CHICAGO, Jan. 18 (UPI) — The body of a poisoned lottery winner from Chicago was exhumed for further investigation Friday morning, officials said.
Crews exhumed the body of Urooj Khan, 46, from his plot at Rosehill Cemetery, where he was buried six months ago, WLS-TV, Chicago, reported.
Khan died of cyanide poisoning one day after collecting a $425,000 lottery check.
Investigators said they hope to find more answers on how the cyanide entered Khan’s body. A full autopsy will follow the exhumation, officials said.
The Cook County medical examiner had initially determined the cause of death was natural but, after the urging of a relative, a follow up test found cyanide.
“After he won the lottery and the next day later he passes away, it’s very awkward. It raises some eyebrows. When we found out there was cyanide in his blood after the extensive toxicology reports, we had to believe that somebody had to kill him,” said Imtiaz Khan, brother.
Urooj Khan’s widow Shabana Ansari, who prepared his last meal, has denied having anything to do with her husband’s death and has said she supports the exhumation because “God is going to reveal the truth.”
Copyright 2013 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).
