Mystery of lottery winner poisoned just weeks after claiming $600,000 prize
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: Illinois Lottery/Getty Images/Martin Diebel
When Urooj Khan won a prize playing the $1 million Chicago lottery, he was obviously in high spirits.
However, in a surprising turn of events, the 46-year-old dry cleaning businessman ended up dead a few weeks later.
Back in 2012, Khan bought a winning ticket that offered him the prize of $600,000. After agreeing to take the lump sum, he took home almost $425,000 after taxes.
Speaking of his winnings at the time, Khan, who was originally from India, said: “Winning the lottery means everything to me.”
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He added that he would put some of his winnings into his business and donate money to a children’s hospital.
His winner's cheque was issued on July 19, the day before he died, but was cashed on August 15.
Khan bought the lucky ticket from a 7-Eleven shop in June that same year. However, just weeks later his death would arise suspicion.
Initially it was believed he had died of natural causes. However, an autopsy was carried out after one of his relatives brought their concerns to the police.
As a result, the Chicago Police Department launched an investigation into Khan's death. Following a toxicology report it was confirmed that he died due to cyanide poisoning.
"It's pretty unusual," Cook County Medical Examiner Stephen Cina said, commenting on the rarity of cyanide poisonings. "I've had one, maybe two cases out of 4,500 autopsies I've done."
Poisons expert Deborah Blum spoke to the Associated Press at the time and said cyanide would taste strongly bitter.
She said: "It essentially kills you in this explosion of cell death, you feel like you’re suffocating."
The expert explained that ingesting cyanide disrupts the ability of cells to transport oxygen around the body, causing a sudden, violent death. A lethal dose can kill someone in just five minutes.
Khan’s wife, Shabana Ansari, spoke to local media about how he became ill.
She said he became unwell around 3am, approximately six hours post-dinner. Ansari mentioned that he was in severe distress before he collapsed.
"I can't believe he's no longer with me," she said.
Ansari described him as a 'great person', before adding: "Nobody could be his enemies."
Over a decade since the incident and, despite an investigation, no arrests have been made in connection to the death.
UNILAD has contacted Chicago Police Department for comment.