Suicide following May shooting death of 20-year-old Falmouth woman now under investigation
BOURNE — A man awaiting trial at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility for the May shooting death of a Falmouth woman died by suicide on Aug. 19.
Tyler Gibbs, 23, was indicted on June 30 on several charges stemming from the May 10 shooting death of Kianna Barrows, 20, of Falmouth, and police standoff outside the North Falmouth home.
Falmouth police responded to a 911 call on May 10 in response to potential gunshots heard at 49 Old Main St. in North Falmouth, according to the police report.
When police arrived, Gibbs was in the backyard of the property holding a handgun. Officers found Barrows on the floor of a bedroom with what appeared to be a gunshot wound, the police report said. She was pronounced dead at 2:04 p.m. by emergency medical responders.
More: Man charged with first-degree murder in connection with Falmouth shooting death
Officers arrested Gibbs after several hours of negotiations with a SWAT team and police officers. He was arraigned at Falmouth District Court on May 11 on charges of murder, assault and battery with a firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, receiving stolen property, and three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.
All charges against Gibbs have been dismissed, according to court documents.
Gibbs' death is one of three reported over a two-month period this summer at the jail.
In two days, two suicides at the jail
His death is also one of two suicides in the jail in two days — Aug. 18 and Aug. 19.
On Aug. 18, emergency medical workers with the Bourne Fire Department twice responded to the correctional facility to bring patients to Falmouth Hospital, Deputy Fire Chief Paul Weeks told the Times in September.
The first transport was made at 1:13 a.m., he said. The second transport, of a different patient, was made at 2:55 p.m. the same day.
Of those two people taken from the jail, one died on Aug. 18 and one on Aug. 19, according to Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe.
More: Exclusive: Three people die in 8 weeks at Barnstable County jail. Here's what we know
Barnstable County Sheriff James Cummings confirmed Robert F. Davis Jr., 40, was the person who died on Aug. 18, and Gibbs on Aug. 19. Davis was being housed at the facility awaiting a Sep. 28 court appearance for a violation of an abuse prevention order, according to court documents.
Preliminary evidence suggests Gibbs' death was a suicide, according to Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney Tara Miltimore.
Cummings told the Times that both Gibbs' and Davis' deaths were suicides.
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State police detectives assigned to the District Attorney’s office and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner are investigating Gibbs' death, Miltimore said in an email.
From 2017 to September 2022, there have been four suicides and 63 attempted suicides at the jail, according to Cummings.
Cummings confirmed Gibbs and Davis were both housed at the facility up until their deaths.
Cause of death of third person who died at jail still pending
David J. Allain, 30, also died at the facility this summer, on June 16, according to O'Keefe.
Allain was jailed on alleged drug charges, as well as charges related to an alleged escape attempt involving arson, according to court records. All charges against Allain were dismissed after his death in June.
O'Keefe told the Times that evidence in Allain's cell suggested drugs could have played a part in his death, but the cause of death could not be confirmed until the medical examiner's office releases an autopsy and toxicology report, which could take up to six months.
Sheriff candidates speak out
Cummings, who has served as sheriff since 1999, announced in October of 2021 he would be retiring.
Rep. Tim Whelan, R-Brewster, and Falmouth attorney Donna Buckley, a Democrat, are running for the position in the upcoming Nov. 8 general election.
Buckley condemned the sheriff's office for the deaths in a Sept. 7 statement, raising questions about current protocol surrounding inmate surveillance and mental health, and why the sheriff's office did not recognize the deaths until they were reported on by the Enterprise and the Times.
"This is outrageous and a failure of the sacred trust in our Sheriff’s office," she said in the statement. "Let's be clear — any death of any inmate in the care and custody of the sheriff is unacceptable."
Whelan said while he believes the jail is a safe place for inmates, if elected, he plans to evaluate current facility practices and focus on training correctional officers in suicide prevention and detection.
“Over the course of my law enforcement career I have responded to countless cases of suicide, and every single one it’s incredibly tragic,” he said. “Every person at the county correctional facility is entrusted to our care. We are obligated to provide care, custody and control, and I take that very seriously. We will do everything under the sun to limit this.”
Contact Sarah Carlon at scarlon@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @sarcarlon.
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If you need help
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a certified listener, call 988.
Crisis Text Line is a texting service for emotional crisis support. To speak with a trained listener, text HELLO to 741741. It is free, available 24/7, and confidential.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can also the Bay Cove Crisis Hotline at 1-833-229-2683. For more information about suicide prevention and how you can help, visit https://www.suicideispreventable.net/.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Barnstable County Correctional Facility suicide under investigation
