Guy Who Paid $100,000 to Look Like Justin Bieber Suffered a Sad, Depressing Death

After getting gawked at by millions, Tobias Strebel essentially took his own life.

Tobias Strebel, who first gained notoriety after spending $100,000 to look exactly like Justin Bieber, essentially killed himself in a hotel room with a massive drug overdose.  According to details released by the Los Angeles County Coroner this week, Strebel took a drastic cocktail of powerful drugs in August of last year, essentially overwhelming his system to the point of death.

The German-born Strebel started his plastic surgery transformation process in 2008, when Bieber was a budding, teenage star.  Strebel, an aspiring songwriter, died at 35.

The Coroner determined that Strebel had Valium, Xanax and alcohol in his system, as well as the sleep aid Temazepam, at the time of his death.  Strebel’s body was found in a partial state of decomposition in a Motel 6 in the North Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, several days after being reported missing.

The overdose wasn’t technically ruled a suicide, though ‘accidental’ may be somewhat of a stretch.

The sad ending speaks volumes about the sometimes cruel world of reality TV, not mention America’s appetite for depressing trainwrecks.  The broken Strebel, also known as Toby Sheldon, was featured on the E! show ‘Botched,’ which features more extreme plastic surgery.  “What brought me to Bieber was the whole package: the full cheeks, the full temples, the bright open eyes, the full luscious lips, and spatial framing… it’s just extraordinarily beautiful,” Strebel said on the show.

Strebel was also featured on TLC’s ‘My Strange Addiction,’ essentially playing the tragic trainwreck that got ratings.  In that show, it was revealed that Strebel underwent a host of different surgeries, including hair transplants, eyebrow adjustments, and smile surgery to emulate Bieber.  “I can definitely look back and say that all those surgeries were really successful,” Strebel relayed.

After being gawked at by millions, Strebel died alone.  Strebel was believed to have an extreme case of body dysmorphia, similar to Justin Jedlica, known as the ‘Human Ken Doll’.

The coroner’s report was first reported by the Wrap.

 

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