Glee Alum Mark Salling Dead of Suspected Suicide After Child Porn Conviction

Mark Salling, best known for his role as Noah Puckerman on Glee, is dead from an apparent suicide after being convicted on child pornography charges. TMZ reports that Salling’s death has been confirmed by law enforcement, while Salling’s lawyer also confirmed the report to TV Line. He was thirty-five.

“I can confirm that Mark Salling passed away early this morning,” Salling’s lawyer said. “Mark was a gentle and loving person, a person of great creativity, who was doing his best to atone for some serious mistakes and errors of judgment. He is survived by his mother and father, and his brother. The Salling family appreciates the support they have been receiving and asks for their privacy to be respected.”

Law enformcent told TMZ that police received a call do do a welfare check on Salling after a family member showed up early Tuesday morning to report him as a missing person. Salling was found near a riverbed in Sunland, hanging from a tree. Homicide detectives are investigating, but all signs point to suicide.

The actor struck a plea deal in October after police found nearly 50,000 images of child pornography and child erotica on his computer. He was awaiting sentencing, and was expected to get four to seven years in prison as opposed to the twenty that he would have been facing.

Salling reportedly attempted suicide back in August, though his lawyer denied the reports at that time.

On behalf of 411, our condolences to Salling’s family and friends.