Todd Nelson, 42, apparently shot himself after running afoul of the law over a dog

Eminem’s uncle, said to have been a father figure to the rap star, has committed suicide, according to reports.

Todd Nelson, 42, shot himself in his Michigan backyard and his son discovered his body, according to SOHH, a New Jersey-based hip-hop news service. It is being reported that Nelson shot himself.

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There has been no comment from Eminem, 32, or his Interscope Records regarding the tragedy.

The BBC reports that Betty Kresin, the grandmother of Eminem (real name: Marshall Mathers III), said that Nelson was arrested by police after trying to run over his neighbor’s dog and that he feared being jailed.

“We were having trouble raising $4,000 for an attorney, and I said ‘Why don’t you call Marshall?'” Kresin is quoted as saying. “He said ‘Mom, I don’t want to ask him for nothing, he’ll just think that I want his money.'”

Nelson is credited with raising the future rapper after Eminem’s father deserted the family, though Nelson and Eminem later fell out over the sale of a family house, say reports.

Says Kresin: “Oh he loved Marshall, oh my God, he was his uncle, and when he was little they played together and he helped watch him.”

SOHH reports that Nelson had been upset over a rottweiler owned by the local sheriff. In recent days, the dog had allegedly scratched Nelson’s car and scared his girlfriend’s son, though authorities reputedly took no action.