Storage Wars star Mike Balelo’s death is ruled a suicide
Storage Wars participant Mark Balelo made headlines last week, after the 40-year-old star was found dead in his apartment. Balelo was one of the “deep-pocket” spenders on the popular reality TV show Storage Wars, where competitors bid on items from expired rent lockers, hoping to strike gold in the gutter. Balelo was a natural on Storage Wars, with brazen attitude, flamboyant styles, and never less than $50,000 cash at each auction.
Unfortunately, the Storage Wars auction star’s body was found in his Simi Valley, California home, and it has since been confirmed that his death was a suicide. Balelo died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Storage Wars took a dark turn as a show favorite sat in his car and left it running 2 days after he was arrested for drugs.
Both Storage Wars and its network A&E declined to comment on the death of Balelo. The family has cremated his ashes, and are now intent on finding an appropriate burial place to place Balelo’s remains after the funeral.
Balelo was definitely battling some demons before his death, and not all of the answers could be found in a Storage Wars acquisition, or auction win. Two days before his suicide, he was arrested for possession and consumption of methamphetamine. The story is further complicated by the fact that the Storage Wars celebrity was engaged. His fiancé, Elizabeth Metzidis reached out to fans on Facebook with the following message, “Thank you to everyone for all your thoughts and kind words. Mark lived for his friends and family and would so appreciate everyone here for their love. We are truly and completely devastated by this. Mark was everything. EM.”
