UPDATED 2/28/20, 10:21 p.m. ET: Dr. Michael Baden has reportedly released the autopsy results on Gavin Porter, who was found dead Tuesday while serving time at a Louisiana prison.
TMZ reports Baden determined there was no foul play in the case, essentially confirm the reports that Porter died by suicide. The private pathologist was hired by Tyler Perry's family to investigate the death, after they became suspicious about the reported circumstances. According to the outlet, Baden is "98 percent sure there was no foul play in Porter's death."
UPDATED 2/27/20, 7:35 p.m. ET: Tyler Perry took to Instagram to release a statement regarding the death of his 26-year-old nephew, Gavin Porter. Perry and his family, as previously reported, are suspicious about the circumstances of Porter's death.
The filmmaker has hired Dr. Michael Baden to conduct a second autopsy.
"There is an active investigation at the prison's request," a rep for Union Parish Sheriff's Office told TMZ. "We are currently awaiting the results of an autopsy. The initial investigation did not suspect foul play. We are also conducting an investigation into the fight which occurred earlier and Porter's involvement in that incident."
See original story below.
TMZ reports Tyler Perry's nephew Gavin Porter died on Tuesday by hanging himself while in solitary confinement. Porter was 26.
Porter, who was serving a 20-year sentence at the Union Parish Detention Center in Farmerville, Louisiana, was placed in solitary on Saturday night after he allegedly got into a fight that involved several inmates this past weekend, according to the News Star. Guards said that they checked on him at 6 p.m. Tuesday, and Porter appeared to be fine. A little more than two hours later, they checked on him again, and found him with a bedsheet wrapped around his neck.
Porter's immediate family, which includes his mother, who is Perry's sister, were told that there was no suspicious activity that contributed to his death. However, they have their doubts. An investigation is already underway with Porter's body being sent to Arkansas for an autopsy.
Porter was charged in October 2016 with second-degree murder for fatally shooting his biological father in front of his mother after an argument got out of hand. Perry has yet to comment on his nephew's death.
