A North Carolina man has been sentenced to life in prison for murder in a bizarre twist of fate that saw him arrested for killing his girlfriend after he won a huge lottery prize.
54-year-old Michael Todd Hill won a $10 million lottery prize in 2017.
Hill, a former nuclear plant worker, won the lottery prize from a gas station scratch-off ticket.
He took the up-front cash option and ended up with more than $4 million after taxes.
But he was just sentenced to life in prison for murdering his girlfriend.
He was arrested in July 2020 and broke down, eventually admitted to the killing.
He was convicted Friday of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Hill was convicted for the 2020 fatal shooting of Keonna Graham, 23.
Graham was found dead in a hotel room with a gunshot wound to the back of the head on July 20, 2020.
Tiffany Wilson, a friend of Graham’s said:
“She was very loved and she’s very beautiful.”
“I think it’s horrible.
“I mean, he just won the lottery.
“I heard he just got married and you go and kill a young girl? A beautiful girl?
“I don’t understand.”
From WECT:
Hill reportedly confessed to murdering Graham after finding texts from other men while they were staying at the hotel.
He stated he and Graham were in a romantic relationship for a year and a half after he won his lottery ticket.
After the jury deliberated for an hour, Hill was sentenced to life in prison without possibility for parole for the murder charge and a concurrent 22 to 36 months for Possession of Firearm by Felon.
