A celebration of life is being held this weekend for the Sarnia Jail inmate who died while in custody, leading police to charge his cellmate with first-degree murder.
A celebration of life is being held this weekend for the Sarnia Jail inmate who died while in custody, leading police to charge his cellmate with first-degree murder.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Article content
Recommended Videos
Article content
Douglas Cutbush, 51, of Sarnia was found unresponsive in his cell about 3:45 am Jan. 8, police said. Devin Fentie, 33, a Sarnia resident police say was his cellmate, was charged later that day with first-degree murder.
Cutbush’s online obituary says the welder and mechanic, who loved to work with his hands in all forms of construction, is survived by his children, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and many friends.
“Doug was a jack of all trades, and helped anyone, anytime he could. Doug’s warm personality and giant heart will be missed by many,” it says.
Friends and family of Cutbush, who was predeceased by his parents, Valerie Cochrane-Guthrie and Ken Cutbush Sr., have been invited to celebrate his life Sunday from 4 pm to 11 pm at the “Car Bar” at 191 George St., it says.
Advertisement 3
Article content
Many who knew the father of six-year-old twin girls expressed shock, grievance and anger and called for accountability over his sudden death, which has prompted the first homicide probe in the Sarnia Jail in recent memory. The last known death of an inmate there prior to last week was September 2022, when Cody David Cook, 33, from Sarnia was found in medical distress by jail staff. He later died in hospital.
Seven inmates have died there since 2013, but the cause of death is determined by the Office of the Chief Coroner, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General has said.
An autopsy of Cutbush was set for Jan. 9, officials said. No update has been issued since then.
An update on the investigation from Sarnia police was not immediately available Thursday.
Advertisement 4
Article content
The jail, which was built in 1961 and is considered outdated, was scheduled to close in 2014 along with the jail in Chatham to combine with a new jail in Windsor, a decision announced in 2011 by the provincial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 there. Last year, a jury recommended making nine changes in response to the 2020 death of Travis Havers, 31, from Sarnia. Another jury suggested a dozen changes after a 2021 inquest into the 2018 death of Aaron Moffatt, 32.
Fentie is due back in court on Monday. He previously was scheduled to go to trial in Sarnia this 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.
Advertisement 5
Article content
The trial did not go ahead as planned.
Fentie was charged in 2023 in London with uttering a death threat by letter to mass murderer Nathaniel Veltman. That charge was dropped last year after a psychiatric assessment was ordered.
He 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.
A friend of Cutbush said he was arrested hours before he died. It’s unclear what brought him back into custody on Jan. 8. Records show he was facing a total of 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 the day he died.
This is the city’s first homicide of the year, but came just a month after a Lambton College international student was stabbed to death in a house rented by multiple people on Queen Street.
Article content