After 15 years of speculation surrounding Gary Coleman’s death, his ex-wife, Shannon Price, took a polygraph test in attempt to defend her innocence.
But when Price was questioned on the details of the actor’s fatal fall, she didn’t get the results she was hoping for.
“I literally, my whole life, have had the odds working against me, and so I’m hoping, I’m really hoping, for a good outcome,” Price says in the premiere episode of A&E’s upcoming docuseries “Lie Detector: Truth or Deception.”
“Not everyone is perfect at taking a polygraph test,” she continues. “But I have a glimmer of hope that this will work out in my favor, and people will be like, OK, you know what? She’s just a normal girl that had an unfortunate situation happen.”
Price’s decision to take the test stems from years of controversy surrounding the sudden death of the “Different Strokes” star in 2010, when he fell at the home they shared in Utah. The former child star died at the age of 42 after suffering a brain hemorrhage, and his death was ruled accidental.
Despite police saying there was “nothing suspicious” about Coleman’s death, speculation about his ex-wife’s involvement has lingered ever since. Price, who divorced Coleman two years earlier but continued to live with him, was at the home at the time of the incident.
Price has claimed she found him in a pool of blood after his fall and called 911, but a recording of that call shows appears to show her refusing to follow the operator’s instructions to help Coleman.
The lie detector test, administered by veteran polygraph examiner and former FBI agent George Olivo, found several of Price’s responses to be deceptive.
When asked if she purposely withheld aid from Coleman after he fell, Price denies the claim, but her answer is found to be inconclusive.
“That, statistically, raises a little bit of an eyebrow,” Olivo says after seeing this result. “Then again, you’re the same person sitting there who’s still nervous and who’s still a bit distracted. But here’s the way I look at it: This question having to do with you doing everything that you could possibly do for Gary when he fell, when you called 911, is an issue that you’ve had in your mind for 14 years, and it’s still not resolved in your mind.”
Later, when Olivo asks if Price physically caused Coleman to fall, she responds by saying, “No.” However, the test determines there was “deception indicated” from her answer.
“You failed the exam regarding Gary’s fall,” Olivo tells her the following day. “There’s two things I know for sure, Shannon. One, you were not completely honest with me yesterday during this polygraph section. And two … there is more to this story that hasn’t been told. The body never lies. The body always tells the truth. And your body on that lie detector test spoke loud and clear, there’s something that caused you to fail this test.”
Seemingly unshaken, Price says that she’s “not surprised” by the results because they’re coming from “a machine.”
“I know where I’m at. I’m at peace,” she insists. “There is a reason I am not in prison. There is a legit reason for that. It’s because they did a thorough investigation.”
But Olivo fires back, insisting that Price is still hiding something.
“You say you have nothing to hide. I say you know exactly why you failed this test,” he tells her. “Sadly, my professional opinion is the truth is not on your side today.”
The two-hour premiere of “Lie Detector: Truth or Deception” airs July 10 at 9 p.m. on A&E.
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