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Man Who Spent $100,000 To Look Like Justin Bieber Died Of A Drug Overdose

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The L.A. County coroner's office has revealed that a Justin Bieber lookalike found dead in an L.A. area motel nearly a year ago died due to a drug overdose. Tobias Strebel, 35, also known as Toby Sheldon, was found dead in a North Hills Motel 6 in August of 2015. Strebel was known for spending over $100,000 on plastic surgery to look like pop star Justin Bieber, appearing on reality shows like Botched and My Strange Addiction.

The coroner’s office states that Strebel took pain killers, anti-anxiety drugs and alcohol, resulting in a fatal overdose, the L.A. Times reports. Diazapam and temazepam were found in the room in a bottle wrongly labeled Vitamin C. Toxicology tests showed traces of Xanax, Valium, Ativan, codeine and morphine in Strebel's liver.

Strebel grew up in Nuremberg, Germany and came to L.A. to become a songwriter. His mother still lived in Germany at the time of his death, making it hard for authorities to get in touch with her. This, combined with the fact that Strebel's body was partly decomposed at the time of discovery, led to delays in identifying his body. The toxicology report was not finalized until May.

Strebel had been reported missing prior to the discovery of his body, and investigators at the time suspected his disappearance might have been related to a recent breakup. Authorities do not suspect foul play in his death, according to TMZ.

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