A North Carolina man who won $10 million from a scratch-off lottery card is not going to have many chances to spend his fortune – he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2020 murder of his girlfriend.
The Crime: According to combined media reports: 54-year-old Michael Todd Hill was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Keonna Graham, who was 23 years old when she was reported missing in July 2020. Graham’s body was found in a hotel room with a gunshot wound to the back of her head. Surveillance footage from the hotel showed Hill was the only individual in the room with her.
Hill reportedly confessed to murdering Graham after he discovered texts from other men on her cell phone while they were staying at the hotel. He said he was in a romantic relationship with Graham for a year and a half after he hit the lottery jackpot.
In addition to the murder conviction, he was found guilty of possession of a firearm by a felon.
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The Would-Be Millionaire: Hill was a nuclear plant worker when he won $10 million from an Ultimate Millions scratch-off ticket in August 2017. Hill gave $2,000 to the clerk who sold him the winning ticket.
However, Hill did not pocket the full $10 million – he opted for a smaller up-front amount and took home $4 million after taxes. At the time of his arrest in November 2020, he claimed that he could not afford a lawyer.
Photo: Michael Todd Hill, courtesy of North Carolina’s Brunswick County Detention Center
