A salacious scandal around the potential murder of a lotto winner in the midwestern U.S. has enough twists to warrant a suspense novel. The body of a Chicago man who recently won the lottery will be exhumed in the next few weeks for further investigation.
It’s suspected that the lottery winner may have been poisoned with cyanide less than two months after winning $1 million in Illinois state lottery. Urooj Khan’s death was originally determined to be caused by heart disease when he died at the age of 46 back in mid-July.
At the time, nothing showed up on toxicology reports administered by the medical examiner’s office. However, shortly after Khan’s body was released for burial, an unnamed family member reportedly urged the examiner to take another look at the case.
The office ran more tests, only to confirm his blood contained lethal amounts of cyanide. As a result, the office filed a request through the Cook County Circuit Court to exhume Khan’s body in order to complete their investigation.
Back in May, Khan won his $1 million and asked for the lump-sum option. His $424,500 cheque (after taxes) was mailed on July 20, which means Khan would’ve never seen his winnings. Despite that, the cheque was cashed in August, and was likely paid to his estate.
