Shannon Price, the ex-wife of the late actor Gary Coleman, recently spoke about the controversial circumstances of his death, claiming she had no choice but to take him off life support. Coleman, a popular TV star from the 1980s who died too young, suffered a brain bleed after a fall in May 2010. He was then placed in a medically induced coma. Price decided to remove him from life support just two days later.
To respond to ongoing rumors about her role in Coleman’s death, Price agreed to take a lie detector test for a TV special found by TooFab. Even though she has always said she is innocent and no charges were filed against her (with Coleman’s death officially ruled an accident), the polygraph results were not in her favor.
The lie detector test was administered by a former FBI agent, who asked Price if she had physically caused Coleman’s fall. While she denied it, the test showed she was being deceptive in her answers to these key questions. The examiner said Price was not completely truthful during the test and suggested there were more details about what led to Coleman’s fatal fall that she was not sharing. Based on the results, the examiner’s professional opinion was that the truth was not on Price’s side.
Gary Coleman’s ex-wife fails lie detector test after more details come out on Star’s death
The controversy grew after a recording of Price’s 911 call following Coleman’s fall was released. In the call, she reportedly refused to follow the operator’s instructions for helping him. Price later admitted she could have done more to assist at the time.
Price said that Coleman, who lived without kidneys, had gone into cardiac arrest, which she said was the actual cause of his death. She insisted his condition could not be reversed, saying doctors told her he likely would not live past the next day. Price maintained that she made the right decision, saying she talked to doctors and saw his condition for herself. She remembered specifically asking if his eyes were dilated and, after being told they were and seeing it herself, concluded that he was basically no longer there.
The ex-wife of 80s TV star Gary Coleman did NOT pass a lie detector test after being asked about the fatal fall that ended his life.
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) July 8, 2025
His death has been ruled an accident.
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One major issue with Price’s decision was that she and Coleman had quietly divorced before his death, something the hospital staff did not know at the time. Even though they were divorced, Price showed the hospital a document naming her as the person in charge of Coleman’s medical decisions, giving her the power to make choices about his end-of-life care. The couple had married in August 2007 but divorced the next year. Price said the divorce was her idea, but claimed Coleman did not want it.
She said they still lived together, with her things staying in the house, suggesting they were still a couple despite the legal split. Price said she had two regrets: divorcing Coleman and not being able to save his life.
