DMP_MEECH

Abraham Shakespeare won a $30 million lottery jackpot in 2006. Three years later, the money was gone, and so was he. He had worked washing dishes and on garbage trucks in Lakeland, Florida. After the win, he paid off mortgages for family, friends, and some complete strangers. “I really would like my old life back,” he said. Among the new friends was Dee Dee Moore, who offered to manage his money. In a home video, she asks whether he’s tired of people asking him for money. “They don’t take no for an answer,” he replies. He was last seen in April 2009 but wasn’t reported missing until November. In January 2010, police found his body under a concrete slab in Moore’s backyard. Prosecutors say she tried to convince his mother he was still alive, arranging a phone call with someone posing as him. Her ex-husband testified he dug a hole with a backhoe at her request. Then came the forged letter to his mother, supposedly written by Shakespeare. He was illiterate. Informant Greg Smith secretly recorded Moore. He testified she told him to burn the body and gave him a list of supplies, including kerosene. On tape, she also discussed a plan for another man to take the blame for about $50,000. Moore maintains she is innocent. She faced a mandatory life sentence. He escaped poverty for three years, surrounded by people who all wanted a piece of him. The one who offered to protect his money was the one burying him in her yard. Was it the lottery that killed him, or the trust he placed in the wrong person?