STORAGE Wars legend Darrell Sheets left behind a chilling suicide note blaming online bullying before taking his own life.
Newly released police documents have shed shocking new light on the 66-year-old’s death as police records reveal his final days.
Darrell died at 67 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, the US Sun confirmed in April.
Officials responded to reports of a deceased person at Darrell’s home at 2am on April 22, according to a statement from Lake Havasu City Police Department obtained by The U.S. Sun.
He was pronounced dead at the scene after his girlfriend called 911 reporting she had heard a gunshot
Investigators have found a handwritten note hidden inside a black basket in a bathroom closet near where he was found dead.
According to the report, obtained by TMZ, detectives said the note appeared to reference the online abuse Darrell had been facing
Police summarised the message as reading: “I could not take anymore the Facebook bulling, f*** you [redacted]”.
Investigators also noted the handwriting appeared shaky.
The heartbreaking discovery came as cops pieced together Darrell’s final hours, revealing a disturbing picture of stress, sleepless nights and family turmoil before the fatal gunshot.
Darrell’s girlfriend told investigators he had struggled to sleep on the night he died and got out of bed in the early hours before walking into the doorway of his office
She said he told her to “go back to bed” – before moments later a single gunshot rang out.
Police records also reveal growing family tension in the days before his death.
Darrell’s girlfriend said his son had recently visited and the pair became embroiled in a heated argument over “family drama” before he left.
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
She claimed the situation worsened after Darrell received text messages from his daughter-in-law accusing her of being suspicious and stealing money from him.
The messages allegedly left the reality star visibly upset.
In a follow-up interview, his girlfriend told detectives the arguments between Darrell and his son became so intense she left the house after the son was yelling at him.
She claimed Darrell later told her he did not want to be alone with his son and had been “sad as hell” following the confrontation, believing he had let him down.
Investigators also revealed Darrell had been battling severe insomnia for months and was under huge pressure in the run-up to his death.
His girlfriend said he often struggled to sleep and was dealing with overwhelming stress – but insisted he had never spoken about harming himself and that their relationship remained strong.
The medical examiner later ruled his death a suicide.
Following the tragedy, his son Brandon Sheets broke his silence with an emotional tribute, calling Darrell “the best dad a son could ask for”.
He also revealed plans to reopen his father’s Arizona store, Show Me Your Junk, to continue the family legacy.
The mention of Facebook bullying in Darrell’s final note has also raised fresh questions, after fellow Storage Wars star Rene Nezhoda previously claimed Darrell had been facing relentless online harassment before his death.
Police investigated the bullying claims as they worked to understand what led to the TV star’s devastating final moments.
Darrell appeared on Storage Wars as a main castmember from 2010 to 2021 and was known as “The Gambler” for his high-risk purchases.
He continued to make appearances on seasons 14 and 15 as a guest buyer before leaving the show for good.
Darrell was joined by his son, Brandon, for nine seasons on Storage Wars.
Darrell also made appearances on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and on Rachael Ray’s cooking show.
After retiring from Storage Wars, he moved to Lake Havasu, Arizona, where he operated an antique shop called Show Me Your Junk.
He previously had health issues, including a heart attack in 2019 that he had surgery to recover from.
UK: For help and support, call the Samaritans for free from a UK phone, completely anonymously, on 116 123 or go to samaritans.org.
US: If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
Visitors look around an LG Energy Solution booth at the InterBattery 2021 at COEX in Seoul, South Korea. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
July 3 (Asia Today) — A U.S. battery joint venture between South Korea’s LG Energy Solution and Honda has begun mass-producing lithium-ion cells for energy storage systems at its Ohio plant, the company said.
L-H Battery Company began production Thursday at its factory in Jeffersonville, Fayette County.
The cells will be supplied through LG Energy Solution Vertech, the South Korean company’s North American energy-storage system integration subsidiary.
They are expected to be used in utility power grids as well as commercial, industrial and residential energy-storage systems across the United States.
The Ohio plant was originally built primarily to manufacture batteries for Honda electric vehicles.
The partners adjusted the factory’s production strategy as growth in the electric-vehicle market slowed and changes in the U.S. regulatory and policy environment increased uncertainty for automakers and battery manufacturers.
The joint venture decided to prioritize the faster-growing energy-storage market while maintaining the flexibility to produce cells for other applications.
It plans to consider manufacturing batteries for hybrid-electric vehicles at the plant as market conditions evolve.
Honda said in May that it would convert part of the joint venture’s electric-vehicle battery production lines to make batteries for hybrid vehicles.
The company also said it would use the Ohio battery facilities for other applications as it restructures its North American vehicle and battery production network.
Honda canceled plans in March to develop and launch three electric-vehicle models that had been scheduled for production in North America, citing changes in the business environment.
The start of storage-battery production marks a significant step in LG Energy Solution’s strategy to manufacture more energy-storage products within North America.
Demand is rising as utilities add renewable-energy capacity and seek batteries that can store electricity when supply exceeds consumption.
Artificial intelligence data centers are also increasing electricity demand and creating a need for additional power-generation, transmission and storage infrastructure.
Energy-storage systems can help stabilize power grids by storing electricity during periods of low demand and releasing it when demand rises.
LG Energy Solution has been converting or adapting electric-vehicle battery facilities to produce storage batteries as manufacturers respond to slower electric-vehicle growth.
The company plans to operate five energy-storage battery manufacturing sites in North America.
The network includes plants in Holland and Lansing, Mich., the NextStar Energy facility in Windsor, Ontario, the Ultium Cells factory in Spring Hill, Tenn., and the L-H Battery Company plant in Ohio.
LG Energy Solution said it aims to secure more than 50 gigawatt-hours of annual energy-storage battery production capacity in North America by the end of 2026.
The company said batteries manufactured in Ohio will support projects serving power grids, businesses and homes.
BloombergNEF has projected that the U.S. energy-storage market could expand to 485 gigawatt-hours in 2030 and 976 gigawatt-hours in 2035.
“Energy storage systems are an important future business for L-H Battery Company and will become a core business pillar along with the production of battery cells for hybrid-electric vehicles,” L-H Battery Company Chief Executive Officer Koo Ja-hoon said.
Chief Operating Officer Rick Riggle said the company has hired employees and begun production since the joint venture was established in 2023.
“This start of mass production is significant because it goes beyond simply operating a plant and establishes a stable production base for our North American business,” Riggle said.
LG Energy Solution and Honda formally established L-H Battery Company in 2023 to manufacture lithium-ion batteries in Ohio.
The joint venture was initially designed to support Honda’s expanding electric-vehicle production in North America.
The revised production strategy allows the companies to use the plant for energy storage and hybrid vehicles while retaining the ability to respond if electric-vehicle demand recovers.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260703010001209
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The lithium industry is growing more optimistic about a market recovery as accelerating demand for battery storage systems helps offset a slowdown in electric vehicles, leading producers said this week at a key industry conference, Reuters reported.
“The period of market overcorrection is over. Energy
