Urooj Khan, 46, who did not leave a will, was initially thought to have died from hardening arteries. Khan holds a ceremonial check in 2012. Shabana Ansari, his widow, is at the far left.
The estate of an Illinois lottery winner who was poisoned after scratching off the $1 million ticket will reportedly be split by his widow and his daughter from a previous marriage, his two surviving heirs.
The settlement ends a drawn-out courtroom battle between the two women, who promised not to sue each other in the death of Urooj Khan, 46, unless additional information turns up during a criminal investigation, reported the Chicago Tribune.
One-third of the lottery winnings will go to Jasmeen Khan, 18, his daughter from another marriage. She will also get five condominiums her father owned, which are valued at $250,000 altogether.
Khan's widow, Shabana Ansari, will keep three dry-cleaning shops that she and Khan owned, which are valued at more than $1 million. She will also receive the rest of the lottery money, according to the Chicago pape
They're always going to be at opposite ends on this," said Ansari's attorney, Al-Haroon Husain. "The most we can do right now is just make sure all the matters get settled in court and have both parties get on with their lives."
Khan, who did not leave a will, won the scratch-off prize in May 2012 but died two months later, before he could collect the one-time lump sum of $424,000 after taxes, NBC News reported.
The medical examiner initially thought his death was the result of hardening arteries. But Khan's brother spoke out about his doubts over the ruling. The investigation continued, and authorities found lethal levels of cyanide in blood taken from Khan's body before his burial.
The death was reclassified as a homicide.
"This is not an ending anybody would hope for," said Husain. "But it is what it is."
