The 'Madea' film series star and director confirms that he's hired pathologist Dr. Michael Baden to further investigate the death of his nephew Gavin Porter in prison.

• Feb 28, 2020

AceShowbiz - Tyler Perry is taking matters into his own hands to find answers to his nephew's death. The 50-year-old actor/director/writer has hired a famed forensic pathologist to conduct a second autopsy on his nephew Gavin Porter, who reportedly committed suicide in prison.

Gavin, 26, was serving 20 years in prison for shooting and killing his dad in front of his mom, who's Tyler's sister, in 2016. While initial investigation suggested he took his own life by hanging himself in his cell on Tuesday night, February 25, his family isn't convinced that he committed suicide.

On Thursday, February 27, Tyler took to his Instagram page to announce that he has taken action to determine if his nephew's death was a murder or suicide. "Three days ago, I got the horrible news that he allegedly committed suicide in prison," he said of his nephew. "I say allegedly because, unfortunately, our criminal justice system and prisons have been notorious for cover ups and/or getting it wrong."

"With that in mind I have hired Dr. Michael Baden to do a second autopsy, and we are expecting the results soon," he confirmed. "I want to be clear that we are not a family of conspiracy theorists, and we want to believe that there was no foul play, just as the sheriff has stated publicly."

A rep from the Union Parish Sheriff's Office has responded to Tyler's request for second autopsy, saying in a statement to TMZ, "There is an active investigation at the prison's request. 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."

The statement continues, "We respect the family's right to request another autopsy to be done. This is not an unusual request. We are continuing our investigation and awaiting autopsy results."

Gavin was reportedly placed in solitary confinement after fighting with another inmate over the weekend before his death, which led to the family's suspicion.