Urooj Khan’s life took a dramatic turn from joy to tragedy when he won the $1 million Chicago lottery. The 46-year-old owner of a dry cleaning business was thrilled with his big win, celebrating his fortune.
Back in 2012, Khan purchased a winning ticket from a local 7-Eleven, leading to a prize of $600,000 in a lump sum, netting him approximately $425,000 after taxes. Excited about his win, the India-born businessman had plans. “Winning the lottery means everything to me,” he said at the time. Khan intended to invest in his business and donate to a children’s hospital.
His joy, however, was short-lived. Khan’s winner’s cheque was issued on July 19, the day before his untimely death, with the cheque being cashed nearly a month later on August 15.
The initial assumption was that Khan died of natural causes until a family member’s suspicions prompted further investigation. This led the Chicago Police Department to conduct an autopsy, revealing that Khan had died from cyanide poisoning.
Commenting on the rarity of such cases, Cook County Medical Examiner Stephen Cina noted, “It’s pretty unusual. I’ve had one, maybe two cases out of 4,500 autopsies I’ve done.”
Deborah Blum, a poisons expert, told the Associated Press that cyanide has a powerfully bitter taste and causes a brutal form of death. “It essentially kills you in this explosion of cell death, you feel like you’re suffocating,” she explained. The toxin quickly blocks cells from using oxygen, leading to death within minutes.
Shabana Ansari, Khan’s widow, recounted her husband’s sudden illness, which began around 3 am, just hours after they had dinner. She described his intense suffering before he tragically collapsed and later died. “I can’t believe he’s no longer with me,” she lamented, adding that he was a “great person” who she believed had no enemies.
More than a decade later, the shocking case remains unresolved, and no arrests have been made in connection to Khan’s poisoning.