A Lakewood Ranch martial arts instructor who was suspected of child sex abuse died by an apparent suicide Friday when detectives attempted to contact him, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
Lance Darren Goodall, also known as Darren “Venom” Goodall, was a 32-year-old fitness and martial arts instructor who owned Venom Fitness in Osprey, where he taught bodybuilding, boxing and jiu-jitsu, according to his website.
He was also featured as a personal trainer on “Real House Wives of New Jersey,” Bravo TV’s website says.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office began investigating allegations of sexual battery of a minor when the minor’s father reported finding both videos and photos of inappropriate sexual activity involving his 14-year-old child and Goodall on the child’s phone, the sheriff’s office said in a press release. The teen was a student at Venom Fitness.
After reviewing text messages, detectives found probable cause to charge Goodall with three counts of sexual battery by a person in a position of custodial authority.
As Manatee County Sheriff’s Office investigators attempted to make contact with Goodall at his residence on Friday evening in the 12000 block of Winding Woods Way off of State Road 70 in Lakewood Ranch, they discovered him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, detectives say.
The investigation remains open and ongoing, and the sheriff’s office encourages anyone who may have information regarding this case or who may have been a victim to contact Detectives Taylor Garrison.
The sheriff’s office can be reached at 941-316-1201.
Goodall was a New Jersey native who was a professional boxer and first opened a gym in Wyckoff, N.J., that closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to media reports and his LinkedIn profile.
