L.B. Bonner Cause Of Death: ‘My 600-LB Life’ Star Suffered Gunshot Wound After Posting Apparent Suicide Note
L.B. Bonner was known to fans of My 600-LB Life for his upbeat demeanor and dedication to losing weight, but reports indicate that the 30-year-old may have taken his life after posting what appeared to be a suicide note.
Bonner was able to lose more than 300 pounds after appearing on the TLC docu-series, but appeared to take his own life this week. As TMZ reported, the 30-year-old was found dead in a ditch with what appeared to be a gunshot wound.
“Police were making a welfare check Thursday night when they found him in a park in Lexington, South Carolina… this according to a police report obtained by TMZ. The circumstances surrounding his death are now under investigation,” the report noted.
The death came just hours after L.B. Bonner posted a note on Facebook that many have interpreted as a suicide note.
“I just want to say thank you to everyone who has shown me love and support throughout my journey…I’ve realized a few things over the last few days and its time that, I face my demons head on,” he wrote.
Bonner is now the second patient featured on My 600-LB Life to die within the past year. Earlier this year, the show featured an episode on a man named Robert Buchel who suffered a fatal heart attack during production of the show. As USA Today reported, the New Jersey man actually managed to lose more than 200 pounds thanks to weight-loss surgery, but he said a lifetime of carrying significant weight that topped out at more than 840 pounds had taken a toll on his body.
“To carry all this weight is physically draining, mentally, emotionally taxing,” Buchel said on the episode. “It’s not a pain or life I’d wish on anyone because I can’t do anything. I can’t do anything for anyone — especially myself so I am completely dependent on my fiancée.”
#my600lblife Star James "L.B." Bonner Has Passed Away, Family Confirms ? https://t.co/BIgoiC8McK pic.twitter.com/9Dvur5PPty
— In Touch Weekly (@intouchweekly) August 3, 2018
Later in the season, TLC had featured on update on L.B. Bonner, showing him as one of the best success stories in the history of the series. The Lexington Ledger even wrote a feature article on Bonner, showing that he was happier and healthier since his appearance on the show. The article also featured a before-and-after view of Bonner showing how much weight he had lost.
The report from TMZ noted that police have not officially declared L.B. Bonner’s death a suicide, and the passing of the My 600-LB Life star remains under investigation.
