A father of two young girls was arrested about 12 hours before he was found dead in a cell in Sarnia Jail in what investigators say is a homicide, a close friend says.
Douglas Cutbush, 51, of Sarnia was found without vital signs in his cell on Wednesday at about 3:45 a.m., Sarnia police said. His cellmate, Devin Fentie, 33, of Sarnia, was charged with first-degree murder.
Cutbush’s family and friends are expressing shock, grief and anger and calling for accountability after his sudden death.
Karen Penny Goss, a close friend of Cutbush, said Thursday he was the kindest man one could ever meet.
“He should have never been placed in a jail cell with (his cellmate)… Doug was 150 pounds soaking wet… the jail system there needs to be held accountable for their actions,” she said through Facebook messenger.
Cutbush was arrested about 12 hours before he was found dead in his cell, Goss said.
“This is my cousin and it is total negligence,” April Clark posted on social media. “Doug wouldn’t hurt anyone and (my) heart breaks for all friends and family, especially his children.”
Cutbush, a machinist by trade who worked in Sarnia and Petrolia, was the father of two six-year-old twin girls.
“No one deserves to die like that. He should have been kept safe….That’s a basic human right. Deepest condolences to his family and all who loved him,” Sharon McMullan-Ravensberg wrote on social media.
Multiple people contacted Thursday, including a veteran Sarnia criminal defence lawyer and Sarnia police officials, said they couldn’t recall another homicide at the city’s jail.
Kevin Egan, a London lawyer who has worked for years with many inmates and their families impacted by violence at the troubled Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre in London, also has clients who’ve spent time in the Sarnia Jail. He also said he wasn’t aware of any homicides there prior to Wednesday.
“But it is, like many jails in Ontario, a violent place and has been for a long time,” he said. “I represent victims of violence at the jail. I also represent families of prisoners who suffered medical neglect leading to their death at the Sarnia Jail.”
The last death of a Sarnia Jail inmate prior to Wednesday was September 2022, when Cody David Cook, 33, of Sarnia was found in medical distress by jail staff. He died in hospital.
“Since 2013, seven inmates have passed away at the Sarnia Jail. Cause of death is determined by the Office of the Chief Coroner,” Brent Ross, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General, said Thursday via email.
A post-mortem of Cutbush was scheduled for Thursday through the Ontario Coroner’s Office, Sarnia police said.
Joel Bissonnette, a corrections officer at the Sarnia Jail and president of OPSEU Local 128, said Thursday he can’t comment on the investigation.
The jail, built in 1961 and considered outdated, was scheduled to close in 2014 along with the jail in Chatham to combine with a new jail in Windsor, a decision announced in 2011 by the provincial government. But after some lobbying that decision was reversed in August 2013.
Two recent inquests have been held into suicide deaths at the Sarnia Jail. Last year, a jury recommended making nine changes at the facility in response to the 2020 death of Travis Havers, 31, of Sarnia. Another jury suggested a dozen changes after a 2021 inquest into the 2018 death of Aaron Moffatt, 32.
Most of the recommendations dealt with inmates getting their opioid-replacement medication, communication over their medical status and potential suicide risk, and reducing anchor points in cells.
Egan also pointed out a Sarnia man, Adam Kargus, 29, was murdered in London’s provincial jail on Oct. 31, 2013, by cellmate Anthony George. George is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder.
Fentie, who is in custody pending a court appearance on Monday, was charged in 2023 in London with uttering a death threat by letter to Nathaniel Veltman, who was convicted in 2023 of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for intentionally running down a London Muslim family with his pickup truck in 2021.
The charge against Fentie was dropped last year after a psychiatric assessment was ordered.
Fentie previously was scheduled to go to trial in Sarnia next week on two charges include assaulting a peace officer and assaulting a peace officer with intent to resist lawful arrest. The complainant is a corrections officer, Morgan Tyler, and the alleged incident took place on June 13, 2023, records show.
Evan Weber, a Windsor lawyer who has been working with Fentie on that case, said Thursday he was surprised and concerned to hear about the new charge and still needed to meet with his client, but the trial is still expected to go ahead.
Fentie previously was sentenced in Sarnia to probation for assault causing bodily harm, property damage and assaulting a police officer during a Canada Day party in 2012.
He was naked when he tried to punch and head-butt an officer.
It’s unclear what brought Cutbush back into custody Wednesday. Records show he was facing a total 22 charges laid Dec. 5, 10 linked to disobeying court orders, 11 tied to breaching probation, and one count of criminal harassment. All those charges were dropped Wednesday after he died.
“Doug Cutbush is my cousin and whatever problems he had doesn’t matter to me…. I am beside myself and at a loss of words of how this happened,” Maggie Sampson wrote on social media.
This is the city’s first homicide of the year, but comes just a month after a Lambton College international student was stabbed to death in a house rented by multiple people on Queen Street in Sarnia.
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Several people have commented on social media in the wake of Cutbush’s jailhouse death.
- “This is terrible. I knew Doug growing up and (he) was always a good guy. RIP,” Mike McCabe wrote.
- “RIP Duggy; you will be missed! My heart breaks for his friends and the rest of the family,” cousin April Clark wrote.
- “Sorry for your loss. We loved Dougie. He’ll be missed,” Darlene Emery wrote. “I am so incredibly sorry and heartbroken for your family.”
- “RIP Cutter,” Greg Robinson wrote. “Sad to hear. (I) knew him from public and high school. It had been a while but I have good memories of our high school days. Good dude.”
- “The victim had young children. This is sad for the family,” Sara C. McLaughlin wrote.
- “One of our good friends, too. Mild-mannered guy. I can’t even believe it,” Angela Rose Vint wrote.