A medical examiner has declared the July death of a lottery jackpot winner a homicide after finding cyanide in his system. 46-year-old Urooj Khan won $1 million on a scratch-off ticket in June 2012. After opting for a lump sum, he took home $425,000 on July 19. He died mysteriously the following day, but no autopsy was performed.
According to the Associated Press, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said that they do not perform autopsies on people over the age of 45 unless the death is suspicious:
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When a relative asked authorities to perform a more thorough investigation, the medical examiner tested for "all the major drugs of use, all the common prescription drugs and also included I believe strychnine and cyanide in there just in case something came up."
Cook County Medical Examiner Stephen Cina said a death from cyanide is "unusual," adding that he's had "one, maybe two cases" out of the 4,500 autopsies he's done.
