“Storage Wars” star Rene Nejoda believes cyberbullying may have played a role in castmate Darrell Sheets’ tragic suicide.
“He had been really, really tormented and cyberbullied by this guy lately,” Nejoda said in an Instagram video shared Wednesday, shortly after news of Sheets’ death at age 67 was announced.
“Darrell has posted a lot about a man who was cyberbullying and tormenting him. I sincerely hope (law enforcement) investigates that man, but that’s not a free pass,” he added.
“We are aware of these cyberbullying allegations and this is part of an active investigation,” Sergeant Kyle Ridgway, a spokesperson for the Lake Havasu, Arizona, Police Department, told Page Six on Wednesday.
“Guys, just because you see us on TV doesn’t mean you know us,” Nejoda told her followers in a video. “That doesn’t mean you know about us.”
The reality star added in a message to fans that there is no right for anyone to bully anyone.
“The truth is, if you know someone who thinks it’s wrong to cyberbully others…slap them in the back of the head,” he said.
“Help them be better people, because you never know what demons a person will face and what they’ll go through and how you’ll put them through it,” he continued, urging fans to “be better.”
Elsewhere in the video, Nejoda spoke about his friendship with Sheets. He said many fans may not have seen it on the A&E series.
“I know a lot of people think we hate each other because we competed a lot on the show and we both had moments where we felt for each other,” he explained. “There was a time when we clashed, but that was because we were rivals, right?”
“Deep down, Darrell and I were friends,” he continued. “We talked sometimes. He was a very hard worker and cared about his family probably more than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Police said Sheets died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and was found dead in his home.
“The man was pronounced dead at the scene and the Lake Havasu Police Department Criminal Investigation Unit was alerted and responded to the scene to investigate the incident,” the press release said.
Sheets’ family was notified and the body was turned over to the Mohave County Coroner’s Office for further investigation, the newspaper said.
Ms. Sheets was a fan-favorite cast member on the show “Storage Wars,” which follows professional buyers as they bid on unknown content found in abandoned or unpaid storage units.
He appeared in 163 episodes of the series from 2010 to 2023 and earned the nickname “The Gambler” over the years due to his tendency to overbid units based on instinct.
For several years after appearing on “Storage Wars,” Sheets retired to Arizona, where he ran the antique shop “Havasu Show Me Your Junk” until his death.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
