On Wednesday, it was reported that Tyler Perry’s 26-year-old nephew, Gavin Porter, was found dead in his cell in a Louisiana prison. Porter was serving a 20-year sentence for having murdered his father in 2016 in front of his mother, Melva Porter, who is Tyler Perry’s sister. Prison officials informed the family that Ported had committed suicide by hanging himself with his bed sheets. Tyler Perry wished to validate the truth of these claims by ordering another autopsy to be conducted on his nephew by a pathologist he selected himself.  “I want to be clear that we are not a family of conspiracy theorists and want to believe that there was no foul play just as the sheriff said publicly,” the famous filmmaker told TMZ. 

He hired well-known pathologist, Dr. Michael Baden, who was involved in investigating the cases of John F. Kennedy, O.J. Simpson and Jeffrey Epstein. TMZ has now reported the results of this second autopsy and they point to Porter’s death being a suicide. Baden is supposedly 98% sure that there was no foul play involved in the inmate’s death. “The answers don’t take away grief, but it surely gives room for grieving to take its course,” Tyler said in regards to these findings. 

David Livingston/Getty Images

Earlier this week, Tyler also expressed that he had faith in the possibility of Porter’s redemption had his life not been cut short. “Call me naive, but it was my hope that after serving his time, and really reflecting and showing much remorse and asking God for forgiveness, that he would have been able to come to work for me, joining all the other former inmates who work for me and turn his life around just as they have. But that day will never come.”

Tyler Perry is getting to the bottom of his nephew’s suspicious death by ordering another autopsy on the young man, after prison officials told his family that he had committed suicide behind bars. On Wednesday, TMZ reported that Gavin Porter, the son of Tyler’s sister, Melva Porter, had been found dead in his cell at a prison facility near St. Helena Parish in Louisiana around 8:00pm on Tuesday night. Gavin was serving 20 years for shooting and killing his father in front of Melva back in 2016. Prison officials informed Melva and the rest of Gavin’s family that he had committed suicide by hanging himself from his bedsheets. According to TMZ, Gavin’s family is suspicious about the alleged circumstances of his death, and are not entirely certain there was no foul play involved. After all, Gavin had been placed in solitary confinement after getting in a fight with another inmate over the weekend and had been checked on by prison guards only two hours before he was found dead.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Now, the famed filmmaker has hired a well-known pathologist, Dr. Michael Baden, to perform a second autopsy on Gavin. Dr. Baden has been involved in plenty of famous cases, including  John F. Kennedy, O.J. Simpson, and Jeffrey Epstein. “I want to be clear that we are not a family of conspiracy theorists and want to believe that there was no foul play just as the sheriff said publicly,” Tyler stated. In regards to his 26-year-old nephew’s life coming to end so soon, Tyler told TMZ, “Call me naive, but it was my hope that after serving his time, and really reflecting and showing much remorse and asking God for forgiveness, that he would have been able to come to work for me, joining all the other former inmates who work for me and turn his life around just as they have. But that day will never come.”