RALEIGH -- A Tarboro man, who the SBI arrested on June 12, was found dead in his jail cell on June 17 from an apparent suicide.

Jailers and Edgecombe County Sheriff deputies tried to revive Thomas Arleon Kinsley, 61, of Tarboro, but Emergency Medical Services found no signs of life when they arrived at the detention center.

Kinsley was initially arrested on one count of indecent liberties with a minor and placed on a $1 million secured bond. He was also charged with five counts of second degree sexual exploitation of a minor and given an additional $5 million bond on June 14. The arrest of Kinsley was the result of a joint investigation between the Tarboro Police Department and the SBI.

The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office requested full assistance from the SBI for the death-in-custody case. Kinsley had been on suicide watch for several days.  After an interview with a psychiatrist, Kinsley was placed in a single cell due to the nature of his charges. A jailer making rounds discovered Kinsley with a sheet around his neck.

The SBI investigation is continuing.

###