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Poisoned Lottery Winner's Family: All Drama

Urooj Khan's widow and siblings fought over the estate

By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 12, 2013 3:44 PM CST

(Newser) – A family drama has emerged in the life of an Indian-American man who died from cyanide poisoning before he could collect on a $1 million lottery ticket, the AP reports. Urooj Khan's siblings and widow, Shabana Ansari, had been fighting over his estate; his father-in-law was tens of thousands in debt to Uncle Sam; his ex-wife had suddenly appeared, tormented over not seeing her daughter; and that daughter moved in with Khan's sister after he died. But authorities are keeping mum about possible suspects thus far.

Because Khan died intestate, Ansari and their daughter should inherit everything—but his siblings are inquiring about their rights, according to Ansari's lawyer. For now she is administrator of the estate, which was built on dry-cleaning businesses and real-estate investments. One puzzler: Ansari says she cooked the lamb curry that she, Khan, her dad, and Khan's daughter ate the night he got sick, but Khan's sister says he was a strict vegetarian. Authorities plan to exhume Khan's body in the coming weeks to learn more about the poisoning.

This June 2012 photo shows Urooj Khan, center, holding his $1 million lottery check with his family. At left is Khan's wife, Shabana Ansari.
This June 2012 photo shows Urooj Khan, center, holding his $1 million lottery check with his family. At left is Khan's wife, Shabana Ansari.   (AP Photo/Courtesy of WMAQ-TV in Chicago)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 27 comments
savdavis
Mar 1, 2013 6:36 PM CST
Lottery---Make'em  or Break'em......you really got to win twice.... once for the money and the other,,,Keeping it.
iq145
Mar 1, 2013 6:04 PM CST
Wife Ansari (who cooked the poisoned lamb that killed him) and the daughter inherit everything. They aren't concerned with who killed the man, they're concerned with fighting over the money!!!       Third grade students could solve this case, yet the idiot jackboot pig keystone cops CAN"T?
Imhotep
Jan 14, 2013 7:59 AM CST
Lets hope the detectives investigating this thing don't screw it all up. Everytime I read about it the story changes.  Someone spiked the food the husband ate but not the daughter's food.  It was arranged that way to try and cover up who ever poisoned hubbys plate of vittles.  Gee, do you think it was the wife , Oops,  I mean the estranged wife. The good looking one who was either kicked out or left for greener pastures.  The one who all of a sudden popped out of the woodwork.  The one who prepared the meal. The one who put the food on the table. With all the publicity it's going to be hard to find a jury who hasn't read about it.  What an idiot for letting the wife back in his house.  She sounds like she was bad news from the start. When you consider the behavior of the family it sounds like they were all in on it. Another example of how evil the Lottery is. It's all about Greed, Jealousy, Hate, Murder, Sadness, and Depression.  For winners and loosers.
 

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