Storage Wars’ Darrell Sheets struggled ahead of suicide, police say

Storage Wars star Darrell Sheets had been dealing with multiple issues ahead of his tragic suicide less than three months ago, police said.

Officials with the Lake Havasu City Police Department said in a report reviewed by Us Weekly that a review of the late reality star’s phone indicated that Sheets, 67, had been in distress in the weeks before he took his own life.

Police said that ‘while reviewing Darrell’s cell phone, it was clear that he was struggling with numerous things’ before his tragic death as result of a self-inflicted gunsH๏τ wound at his Arizona home on April 22, 2026.

Authorities said that ‘this case will be closed out as it was ruled a suicide by the medical examiner, and there is no evidence or information to suggest the death was due to anything other than what was listed in the medical examiner report. Nothing further.’

Sheets in text messages complained about ongoing insomnia he had been dealing with, sending an image of ZZZquil sleep medication to an unnamed party in March, writing, ‘Bro, I need sleep so bad.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Lake Havasu City Police Department for further information on the story. 

Storage Wars star Darrell Sheets, 67, had been dealing with multiple issues ahead of his tragic suicide less than three months ago, police said 

In another message he sent in the ensuing days, Sheets said that he had quit taking a medication (the name of which was redacted by authorities) ‘cold turkey.’

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Sheets wrote, according to the outlet, ‘I knew I had to quit or it would of been a bigger problem. Still doing the paranoid … thing but I’m working on it very hard.

‘It’s a process, and I’m trying to free up my life of stuff again. Another slow process.’

A number of specific details had been redacted by authorities in the report, according to the outlet.  

It’s the latest in a series of chilling new details which have emerged amid the release of bodycam footage and 911 audio from the fatal incident. 

Sheets’ distraught girlfriend, whose idenтιтy has not yet been made public, reported his death to Lake Havasu City authorities.

‘I think he just killed himself … I just heard a gun go off,’ Sheets’ girlfriend could be heard saying in the 911 call, which was obtained by TMZ on July 9.

When asked if she had seen anything, the woman said she ‘didn’t want to look.’

After the 911 operator encouraged her to breathe, Sheets’ girlfriend remarked that she ‘[couldn’t] believe’ what had occurred before indicating that Sheets was in his home office while she was positioned in the garage.

Sheets in text messages complained about ongoing insomnia he had been dealing with, sending an image of ZZZquil sleep medication to an unnamed party in March, writing, ‘Bro, I need sleep so bad’; seen in 2010 

Sheets’ girlfriend said that the reality TV star had not previously threatened to take his own life.

Darrell Sheets tortured final days: Storage Wars star’s agony over cyberbullying before sudden death

She added that Sheets had been ‘frustrated’ by a ‘lack of sleep’ and family troubles, describing the situation as ‘terrible, terrible s***.’

He told his girlfriend to ‘go back to bed’ before she heard the sound of a gunsH๏τ, the report stated. 

At that point, Sheets’ girlfriend told the operator that she had seen flashing lights on the horizon as first responders arrived to the scene on April 22.

In bodycam footage TMZ obtained, first responders revealed that Sheets still had the gun he used in his hand when they discovered his body.

First responders explained that they were cautious about approaching Sheets due to the potential of rigor mortis causing the late star’s finger to touch the trigger of the firearm. 

One of the first responders recognized Sheets from his career on TV, noting his fame from Storage Wars. The officer explained how Sheets and his son were the people who would purchase the storage units seen on the program. 

According to an incident report, Sheets left a suicide note which referenced cyberbullying he said he had been dealing with ahead of his tragic death, according to the authorities.

It read, ‘I could not take anymore the Facebook bullying, f*** you [redacted].’

The reality star was seen in 2013 in NYC at an A&E event  

Prosecutors have pᴀssed on filing charges related to the alleged bullying, police said in the report reviewed by TMZ, as the Lake Havasu City Attorney’s Office said the case was stymied in the wake of Sheets’ death because he could not provide further information about his claims.  

Sheets appeared on a total of 163 Storage Wars episodes on A&E from 2010 to 2023.

A bio on the show’s website touted his business skills, ‘Boasting a big game, Darrell is quick to tell you about the four Picᴀssos and the world’s most lucrative comic book collection that he has scored through storage auctions.’

Sheets suffered a heart attack in 2019, and he went on to run a shop called Havasu Show Me Your Junk in Arizona in subsequent years.

He had been candid about his past battles with depression, calling it ‘the Devil’s way of attacking us’ in a powerful Instagram post from June 2018.

‘It knows no mercy, it takes our smiles it comes and goes, it ruins our relationships, it takes away our happiness, it leads to suicide in some cases, it destroys all thoughts of positivity, it is a 24/7 battle and allows no rest for the suffering [sic],’ Sheets wrote. ‘It’s a very real deal.’

The TV personality advised his followers, ‘So please next time someone tells you they have Depression, be kind and know that they spend every minute they have breathing, suffering!!!’ 

If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.