investigation further revealed that there was no provocation by Robert Brooks that would’ve precipitated any physical response whatsoever, never mind the physical response that was inflicted upon him," Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick added at least two current or former Marcy employees and at least one current or former Mohawk Correctional Facility employee are still under investigation and the grand jury is still sitting and able to hear evidence.

A watchdog group reported “rampant abuse by staff” at Marcy after interviewing people incarcerated there in October 2022. The Correctional Association of New York said they were told of physical assaults in locations without cameras, such as between the gates, in vans and in showers. A guard told one new arrival that this was a ”‘hands-on facility,’ we’re going to put hands on you if we don’t like what you’re doing,” according to the report.