Just a few days after Opie's character, played by Ryan Hurst, 36, got killed off FX's Sons of Anarchy, a real-life tragedy involving Johnny Lewis, 28, who played Kip "Half Sack" Epps on the show, struck, when Lewis was found dead outside a suburban Los Angeles home, along with an 81-year-old woman inside, Christine Davis, who was said to be his landlord. Now Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter, 46, is opening up about the grim news.

Sutter tweeted, "not sure if folks know this yet, but johnny lewis (halfsack) died last night. the sad irony of it happening two days after Opie’s death is not lost on me. it was a tragic end for an extremely talented guy, who unfortunately had lost his way. i wish i could say that i was shocked by the events last night, but i was not. i am deeply sorry that an innocent life had to be thrown into his destructive path. yes, it’s [a] day [of] mourning, but it’s also a day of awareness and gratitude. sadly, some of us carry the message by dying.”

In season two of Sons of Anarchy, Lewis, who the New York Daily News is now reporting was a Scientologist with a history of drug abuse and mental illness, was written out of the show. "Johnny wasn't happy on the show. Creatively, he really wanted out of his contract. We had ongoing conversations, and we decided we'd find some noble way for him to go," said Sutter when the split occurred in 2009.

Lewis' cause of death will be released after toxicology reports come in, said Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County coroner's investigative division.

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