SANTAQUIN, Utah County — Santaquin police confirmed Wednesday that the investigation into the death of actor Gary Coleman ended after the medical examiner ruled that the death was accidental.
The 42-year-old "Diff'rent Strokes" star died May 28 after falling in his Santaquin home. Santaquin police detective Stan Eggen said the department had been waiting on the medical examiner's report to officially close the case.
He said the report listed Coleman's immediate cause of death as a closed head injury due to a fall, but said it included renal failure and blockage to one of Coleman's major arteries as other factors.
"He was in trouble," Eggen said. "The hard part always is when someone's famous, a lot of people assume a lot things. ... I felt sorry for him. He was physically spent."
Coleman's ex-wife Shannon Price was living with him in his Santaquin home when he fell and made the call to 911. She told dispatchers she had her own medical conditions that prevented her from aiding in efforts to stop Coleman's bleeding.
After his death, she came under fire amid accusations that she hadn't done enough to save his life. Her father, Gary Price, told the Deseret News that he felt the medical examiner's report cleared his daughter's name.
"After Gary died, there were so many people who came out and said Shannon did this and Shannon did that," he said. "She took a lot of violent, vicious hits. So when the report said, 'You know what, we're through,' it's vindication for Shannon and for us. It was nice."
As for Shannon Price, she said that while she was unaware that the investigation had continued, she wasn't surprised when she heard the medical examiner's conclusion.
"We didn't worry about it from the beginning," she said. "We knew the truth. It's nice to know that's over with. I'm just trying to move on the best way I can."
But she said the news that the investigation was complete didn't necessarily bring her any more closure.
"I don't think I'll ever be able to get over the fact that I lost him," Price said. "He was an amazing part of my life. Gary was the pot of gold at the end of my rainbow. He'll always be my husband — whether it's on paper or not."
Dale Price said that the family had long known that Coleman had serious health concerns. He said a doctor involved in an open heart surgery Coleman underwent last year predicted the man wouldn't survive the year.
Shannon Price said the physical decline of her ex-husband's health is the only thing she can't talk about, even months after his death. She said that while the couple didn't live in fear of Coleman's death, his condition made it harder for him to recover from the fall.
"If he was a healthy person and something like that happened, he would have been able to bounce back," she said. "But with all the health issues he'd been through, this was the last straw for him. Now, he's in a better place."
Price and her father both said they will continue to focus on the ongoing court case involving Coleman's estate. Shannon Price has been working to be recognized as Coleman's common-law wife. The pair married in 2007 but divorced the following year. They later reconciled and were living together when Coleman died. Dale Price later said they never actually stopped living together and even contemplated renewing their vows.
"Gary is with me, and he's holding my hand through the whole thing," Shannon Price said of the estate battle. "I have to do it for him. I can't let these people win. These people weren't important in his life. I'm fighting for everything I can. Tooth and nail."
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