Last week, a Georgia family thought they might lose their home after their mom was fatally shot outside a bank. Now, thanks to celebrity Tyler Perry, they will keep their home and more.
Police said Tynesha Evans’ boyfriend, Othniel Inniss, shot and killed her at a bank in Alpharetta, Georgia, just north of Atlanta. The Evans family had been struggling financially, so Inniss asked Evans to meet him at the bank to try to acquire money for rent, but, according to police, ended up killing the mother of four.
Inniss has been charged with murder and aggravated assault with a firearm and has not been granted bond, police said. CNN has reached out to his attorney for comment.
In the weeks after their mother’s death, Evans’ daughters feared eviction because they were unable to pay the $3,200 owed in rent.
After hearing their story, Perry – a director, writer and actor known for the “Madea” films and other films and television shows and who has a home in Atlanta – called and offered to help.
“It was a call I wasn’t even going to answer. I said, ‘Well, let me answer it to see who it is.’ I answered and the person on the other end said, ‘This is Tyler.’ I said, ‘Who?’ He said, ‘This is Tyler.’ I said, ‘Tyler who?’ and he said, ‘Tyler Perry.’ At that point, I just broke down crying,” Evans’ daughter Audrey Turner told CNN affiliate WSB-TV.
Perry’s publicist confirmed the call and his act of kindness.
Perry did not just cover rent, he paid for their mother’s funeral in Atlanta as well flying their mother’s body back to her home state of Wisconsin for a second funeral. Then he offered to cover tuition for Evans’ daughter Sharadiant Turner, who is a freshman at Spelman College in Atlanta.
“I’m going to do what she wanted me to do. She started me on math and now I’m going to get to graduate with a mathematics degree from Spelman College without debt. It means everything,” Sharadiant Turner said.
The siblings told WSB-TV that Perry’s kindness is something they will never forget.
“This is amazing. We can’t thank him enough,” Sharadiant Turner told the station.
