46-year-old Uruj Khan could not believe his luck when in 2012 he bought two lottery tickets at the store in Chicago, and one of them was winning.
Witnesses said that the man jumped up and shouted: «one Million! I won a million»! Khan said that he would be able to invest in your business — a network of dry cleaners.
Unfortunately, this story started happily, the ending was tragic, but the story itself looks like something out of the pen of the famous Agatha Christie. The fact that a couple of weeks, not having to collect your winnings, Khan died from a lethal dose of cyanide. Now, exactly five years after his death (Khan died in July 2012), the criminals have not found.
The fateful ticket
Urooj Khan, a native of India, moved to Chicago in the late 1980-ies, doing business of dry cleaners — with his second wife Shabanou asari.
He sometimes bought lottery tickets, but after he made Hajj — pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia — decided to abandon gamblingto live a more godly life. Khan changed his mind only once in that fateful day when he bought two tickets.
The man chose the lump sum payment, which after taxes amounted to about 425 thousand dollars. Not having to pick up the money, Khan died.
An autopsy was not performed, as it was considered natural causes of death. However, forensic pathologist took the blood sample — this is standard practice in any death, checked the presence in the blood of opiates and alcohol. As a result, the examination decided that the man died from atherosclerosis.
The whole family ate curry
The alarm was sounded, the elder brother of the deceased, Imtiaz Khan. He did not agree with the conclusions of the examination, especially due to the fact that the win Khan has caused a lot of tension in their family. «I kept saying, he didn’t die from clogged arteries. It was a murder. Please check once», — said Imtiaz Chicago Tribune.
The man kept calling the police, the doctors, have not yet ensured that the blood sample was sent for comprehensive toxicology study. Which showed that blood had a lethal dose of cyanide. Then the police started investigation.
It is known that the first thing the detectives interrogated the widow of Khan, Shaban Ansari, and raided the house where the victim lived with his wife, his daughter from a previous marriage yasmin and father of Shabana.
Only five years later, after a long silence, Shabana told reporters that detectives for four hours of questioning her about how she was cooking dinner — traditional Indian dish — curry. Advocate Shabana says that the client has answered all the question, except for the curry that night they all ate. The prosecution wife was not charged. Shabana says she doesn’t believe in murder. «Khan was such a nice man. Nobody would kill him,» she says.
The family had financial problems
They discover new facts. As it turned out, a year before the death of the Khan, his family house was founded over 120 thousand dollars to pay taxes. The family obviously had financial problems. In the end only six months, the body of Khan, it was decided to exhumeto conduct an autopsy, but it was too late.
«The body was not embalmed, and it became impossible to determine how lethal dose of potassium cyanide into the body,» — said the medical examiner Stephen J. Sina. But the autopsy showed that one coronary artery was occluded by 75%, it could also be the cause of death of men.
However, according to him, the cyanide has accelerated this process, as it affects the content of oxygen in the blood. «If the person was predisposed to it, if he had an embolism, cyanide further restricted the blood flow to the heart, and death occurred very quickly,» added Shin. He remembers the case which considers one of the most memorable during his 26-year-old practice.
The win went to the daughter and the widow
Since Khan left no will, the inheritance — including the ill-fated win — divided among his relatives. About a third received daughter yasmin, two-thirds, the widow of Sha’ban. Part of the sum went to pay for lawyers.
According to al-Haroon Husain, an attorney for the inheritance, it was one of the most difficult cases.
«It was not just a question of money,» recalls a lawyer five years later. «They suspected each other in the murder of a member of his family. Can’t imagine anything more emotionally heavy.»
Five years after the Khan’s death the Chicago police are still stumped. Charges to anybody has not been nominated.
«I continue to say the same thing — we’re looking for witnesses. What? How long will it last?», — asks brother Uruga. The question that remains unanswered.
The Imtiaz constantly calling the Chicago police to remind myself, to learn about the progress of the investigation. And goes to the grave of his younger brother. «I want whoever did it went to jail,» says Imtiaz. «Where’s the justice?»
