Storage Wars star Darrell Sheets’ cause of death has been revealed amid allegations that he was cyberbullied in the final days of his life.
The Mohave County Medical Examiner’s Office in Arizona ruled Sheets’ death a suicide, Us Weekly confirms. The full autopsy report has yet to be released.
Us confirmed with the Lake Havasu City Police Department on April 22 that officers opened a criminal investigation into Sheets’ death. Officers discovered the reality star’s body at an Arizona residence earlier that day after receiving a distress call.
“The male was pronounced deceased on scene, and the Lake Havasu City Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit was notified and responded to the scene to assume the investigation,” a Lake Havasu City Police Department spokesperson said.
His body was turned over to the Mohave County Medical Examiner for further investigation.
While Sheets — known as “The Gambler” on Storage Wars — was photographed having a friendly meeting with fans hours before his death, allegations that he was tormented by cyberbullying have since emerged. One month before his death, Sheets claimed he’d been “hacked by a very evil person” in distressing Facebook posts.
Darrell Sheets on “Storage Wars.” Courtesy YouTube / A and E
[The posts] are not done by me, they are being done by … very evil people,” he wrote on March 6. “I’m not gay, I have made no posts about any children’s arcade owner, etc. I’m extremely sorry and sick over this.”
On March 11, Sheets alleged that a “cyberbully stalker” had also targeted others in the local Lake Havasu community.
“He has been going after other small businesses in town and harassing them, using my name,” Sheets alleged. “It is not me! He has extorted money from many people in this town acting like a handyman. This has been going on for three years with him, and the things he says are very damaging. This is a felony called cyberbullying.”
Sheets previously wrote about suffering from depression several years before he took his life.
His Storage Wars costar Rene Nezhoda revealed to TMZ on April 22 that Sheets “had a guy really tormenting him lately on cyberbullying.”
“Just cause you watch us on television doesn’t mean you know us … it doesn’t mean you know what we’re about. Also it doesn’t entitle you to bully somebody,” Nezhoda, 49, alleged. “You shouldn’t cyberbully at all.”
Storage Wars stars Laura and Dan Dotson have claimed that Darrell Sheets feared for his life due to alleged cyberbullying before his death. “His family told us that this has been happening for three years,” Laura, 57, exclusively tells Us Weekly. “[It happens to] even strong men that you think aren’t gonna get their feelings […]
He went on, “As a matter of fact. If you have somebody in your life that thinks its fun to cyberbully other people, maybe a celebrity athlete or a little girl or school or schoolmate, slap [them] in the back of the head. Make them become a better human being, because you never know what demons somebody faces and what they go through and what you might push them through.”
Nezhoda later shared with Us that Sheets “withdrew from social media” in the final weeks of his life due to the bullying.
“He was impersonating him with phone calls, messages, emails, websites … He flat out said, ‘I’m gonna ruin you.’ I mean, all you have to do is go to Darrell’s last few messages on Facebook,” the Storage Wars star noted.
Nezhoda continued, “He even said, I think on March 9, ‘Hey guys, I’m happy. Everything is great — if anything happens to me, look at these people. These are the people.’ And then he posted a bunch of messages [about it]. And a month later we find him dead … I am 50/50, if he even did that [to himself]. I don’t know.”
A Lake Havasu City Police Department rep confirmed to Us on April 23 that its investigators were “aware of the cyberbullying accusations involved in this incident and these claims are a part of the active investigation.”
Tributes from Storage Wars network A&E and members of the cast poured in following Sheet’s death.
“We are saddened by the passing of a beloved member of our Storage Wars family, Darrell ‘The Gambler’ Sheets. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time,” an A&E spokesperson said.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
