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Subscribe to RSSUrooj Khan, 46, won $1 million off a scratch lottery ticket he bought at a 7-11 in Chicago last June, but just one day after receiving his check, he died. Now, his death has been ruled a homicide, as toxicology reports showed deadly cyanide in his system. NBC's Andrea Canning reports.
A lottery winner was fatally poisoned with cyanide just as he was about to collect his payout on a $1 million instant lottery ticket, a Chicago medical examiner said Monday.
Urooj Khan died July 20, one day after the state issued a check to him for $425,000, which represented the after tax amount on the lump sum payout on his winning ticket. The check wasn’t cashed until Aug. 15, likely by a member of his estate.
After a limited exam, Cook County Medical Examiner Stephen Cina found no trauma or unusual substances in the 46-year-old's body, and the medical examiner's office declared that he died of natural causes.
Khan was buried at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago, but within a week a concerned relative asked the medical examiner's office to take a closer look.
“They had concerns that it was deemed a natural cause of death and wanted us to look harder,” Cina told NBCChicago.com. “And we did.”
The medical examiner’s office determined from comprehensive toxicology reports that Khan had ingested a deadly amount of cyanide and his death has been reclassified as a homicide.
Police are considering exhuming his body as part of the investigation.
Lottery winner killed by cyanide was immigrant, family man
“It’s a very lethal drug,” Cina said of the lethal dosage of cyanide investigators found in Khan’s toxicology samples. “It’s a chemical poison. It basically asphyxiates you at the biochemical level, so a little goes a long way.”
Khan bought his winning ticket at a 7-Eleven near his home in West Rogers Park, a neighborhood on Chicago's North Side. A native of India, he came to Chicago in the late 1980s and began working at a dry cleaners. He grew his business to include three Chicago-area dry cleaners, and reportedly planned to invest his lottery winnings in his stores.
He also planned to give some of his winnings to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Khan described his gleeful reaction to winning in a June press release from the Illinois Lottery. “I scratched the ticket, then I kept on saying, ‘I hit a million!’ over and over again,” Khan said. “I jumped two feet in the air, then ran back into the store and tipped the clerk $100.”
Khan’s wife declined an interview with NBCChicago.com outside one of her deceased husband’s dry cleaners. Her husband was a “kind and good-hearted person,” she said.
“He was a family man who worked hard for his family,” friend Jimmy Goreel told NBCChicago.com. “I just can’t see it happening. If that’s true, it’s sad."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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how many would go unsolved with shoddy work like this? it seems an investigation into who ever did the autopsy as to their competentcy.
Hooker left town,,,,in a hurry,,,,,,,dragging large duffel bag thru airport. When approached by TSA she stated bag had winnings from black jack. She was allowed to board.
Next passenger, 4 year old was cavity searched; pacifier being over 3 " long was seized. Mother taken into custody.
Peace to his soul. I hope they find and bring justice to those who did this.
Whomever got the money when he passed is who the police should look at.
Wait an see which relative ends up with a new 7-11 store?
LOL
Good one Luckyjr - thanks for the chuckle after reading a disturbing story.
Hate to spoil your joke, because I know 7-Eleven from the inside out as an outside contractor; did work for them for a good six years. The real joke would be if they let anyone with only $425k in their pocket buy a store in the Chicago market. They'd never get into franchisee candidate school because they'd fail on lack of assets. A good store in a major metropolitan market (>$2m per year in sales, with sales increasing y/y) will run you close to $1m up front. You've got franchise fee, cost of all merchandise in store, and goodwill to outgoing franchisee based on the sales numbers.
Lesson: if you're going to off someone to buy a 7-Eleven, make sure they take lump sum on a prize a hell of a lot bigger than $1m, unless you want 7-Eleven to give you a pat on the backside to go with your rejection letter from franchisee candidate school.
I am sure anyone interested in an actual franchise will find you for information, rodentwarrior. The joke just continues......you take things a bit too seriously, eh?
It has to be someone close enough to poison him and inherit some, if not all of the winnings.
That's it!!! No More Lottery tickets. We need to ban things like this right? I don't see where he "was shot" with a AR15? Guns don't kill people ... PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE!!!! And in this case, for what else? MONEY! We should ban that too .... What a world!!!
yawn
Interesting.....if a relative did it, then why would a relative want the body exhumed? Strange case indeed.
He probably has more than one relative....LOL! Some good and some evil!
Winner! Winner!! Winner!!! who can hear that when you go to cash ticket?
Another reason that lottery winners should be allowed to remain anonymous. Poor man.
And to keep your own mouth shut about it! Very sad story!
They need to take a close look at family and friends...What a shame.
575 k in taxes taken out! no wonder he died.
Why is it so hard for people to understand how the lottery works? He did NOT have $575,000 in taxes taken out. The jackpot amount in all lotteries is based on a certain amount of money being put in an annuity that, when paid out over a certain number of years, will equal the jackpot amount - in this case, a million dollars. If you choose to take the lump sum option, what you get is the amount that would have been used to purchase the annuity - usually about half of the full jackpot amount. So the taxes taken out were probably less than $100,000. This isn't rocket science, folks.
Actually, being a scratch off ticket, the jackpot is set. He won $1M and they took over half. If he had won a lotto drawing, you would be right.
He won the lottery and died the next day?
Isn't it ironic...don't you think...a little too ironic...yeah, i really do think
He died the day after he collected the money - not the day after he won it.
It wouldn't matter if I collected $425,000 in July. I would have it all spent within the week. But this man was poisoned the next day. Find out who had immediate access to the money and that may answer the question of who killed him.
Ya think? Duh!
And this is exactly why one should 1) not tell others that they have won the lottery; and 2) stop letting the media post their information once they do win. This is the 3rd or 4th story of this kind in the last 6 months, where someone won the lottery and was killed.
I'm amazed at the ignorance in the comments on this article.
They are funny though! Sad article, but a lot of chuckles from the mindless. LOL.
Perhaps there should be a warning on lottery tickets - winning the lottery can be dangerous to your health.
This is not the first lottery winner homicide.
That is so sad. This is why lottery winners should be able to be kept anonymous. This rule that the lottery has to be able to plaster your face all over for advertisement is ridiculous! Lottery winners should not have to fend off all the people who want their money, or be killed for their money. Craziness!
It's like I said earlier. Check the by-laws. Consult with a trust attorney and tax attorney. And, especially if it's a scratch ticket, don't validate it until you have a trust set up and the trust, along with its legal representatives can come forward as the face of the winner. The more distance you can legally put between yourself and the win, the better.
Exactly! You don't collect your money and put it in your pocket.
Cherchez la femme!!!!!!
oh my god ,you don't think , nah it couldn't happen ....could it? you don't think they will ban lottery tickets becoz of this do you?
I really hope they find the killer(s) and if in line for the inheritance, not get his winning, but get the chair.
Offer a reward to anyone who can identify the murderer. Fry the scum.
Mike
To bad, and as stated ontop, should not be to hard to find the who done it crime. poor guy, never got a chance to spend a dime of it.
Anyone who wins from any state, should be allowed to remain anonymous, but not all states allow this, which is scary. Oh no, lotteries should be banned, since they tend to lead to threats of violence on those who win!!! No doubt Ovomit will crack down on this.
Do you realize how immature you are? Do you realize the stupidity it takes to blame one person for everything wrong in the world?
I would look at other businesses in the area who would feel threatened by the influx of cash to grow his dry cleaning business. That could ultimately have brought him more money in the long term than the $400+ he won. In addition, more than likely put a few other businesses under!! A lot of motive there.
Isn't it ironic? Don't you think? A little too ironic?...