Sullivan, N.Y. — The family of a man who died by suicide after a 41-hour police standoff with deputies in Madison County said they tried to talk him into coming out of the house, but he was too scared and felt trapped.
During the almost two-day standoff with police, Tina McNulty and her sister Wendy Dutcher said they stood at the road closure on Route 5 begging their cousin on the phone to come out of his apartment safely.
Their cousin, Michael J. Carpenter, 45, from Chittenango, was experiencing a mental health crisis at the time and died by an apparent suicide Wednesday morning, county officials said.
McNulty and Dutcher said their cousin has struggled with his mental health for years. He was known to police from when he had previous psychotic episodes, they said.
Standoff started with an eviction notice
Carpenter was served an eviction around 10 a.m. Monday at his apartment at 2565 Route 5 E. in the town of Sullivan by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, according to Samantha Field, a spokesperson for Madison County.
Carpenter fired shots at the deputies inside the apartment, so officers backed out and created a perimeter around the house, Field said. Carpenter barricaded himself inside the apartment, she said.
Carpenter told his cousins during one phone call that the police had kicked in the bottom door to go up the stairs and serve him with his eviction.
County officials said deputies and crisis mental health staff tried to resolve the situation peacefully.
Police threw tear gas into the home in hopes of getting him out, according to his cousins, who were close to him and lived nearby their whole life. But they said Carpenter had a gas mask in the house because he is a survivalist and prepper.
Dutcher said Carpenter called her in a panic Monday during the standoff because he was afraid the tear gas would hurt his cat.
Carpenter loved his cat named Stella, his cousins said. He took good care of her and got scared when the cat became unconscious for a while, Dutcher said. The cat is now safe with her.
Carpenter was living inside with no heat, water or power for about two days, his cousins said.
McNulty got a call from her cousin two times during the standoff. Waiting in her car just down the road, she pleaded with him to come out of the house.
She remembers he said he couldn’t come out because he felt like the police were there to kill him. McNulty tried to calm him down and told him she loved him and would walk him out if that would help him.
McNulty said she told him “please, listen to me.” Right after, McNulty said he loved her and had to go. That was the last phone call she had with him.
Police found him dead inside the home around 1:20 a.m. Wednesday with what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Field said.
The investigation is still ongoing at this time, according to Field. Police are not releasing any other details at this time.
The state Attorney General’s Office was notified of Carpenter’s death and responded to the scene, she said.
Since 2021, the AG’s office has been required to investigate all police-involved deaths.
Michael J. Carpenter, 45, of Sullivan, was experiencing a mental health crisis when he had a 41-hour standoff with deputies this week at this home. He died by an apparent suicide on April 9, 2025.Wendy Dutcher
Carpenter grew up in Perryville, a small hamlet in Madison County about a mile from his cousins, they said. He attended Chittenango High School.
He was a very intelligent guy, Dutcher said.
He loved his cat, flying drones and RC cars. He also loved flying planes and was taught how to do so from his father who was a hobby pilot.
Recently, he spent most of his free time working on the apartment he was being evicted from, Dutcher said. He renovated the floors, painted the walls and made a garden outside in the backyard, she said.
She believes all the work he did on the house made it harder for him to leave. He had been living there for five years.
“He was always happy, loving and considerate,” McNulty said. “To see it end like this is really a travesty.”
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