Gary Coleman's Ex-Wife Fails Lie Detector Test About His Fatal Fall

Gary Coleman’s ex-wife, Shannon Price, took a polygraph test (sometimes known as as a "lie detector") to clear up any lingering suspicions that she was involved in her late husband’s death.

In 2010, the Diff'rent Strokes actor died after falling down the stairs at his Utah home and hitting his head. Over the years, many have wondered — sometimes in documentaries — whether Price may have somehow been involved in his death.

In what appeared to be an attempt to clear her name, Price took the polygraph on A&E’s Lie Detector: Truth or Deception. In a clip ahead of the show’s premiere, former FBI agent and polygraph expert George Olivo tells Price that she failed two important questions related to Coleman’s fall.

“The exam had to do with Gary’s fatal fall,” Olivo tells Price in a clip. “I asked you the following relevant questions on this test. ‘Did you physically cause Gary’s fall?’ You answered, ‘No.’ I also asked you, ‘Did you physically cause Gary to fall that day?’ And you answered, ‘No.’ And the results are [that] you failed that exam with deception indicated to those relevant questions.”

“Let me say that again. You failed the exam regarding Gary’s fall.”

She was relatively calm as she called the results “false.”

“There are two things I know for sure, Shannon," Olivo continued. "One, you were not completely honest with me yesterday during this polygraph session. And two, the other thing I know that’s a hundred percent certain is that there’s more to this story that hasn’t been told.”

According to TMZ, Price took the test in January. She was asked if she ever hit Coleman during their relationship, and if she purposely didn’t help him when he fell. Her answers proved to be inconclusive.

Price responded to the polygraph test in a statement to the outlet.

"We were extremely disappointed with the overall experience of both the polygraph testing and dealing with A&E. Many promises were made and not kept. The testing situation was unfair and very uncomfortable, and the testing was performed non-verbally, which I should have refused. From the beginning, it was apparent they cared more about ratings than finding the truth."

The American Psychological Association has pointed out that "there is little evidence that polygraph tests can accurately detect lies," and that people should "remain skeptical about any conclusion wrung from a polygraph."

Price and Coleman pair got married in 2007, divorced a year later, and continued living together. In 2010, Coleman suffered an intracranial hemorrhage due to his fall. Price said she discovered Coleman in a pool of blood, and his death was ruled accidental.

A 911 recording of the incident later surfaced, where Price could be heard rejecting the operator’s instructions on how to help Coleman. He was later placed in a coma, and Price took him off life support after two days. She was never charged with his death.