Is the Lottery Curse real? Mysterious deaths and tragedies haunt US winners
Winning a lottery might sound like a joyous occasion for most people, but for these winners, it has led to doom. After they won the lottery, only trouble has come their way, and for some even death. A few have even started believing that "it's a curse."
From getting shot by sister-in-law to getting killed and buried, from having to split earnings due to divorce settlement to losing it all because of gambling, the jackpot winners have faced a lot of trouble after their respective wins. Post these bizarre events, people have either started avoiding jackpots or have made sure they remain anonymous so as to avoid any trouble whatsoever.
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What happened to the lottery winners?
In 1996, Jeffrey Dampier won $20 million after playing the Illinois lottery. Nine years later, he was kidnapped and shot dead. Dampier was supposedly cheating on his wife Crystal by having an affair with her sister Victoria. As per reports, Victoria was the one who pulled the trigger and killed Dampier. His wife Crystal said, "It's a curse," while talking about the lottery.
In 2009, Abraham Shakespeare won $30 million through the Florida lottery. Months after winning he was shot dead and buried in a yard under a slab of cement. The murderer turned out to be DeeDee Moore, who had befriended him to steal the money from him, and after which she killed and buried him.
In 2004, parking attendant Juan Rodriguez won $149 million on the Mega Millions. He had recently split from his wife when he won the lottery. When she found out about his win, she got back with him but filed for divorce mere 10 days later. This led to a court battle, and Rodriguez had to split his winnings in half to share with her. The couple were together for twenty years.
Evelyn Adams won two jackpots in the span of four months. She won $3.9million in late 1985 and $1.4million in early 1986 via the New Jersey Lottery. But things took a sour turn for the store worker when her gambling addiction made her lose everything. Adams said, "Winning the lottery isn't always what it's cracked up to be. I won the American dream but I lost it, too. It was a very hard fall. It's called rock bottom. I wish I had the chance to do it all over again. I'd be much smarter about it now. I was a big-time gambler. I made mistakes, some I regret, some I don't. I'm human. I can't go back now so I just go forward, one step at a time," reported The Sun.
Andrew Whittaker Jr, who died in 2020, had who won $315 million in 2002. Soon after, he started suffering personal losses. He split with his wife, he lost his daughter and granddaughter, his house burned down, he started having drinking as well as gambling problems and he was also robbed.
