Tyler Perry’s Nephew Gavin, 26, Found Dead

Union Parish Sheriff’s Office confirmed Tyler Perry‘s 26-year-old nephew, Gavin Porter, was found dead in his Louisiana jail cell on February 25. “We can confirm the identity of Gavin Porter and we are awaiting the results of the autopsy,” the office said in a statement. “There is no initial investigation and there didn’t appear to be any type of trauma to the body. It did appear to be a hanging.” Gavin’s mother (who is one of the Madea filmmaker’s sisters) was reportedly told by prison officials that Gavin hanged himself with a bedsheet while in solitary confinement.

Gavin was reportedly in solitary confinement after getting into a fight with another inmate over the weekend of February 22, according to the outlet, and was alive around 6:00pm the night of his death when guards checked on him. The guards reportedly came back to Gavin’s cell at 8:00pm the same night, where they then discovered him dead. Tyler’s nephew was incarcerated at the prison near St. Helena Parish, Louisiana after being convicted of manslaughter for shooting and killing his father, Gary Wayne Porter, at the home they shared in 2016. The father and son, then 54 and 22, respectively, had gotten into a fight before the shooting, according to the St. Helena Parish Sheriff’s Office. Gavin pleaded no contest to manslaughter, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.