Media mogul Tyler Perry is once again helping the community by lending a hand—and his wallet. Back in December, Perry made dozens of families dreams come true when he paid off $434,000 worth of lawaway bills at two Atlanta Walmart stores. Now, Mr. Madea is footing the bills for a grieving family who recently lost a loved one who was murdered in Georgia.
Tynesha Evans, 45, was a mother of four who was shot and killed in Alpharetta. Evans was murdered in the parking lot fs a Wells Fargo Bank allegedly by her boyfriend, Othnel Inniss. According to the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety's Facebook page, police responded to a call about a shooting and found Evan on the ground and Inniss still at the scene. An armed witness held Inniss until police arrived and were able to arrest the suspect and take him into custody.
Tynesha Evans was transported to North Fulton Regional Hospital where she passed away. Othnel Inniss was taken to our headquarters and questioned by our detectives. He has been charged with Murder and Aggravated Assault with a Firearm.
The victim and the suspect were in an on-again, off-again relationship that sadly ended in senseless violence during an argument. Our thoughts are with the victim’s family and friends during this extremely difficult time.
In regards to the armed citizen who intervened until we arrived, we cannot express enough the appreciation we have for the partnership we have with our community. Thank you to everyone else for respecting our crime scene, being patient waiting on the details, and all the messages of support you have for us.
Upon hearing the tragic news, Perry wanted to help Evans' children, so he paid their rent so that they wouldn't be evicted from their home. Perry will cover Evans' funeral, the children's housing expenses, and he will make sure that Evans will also have a second funeral in her hometown in Wisconsin. He's also covering the college tuition of Evans' 18-year-old daughter, Sharadiant Turner.
Audrey Turner, one of Evans' children, spoke to WSB-TV about receiving a call from Perry. "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, 'Tyler who?' and he said, 'Tyler Perry.' At that point, I just broke down crying."
"I'm going to do what she wanted me to do," Sharadiant told WSB-TV. "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."
Shakemia Turner, Evans' 14-year-old daughter, thinks of Perry as "an angel on earth."