In a story that sounds less like a somber eulogy and more like a mid-season twist on a forgotten true crime docuseries, Shannon Price—the ex-wife, ex-roommate, and ongoing enigma of child star Gary Coleman—has emerged from the shadows once again. This time, she’s here to explain why she pulled the plug on Coleman’s life support back in 2010… and to fail a polygraph about whether she pushed him first.
Yes. You read that correctly. The woman who legally wasn’t even his wife at the time claims she had to make the decision, ignored his end-of-life directive, then sat for a lie detector test and blew it harder than a Studio 54 fog machine.
Let’s dive into the very public mess that is “No Choice” Price and the eternal mystery of Gary Coleman’s final days.
The Set-Up: A Fall, a Directive, and an Opportunity
In May 2010, Gary Coleman—best known for his role as Arnold on Diff’rent Strokes—was hospitalized after a fall at his Utah home. His head injury was severe. Two days later, he was dead.
Shannon Price, who had divorced Coleman in 2008 but continued living with him in what can only be described as the world’s most awkward episode of Roommates, made the decision to end his life support. She said doctors told her he would never recover, so she acted swiftly.
There’s just one problem with that narrative: Coleman had a living will, and it said not to pull the plug until 15 days had passed.
Price pulled it after two.
When asked about ignoring his directive, she now claims she didn’t have a choice. “I had to do it,” she said in a recent interview. “It was too hard to see him suffer.” The doctors, she insisted, said it was the right thing to do.
What the documents say? She wasn’t his legal next-of-kin. What her own 911 call says? “I can’t deal with this.” What Gary’s family says? “She did it for money.”
The Lie Detector Episode No One Asked For
As part of a very 2025 media tour and damage-control renaissance, Shannon Price agreed to sit for a lie detector test on Lie Detector: Truth or Deception, which we assume is being pitched to Netflix as Love is Blind (Justice is Optional).
When asked “Did you cause Gary’s fall?”, she replied, “No.”
And the machine, in a moment of savage clarity, lit up like a slot machine jackpot: Deception Detected.
According to the polygraph examiner, her answers weren’t just shaky—they were “clear indicators of emotional conflict and untruthfulness.” In other words: the needle screamed “liar” harder than Gary’s old sitcom catchphrase.
Price now claims she was simply “too emotional” to pass the test, which is both the world’s worst defense and a hell of a title for her next book.
The Red Flags Parade
If you’re wondering whether this sounds suspicious, let’s review some fun facts:
- Coleman had a restraining order filed against Price months before his death, citing threats and property destruction.
- Her 911 call—played in court—includes her saying she wouldn’t help him because “blood makes me sick.”
- Despite being divorced, she claimed “common law marriage” to get listed as next-of-kin and control his medical care.
- She attempted to sell deathbed photos of Coleman to tabloids.
- She repeatedly contradicted herself in interviews, at one point saying Gary “was awake and talking,” and another time saying he “couldn’t speak.”
Shannon Price’s timeline is more disjointed than a Christopher Nolan screenplay written on Adderall.
The Pamphlet She Shouldn’t Have Written
Since the polygraph debacle, Price has maintained that she loved Gary, that her actions were motivated by mercy, and that the polygraph “doesn’t mean anything.” This would be more convincing if not for her past attempts to profit off his death and her repeated media missteps.
She claims the backlash is “unfair” and that “nobody knows what it was like to be there.” That part is true. But here’s what we do know: Gary Coleman wanted 15 days. She gave him two. The man who once asked, “What’chu talkin’ bout?” deserved at least that much clarity.
Why It Still Matters
This isn’t just about one messy relationship and a tragic death. It’s about how easily vulnerable people can be manipulated or dismissed at the end of life. It’s about how polygraphs aren’t admissible in court—but boy, do they make great TV. It’s about how someone can rewrite a narrative in their favor over and over, until no one’s quite sure what the truth ever was.
And it’s about how, somehow, 15 years later, we still don’t know who—or what—caused Gary Coleman to die.
Final Thoughts: No Choice, Just Consequences
Shannon Price says she had no choice. The polygraph says otherwise. The will says otherwise. The court of public opinion? Well, it’s not buying what she’s selling—especially now that it looks like her story has more holes than a Utah canyon.
Gary Coleman wanted peace. What he got was a final act of betrayal, a public circus, and a documentary promo tour disguised as grief.
No choice? No dignity, maybe. But no accountability? That’s a choice someone else still needs to make.