Tyler Perry’s Nephew Dies By Hanging Self In Prison: Report

Tyler Perry’s nephew, Gavin Porter, reportedly died by suicide in his prison cell this week after hanging himself with a bed sheet, but Gavin’s family is not buying the alleged circumstances of his death. According to TMZ, 26-year-old Gavin, whose mother is the sister of the famed filmmaker, was found dead in his cell at a prison facility near St. Helena Parish in Louisiana on Tuesday evening. Prison officials informed Gavin’s family that he had hung himself with a bedsheet while he was being kept in solitary confinement.

Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Netflix

According to these officials, Gavin was placed in solitary confinement after getting into a fight with another inmate over the weekend. Prison guards went to check on Gavin at around 6:00pm on Tuesday night and found nothing of concern, but when they later returned at 8:00pm, they found that he was dead. Gavin’s family was told that there was no “foul play” involved in how he died, but according to TMZ‘s sources, the family is not sold. Back in 2016, Gavin was arrested for shooting and killing his biological father in front of his mother. He pled no contest to manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.