(April 17, 2024) — Chief Anthony Sizemore hosted a news conference discussing a suspicious death investigation, domestic in nature, that occurred yesterday, April 16, at 1:44 PM. Officers working for the Cape Coral Police Department responded to a residence in Northwest Cape Coral for reports of a patient in cardiac arrest.
When officers arrived at the home with Lee County EMS, they found a very faint pulse. The Victim, identified as Francis G. Tolbert (DOB 10/5/1952), was bleeding from the back of his head from unknown causes at that point. Soon after, the patient was declared deceased.
While collecting information at the residence, officers found a shell casing near the Victim leading them to believe the Victim’s injuries were not due to a medical event.
Our Violent Crimes Detectives immediately launched an investigation due to the circumstances suggesting foul play. Our investigation revealed one brother, later identified as John William Tolbert (DOB 12/08/1965), was in the house with Francis Tolbert and suddenly left the scene. John Tolbert is a person of interest.  We believe he fled the area. There was no gun found at the residence.
This morning, the medical examiner’s office completed an autopsy and preliminary reports reveal that Francis Tolbert has a bullet fragment in his head. We do not believe it was self-inflicted.
We give our sincerest condolences to the victim’s family. Our work will not stop until the case is solved. If you have information, please call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS.
###