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.
