Chicago lottery winner's death ruled homicide by poisoning

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Urooj Khan posing with his winning lottery ticket

/ AP Photo/Illinois Lottery

(CBS/AP) CHICAGO - A Chicago medical examiner says a lottery winner was fatally poisoned with cyanide the day after he collected nearly $425,000.

Cook County Medical Examiner Stephen Cina says a limited exam initially found 46-year-old Urooj Khan died of natural causes, but a relative asked for a deeper investigation.

A full toxicology test revealed Khan had ingested a deadly amount of cyanide, and his death was re-classified as a homicide.

Khan died July 20, 2012, one day after collecting the lump sum option on a $1 million win. He bought the ticket at a 7-Eleven near his home in West Rogers Park, a neighborhood on Chicago's North Side.

Cina said Monday it's likely that Khan's body will be exhumed as part of the investigation into his death.

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by bdoober8 January 7, 2013 7:06 PM EST: I don't know much about this specific case so this is a general comment - I have long believed the privacy of lottery winners should be protected. I personally would not want it known if I had acquired a large amount of money because there are too many whack jobs out there in this violent country, and who knows who might hold a grudge or something like that? Why must their names must be made public? I understand it's state money and there's a need to verify that the lottery money was awarded. But I've seen the media chase down lottery winners who were hiding in a motel, as if they were celebrities. Lottery winners are not celebrities and they have a right to privacy. If a winner wants his or her name to stay secret they should be allowed to do so.; Reply to this comment