Celebs
'Pose' Star Ryan Jamaal Swain Mourns Sister Killed in Alabama

The actor says his sibling had a “heart of gold.”
July 30 2020 10:23 AM EST
July 30 2020 7:00 AM EST
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The actor says his sibling had a “heart of gold.”
The sister of Pose star Ryan Jamaal Swain was fatally shot in Birmingham, Alabama, Tuesday. Raven Lynette Swain, 24, was found seated in the driver's seat of a parked car suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and pronounced dead at the scene. Saying his "heart is broken," Swain mourned her loss and promised justice in a moving Instagram post.
"The unimaginable happened last night, my heart, little sister, my ride or die, my partner in life took her last breath," the grieving Swain wrote in a heartfelt post.
Police were called to Underwood Park in the Southside district of Birmingham just after 7:00 p.m. Tuesday after receiving reports of gunshots and a person seen running with a handgun in the area. Once there, police found a car in the bushes near the park's entrance with Swain unresponsive in the driver's seat. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Swain plays Damon Richards-Evangelista on the FX show Pose which revolves around queer and trans folks in New York City during the 1980s and '90s. The show, and lead Billy Porter, were recently nominated for multiple Emmys.
The heartbroken star remembered his younger sister as "full of laughter" and a "beautiful soul taken too soon."
"We will praise every moment of life that we were blessed to share with her," Swain wrote. "We will seek justice and for the authorities to find who is responsible for this unspeakable act of violence."
Swain asked that the public respect his family's privacy as they "try to deal with this tragic loss of live" and closed his post with a message to his sister.
"Know that your big brother and family will always honor you," Swain wrote. "We will honor you by how we love. We will honor you by how we live. We will honor you with justice. We will forever say your name. Raven Lynette Swain."
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