Content warning: This story discusses suicide.
Darrell Sheets, the beloved star of A&E's Storage Wars, died by suicide on April 22 at age 67. In the weeks before his death, he had been open about the relentless cyberbullying he faced, a struggle his costar Laura Dotson says went deeper than most knew.
"His family told us that this has been happening for three years," Dotson told Us Weekly on April 24. "Even strong men that you think aren't gonna get their feelings hurt — cyberbullying is a real thing. This made him feel less than, and it really obviously bothered him."
Dotson revealed Sheets was "terrified for his life and for the people around him. He didn't know why he was being targeted."
In March, Sheets took to Facebook to address a malicious rumor spread by a hacker. "I have been hacked by a very evil person," he wrote on March 9. "I'm not gay, I have made no post about any children's arcade owner, etc. I'm extremely sorry and sick over this — these people have ruined me."
He added that the harassment escalated offline: "People are showing up to my work and wanting to harm me."
Sheets was found dead at a home in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., on April 22. Police responded to a report around 2 a.m. and pronounced him dead at the scene. The case remains under investigation, but authorities believe he died by suicide.
Dotson remembered Sheets as "a wonderful, loving person who believed in God."
Beyond storage auctions, Sheets loved music and family. He and his partner, Kimber Naisbitt Pino, blended their families — he had two children, she had two, and together they had four grandchildren. "Kimber is the love of my life," he said in his Fox Business bio.
If you or someone you know needs help, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741.