COUNTY PER SE SMART ENOS GULF COAST NEWS. >> FILLING HIS OWN BROTHER HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS IN PRISON THIS MORNING. JOHN TOLBERT WAS FOUND GUILTY OF KILLING HIS OLDER BROTHER FRANCIS AT HIS HOME IN NORTHWEST CAPE CORAL. POLICE FOUND FRANCIS DEAD WITH A GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE BACK OF HIS HEAD LAST YEAR
Man sentenced to 30 years in prison for murdering his brother in Cape Coral
Updated: 1:19 PM EDT Oct 29, 2025
A man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for second-degree murder after he was adjudicated guilty Wednesday morning for shooting and killing his brother in Cape Coral.John William Tolbert, 59, shot and killed his brother, Francis G. Tolbert, on April 16, 2024. The Cape Coral Police Department responded to a disturbance and found Francis Tolbert bleeding from the back of his head, and he died at the scene with a spent shell casing near his body. This was after Tolbert came to Cape Coral from New Mexico unannounced, on or around April 6, and stayed with his brother. Tolbert was estranged from his family for years, according to the State Attorney’s Office.After shooting and killing his brother, Tolbert fled to Pennsylvania, but he was later arrested in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania State Troopers pulled him over on April 30 for a traffic infraction at the New Stanton Travel Plaza in Westmoreland County, according to Pennsylvania State Police.Tolbert was arrested on the original warrant from Cape Coral for manslaughter with a weapon. He was then transferred to the Lee County Jail and booked in September 2024.Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner, of the State Attorney’s Office Homicide Unit, prosecuted the case. DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.
CAPE CORAL, Fla. —
A man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for second-degree murder after he was adjudicated guilty Wednesday morning for shooting and killing his brother in Cape Coral.
John William Tolbert, 59, shot and killed his brother, Francis G. Tolbert, on April 16, 2024. The Cape Coral Police Department responded to a disturbance and found Francis Tolbert bleeding from the back of his head, and he died at the scene with a spent shell casing near his body.
This was after Tolbert came to Cape Coral from New Mexico unannounced, on or around April 6, and stayed with his brother. Tolbert was estranged from his family for years, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
After shooting and killing his brother, Tolbert fled to Pennsylvania, but he was later arrested in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania State Troopers pulled him over on April 30 for a traffic infraction at the New Stanton Travel Plaza in Westmoreland County, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Tolbert was arrested on the original warrant from Cape Coral for manslaughter with a weapon. He was then transferred to the Lee County Jail and booked in September 2024.
Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner, of the State Attorney’s Office Homicide Unit, prosecuted the case.
DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.