A recent medical examiner report found a Chicago man was fatally poisoned shortly after winning hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Illinois lottery.
The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper reported Monday that the Cook County Medical Examiner determined during a second examination that Urooj Khan, 46, died after someone gave him a deadly amount of cyanide.
Khan died July 20 of last year, a day after collecting the lump sum option of $425,000 on a $1 million win. He told the Illinois Lottery that he planned to invest some of his winnings in his dry-cleaning business.
He bought the ticket at a 7-Eleven near his home in West Rogers Park, a neighborhood on Chicago's North Side.
Cook County Medical Examiner Stephen Cina says a limited exam initially found Urooj Khan died of natural causes, but a relative asked for a deeper full investigation, which revealed the results.
Khan's death has now been re-classified as a homicide and Cina says it's likely his body will be exhumed as part of the investigation into his death.
Cyanide is a chemical compound that is a triple bond between carbon and nitrogen atoms that is produced by certain bacteria, fungi, and algae and are found in a number of plants although in very small amounts.
It can exist in various forms such as a solid, a liquid, or as an invisible, colorless gas.
Cyanide is highly toxic in great doses and can be difficult to detect.
The effects of cyanide ingestion are very similar to the effects of suffocation in that it stops the cells of the body from being able to use oxygen, which all cells need to survive.
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