Chicago lottery winner died from cyanide poisoning a day after collecting winnings

A Chicago lottery winner was fatally poisoned a day after collecting $425,000 in lottery winnings, a medical examiner said today.

Urooj Khan’s sudden death on July 20 was initially ruled a result of natural causes, but a further examination at the behest of a concerned relative found he had ingested a lethal dose of cyanide, the Associated Press reported.

Chicago police are now investigating Khan’s death as a homicide, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Khan, who had a dry cleaning business, bought the winning instant lottery ticket at a convenience store near his home in the West Rogers Park neighborhood.

The Agence France-Presse reported that the 46-year-old described his initial reaction in a press statement.

"I scratched the ticket, then I kept on saying, 'I hit a million!' over and over again. I jumped two feet in the air, then ran back into the store and tipped the clerk $100."

Khan collected the lump sum option on the $1 million ticket on July 19. The next day he was dead.