$10 Million Lottery Winner Sentenced to Life in Prison for Fatally Shooting Girlfriend

$10 Million Lottery Winner Sentenced to Life in Prison for Fatally Shooting Girlfriend


A North Carolina man who won $10 million in a lottery prize in 2017 is now preparing to spend the rest of his life in prison on first-degree murder charges.

On Friday, a jury found Michael Hill, 54, guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of 23-year-old Keonna Graham, The News & Observer reports. Hill was ordered to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole and received an additional 22-36 months for possession of a firearm by a felon that runs concurrently with the life sentence.

Graham had been dating Hill for more than a year when her body was found at the SureStay Hotel in Shallotte on July 20, 2020. Surveillance footage revealed Hill was the only person with Graham inside the hotel room.

Police tracked Hill down a few days later, and he confessed to killing Graham after seeing her texting other men while at the hotel. The District Attorney’s office thanked local law enforcement for their assistance in getting Hill arrested and charged with the murder.

“The District Attorney’s Office would like to thank our local law enforcement agencies for their collaborative efforts in the investigation of Graham’s death,” Assistant District Attorney Shirley Smircic said. “The hard work of these officers ensured a just result in this case.”

Hill was working at a nuclear plant when he won $10 million from a scratch-off ticket in August 2017, CBS News reports. Hill received $4,159,000 after taxes and planned to use his earnings to pay off bills and help his wife’s business.

The since-convicted felon purchased a non-winning ticket before deciding to try his luck on another scratch-off game. After reviewing his ticket, Hill discovered his “life-changing” lottery win.

“I saw the one and then the zero, and it still didn’t hit me,” he told N.C. Education Lottery at the time. “But then I saw the ‘M.’ My heart dropped down to my toes, and I lost my breath.”


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