Gary Coleman Death Under Heated Investigation

Gary Coleman photo courtesy Flickr/MadeMistakes/Creative Content.

While hospital says ex-wife had right to authorize ending life support.

Twenty-four-year-old Shannon Price has found herself under investigation for the role she played in the death of Gary Coleman. When Coleman died on Friday, we reported that Price was his wife, when in fact she was his ex-wife -- and this may not render her as having possessed the proper authority to end Coleman's life support last week.

Last Friday Shannon Price told doctors that it was okay for them to pull the plug on Coleman, less than 24 hours after he'd fallen and suffered what sounded like a severe head injury. Coleman's family is demanding more answers on the events that led to Coleman's death, and now authorities are as well.

First of all, we've heard the 911 call that Shannon Price made last Thursday after Coleman's fall, and we agreed on Thursday when a Today show correspondent from MSNBC.com stated that Price hardly sounded shaken during the call. It's well known that Shannon Price is not among the sharpest trophy wives in Hollywood (if you can call her a trophy), but no one seems to be able to get to the bottom of what led to Coleman's fall.

Complicating her case is the common knowledge that the relationship between Shannon Price and Gary Coleman was wrought with domestic abuse issues. In fact, the two divorced in 2008 but got back together (Coleman's lawyer says they never remarried), and authorities seem to suspect that Coleman and Price may have been engaged in a physical fight when Coleman fell.

And while attorneys investigate whether Price's role as Coleman's ex-wife left her with enough authority to greenlight doctors pulling the plug on Friday, the hospital where Coleman was under care is defending her. TMZ reports, "Utah Valley Regional Medical Center released a statement saying Gary had signed an 'Advanced Health Care Directive' that granted Shannon Price permission to make medical decisions on his behalf if he was unable to do so.

Hospital officials say that document remains in effect, regardless of marital status -- unless the patient changes it."

Stay with LimeLife for more details on Gary Coleman's death -- in the meantime, get our story on the lukewarm statement Shannon Price made after Coleman passed.. In happier celeb family news, Kevin Costner has just welcomed baby #7 -- get the story here.

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