Nick Cave's Son Jethro Has Died Aged 31

Australian singer Nick Cave has announced the death of his 31-year-old son Jethro.

Cave announced the news in statement released today (9 May), saying: "With much sadness, I can confirm that my son, Jethro, has passed away. We would be grateful for family privacy at this time."

The father, who is 64, has not revealed a cause of death at this time.

Jethro's death comes after Cave and his wife, Susie, lost their teenage son Arthur when he fell off a cliff seven years ago.

The 31-year-old was born in 1991 to his mother, a model based in Melbourne, who was in a relationship with Cave at the time. He went on to become a model himself and used his father's name to help drive his career, though Jethro has previously said he didn't meet Cave until he was seven years old.

Jethro also had some acting jobs over the years, including roles in the 2007 film Corroboree and 2011’s My Little Princess. Last month, he was jailed after admitting to attacking his mother at her home. A representative for Jethro said he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, which had affected his judgement.

He was released on bail from Melbourne Remand Centre last Thursday (5 May).

Cave is known for his music and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, with a documentary about his career titled This Much I Know To Be True set to be released on 11 May.

Following the death of his other son, Arthur, in 2015, Cave revealed he wrote 'a bunch of songs' but ended up getting rid of them as he felt they were a 'betrayal of what we were all going through at the time or worse, a betrayal of Arthur himself'.

The songs were later found by filmmaker Andrew Dominik and used some of them for voiceover in the film One More Time with Feeling.

Members of the public have been paying tribute to the Cave family in the wake of Cave's announcement, with one fan writing: "Nick Cave's son Jethro has passed away. I can't conceive of a person who maintains such faith in the world in the face of such personal tragedies. How terribly sad."

Another Twitter user wrote: "Nick Cave has just shared that his son Jethro has died. I am absolutely heartbroken for that family."

As well as Jethro and Arthur, Cave is father to sons Earl and Luke.

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677