Photo by TMZ
Tina Turner’s oldest son, Craig Turner, died by suicide Tuesday afternoon. He was 59 years old and worked as a California real estate agent.
My deepest condolences to #TinaTurner and her family.
Her eldest son, Craig Raymond Turner, sadly committed suicide today. pic.twitter.com/Cfj16MGR1d
— Randolph Bush (@RandolphBush) July 4, 2018
According to People, he was pronounced dead at 12:38p on Tuesday. He was found severely injured in his Studio City, California home after suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Craig is Tina’s oldest son, whom she had with saxophonist Raymond Hill, of Ike Turner’s band Kings of Rhythm, at 18 years old. Craig became a ‘Turner’ once Ike adopted him, shortly after Ike and Tina were married in 1962.
Unfortunately, Tina and Ike’s tumultuous relationship impacted Craig greatly growing up. As documented in What’s Love Got To Do With It and her new musical Tina, Ike’s abuse reached dangerous levels and Craig saw the black eyes and bruises firsthand.
Tina shared with Oprah, in 2005, that Craig ‘was a very emotional kid.’
“One day when Ike was fighting me, Craig knocked on the door and said, ‘Mother, are you all right?’ I thought, ‘Oh, please, don’t beat me at home.’ I didn’t want my children to hear,” said Tina about a particularly violent episode.