Hey millionaire!
Who doesn't aspire to win the lottery?
Unfortunately, winning a big fortune doesn't guarantee happiness, especially if we're surrounded
by the wrong people.
But for some winners, this sudden life change brought them something worse than unhappiness.
Their new fortunes led them down a path of tragedy and even death.
Here are the most chilling stories of lottery winners who were murdered for their winnings
by strangers - or even those closest to them.
When you win the lottery, you aspire to have a happy life, away from everyday problems.
However, stories abound of lottery winners who were murdered by their loved ones.
Money can be a source of jealousy and conflict, and if you don't watch your back and choose
your friends wisely, you could be sleeping next to your future murderer.
But winning the lottery can also mean appearing in the media and becoming famous.
And we all know what happens to millionaires when they come out of anonymity.
If you ever become a lottery winner, you need to avoid exposing your identity - your life
and the lives of your loved ones could depend on it.
Viewer discretion is advised - most people will find these stories distressing.
If you think you can handle them, then let's dive in.
5.
Maria "Lou Devrell" In 1999, Maria Devrell won the Australian
lottery, taking home a staggering 5 million Australian dollars.
Together with her husband David, Devrell enlisted the services of an accountant and financial
advisor named Pedro Kelly to help her manage her money.
After all, not many people know what to do with that kind of fortune, and Kelly looked
like the perfect person to help as he'd proven to be a trusted family friend.
Little did she know that this man would eventually become the perpetrator of her brutal murder.
On March 28, 2011, Devrell had a heated argument with Kelly over money-related issues.
Kelly suddenly began a brutal attack on Devrell at her Tamworth home, striking her several
times in the back of the head with a rubber mallet.
Dissatisfied with this, Kelly strangled Devrell with his bare hands until his friend's body
went limp.
He left her at the scene of the crime, where Devrell's body was eventually found by her
daughter.
The murder of Maria Devrell resulted in a lengthy trial, in which Kelly revealed the
true motive for the dark murder.
He claimed he was angry with Devrells' wasteful spending habits.
His frustrations led to a confrontation in which Devrell drove him out of control, so
he decided to take revenge.
He was sentenced to nearly two decades in prison.
4.
Jeffrey Dampier Before becoming a successful lottery winner,
Jeffrey Dampier, from Chicago, was just like anyone else.
He worked as a security guard and didn't stand out very much.
But in 1996, everything changed for him after he won the Illinois Lottery jackpot, valued
at $20 million.
Shortly after winning the prize, Jeffrey divorced his wife, which kicked off his run of bad
luck.
She took half of his wealth, but that still left Jeffrey with a fortune that should have
been more than enough to live a trouble-free life.
But when you surround yourself with the wrong people, money can go from making your life
easier to ending it altogether.
Meeting Crystal Jackson was the final nail in Jeffrey's coffin, even though she wouldn't
be his murderer.
Jeffrey used his newfound wealth to lavish his new wife and family with expensive gifts
and vacations before moving to Florida to start a new life.
However, behind that mask of kindness and innocence, he was sleeping with his sister-in-law,
Victoria Jackson.
And Jeffrey wasn't the only one sneaking around - Victoria and her real partner, Nathaniel,
were plotting Jeffrey's murder behind his back.
Nathaniel and Victoria now had a sinister plan to get their hands on Jeffrey's money.
On July 26, 2005, Victoria called Jeffrey to ask for help with a car problem.
The scene Jeffrey arrived at was very different from what he was expecting.
He was greeted by a shotgun-wielding Nathaniel, who forced him into his truck.
Then Jeffrey was tied up and taken to an unknown location, where Nathaniel demanded that he
give up his money if he wanted to keep his life.
But there was no way Jeffrey would give up his rightful fortune.
After giving the gun to Victoria, Nathaniel threatened to shoot her if she did not kill
Jeffrey.
Victoria wasn't about to risk her own life, so she executed Jeffrey with a shot to the
back of the head.
In 2006, a year after the tragedy, Nathaniel and Victoria were convicted and sentenced
to serve three consecutive life sentences.
They are still rotting in prison.
3.
Urooj Khan It takes a lot of luck to win the lottery,
but much bad luck to lose your life the day after becoming a millionaire.
Urooj Khan was an Indian immigrant who owned a dry cleaning shop in Chicago.
In June 2012, Urooj won more than $1 million thanks to an Illinois Lottery ticket.
But he never got to see the money.
A day after becoming a lottery winner, Urooj turned up dead.
Before he died, Urooj tried to call his brother Imtiaz on the phone.
Unfortunately, his voice announced that he had just suffered a heart attack.
Imtiaz rushed to save his brother's life, but instead, he found his dead body.
According to the specialists, he had died of natural causes.
But Imtiaz just knew that wasn't right, and he was determined to discover the truth.
After numerous tests and a more complex blood sample, he discovered the true cause of his
brother's death - he had been poisoned with a lethal dose of cyanide.
To this day, the culprit has not been found, but everything seems to indicate that his
wife may have had something to do with it.
While Urooj's family fights tooth and nail to keep the late lottery winner's fortune,
his body lies in the ground in a case that has yet to be solved.
But even this terrible story is not as horrifying as the ones I'm about to tell you - so keep
watching!
2.
Bazil Thorne In 1960, Graeme Thorne, an eight-year-old
boy from Sydney, Australia, became the victim of one of the most terrifying crimes in history.
Graeme's father, Bazil Thorne, had just won a jackpot of 100,000 - the equivalent of three
million Australian dollars today.
Following his big win, local newspapers spread Bazil's story of victory around the country.
Of course, this attracted the attention of fans, but unfortunately, more perverse people
were also captivated by Basil's story, including his son's killer, Stephen Bradley.
Bradley had come up with the perfect plan to get his hands on Basil's money - by kidnapping
Basil's son.
He grabbed little Graeme while he was on his way to school one morning, and that was the
last time anyone saw him alive.
Once the conditions of his plan were met, Bradley demanded a huge ransom from the family
in exchange for their 8-year-old boy.
Unfortunately, not even the authorities' best efforts in one of Australia's most important
search missions were enough to prevent misfortune.
Graeme was found lifeless in an abandoned lot not far from his home.
Graeme Thorne's tragic death marked a before and after for Australia.
It was the end of innocence, and the beginning of terror, as no parent wanted to leave their
children alone for a single moment.
The era of playing freely in the streets was over, giving way to a new age of mistrust.
The murder also led to Australian laws being changed, giving all lottery winners the right
to remain anonymous.
But this seems a small victory compared to what has been lost because nothing will bring
young Graeme back.
And finally, we've reached the story of...
1.
Craigory Burch Jr.
In November 2015, Craigory Burch Jr went from being a forklift operator from Fitzgerald,
Georgia, to becoming the winner of an incredible $434,272 fortune.
Two months later, he was murdered in his own home, right in front of his children and girlfriend.
It's a truly chilling tale - a group of armed, masked men broke into Burch's property with
a plan to take the family's money.
But the cash wasn't the only thing they claimed on the day of the tragedy.
The criminals viciously executed Burch with multiple gunshots to different parts of his
body, giving him no chance to defend himself.
The police went to work on the case to find the culprits, eventually apprehending seven
suspects.
One of them was Nathaniel Baker, who interestingly shares a name as another perpetrator featured
in this video.
In January 2017, Baker was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility
of parole, along with Wayan Malik Jordan, who was sentenced to two life sentences plus
fifteen years.
As for the seven suspects, all were arrested and prosecuted for their crimes.
But no conviction can heal the wounds carried by
Burch's loved ones who were forced to witness his murder.