A Lincoln Park, Michigan, woman who won $1 million in the Michigan Lottery and was later convicted for still collecting state welfare died Saturday from an apparent drug overdose.
Ecorse Police confirmed Saturday afternoon that Amanda Clayton, of Lincoln Park, was found dead at a residence on Sunnyside Street at 9 a.m.
Shortly after winning the lottery in March, Clayton's story garnered national media attention when she revealed she was still collecting $5,500 from the state in food aid and medical benefits .
Clayton, 25, pleaded no contest to fraud in June and was placed on six months' probation in July.
In August, four people were charged with felonious assault outside of Clayton's residence. The dispute, which involved a baseball bat, knife and toy gun, started as a disagreement over grass clippings between Clayton and her neighbor's lawns.
Clayton isn't the only Michigan Lottery winner to become notorious after making headlines.
In August, millionaire Freddie Young, of Detroit, was sentenced to 20 to 35 years in prison for fatally shooting his daughter's landlord.
Young, 64, was convicted on second-degree murder and felony firearm charges in the May 2011 killing of Australian native Gregory McNicol.
Prosecutors said Young won an estimated $1.57 million share of a Michigan Lottery jackpot in February 2011. Three months later, he shot 45-year-old McNicol over $1,000 in back rent owed by his daughter.
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Thanks to dpoly1 and emilyg for the tip.
The curse of winning a Jackpot....
I do believe that drug abuse was the "curse" in this case.
How sad, she could have had the world at her fingertips, RIP Amanda, may you find peace.
Maybe now michigan may consider anonymous also.
What a sad ending to what should have been a happy story.
May she rest in peace.
I hope she died broke or the rest of the $ goes to a good cause.
Very sad. Its a good lesson for lottery winners overall. Too bad for this lottery winner the price to learn was more than one should pay.
I will be extra careful now and resist as much peer pressure as possible to buy large quantities of cocaine when i win.
I knew those bolivians moving in next door was a bad luck sign.
Im sad
I liked her.
I can't believe this!
And she won on Sept 11th too hmm?
This is just terrible.
R.I.P.
Too bad she was not able to get some help with her winnings. People make bad choices. And sometimes those choices are fatal.
RIP Amanda, may you find the peace you seek in the afterlife.
This is sad. She was only 25 years old and drugs were the cause. I don't believe the lottery is cursed. That's ridiculous. If everyone who ever won the lottery died soon after, then I probably would believe a curse does exist, but until then, no.
I can't imagine the amount of harrassment she must have been going through once the story broke about her.
RIP
She might have been given an overdose by people she didn't want to share her winnings with.
RIP, very sad story
She had a pre-existing drug dependency, I think this drama and the money issue, just pushed her over the edge.
Sad that someone from within her family couldn't have helped her through this crisis.
Yup...as long as the agency that administers welfare gets notified automatically of all winners. Otherwise, she would have anonymously been collecting welfare along with her Lotto check, and quite frankly, that is not right or fair. And her logic for continuing to collect the welfare demonstrated the classic entitlement attitude this president seeks to ingrain in Americans...OMG!
Rest in Peace ........... a very young life lost ........................
I agree ....but its not all that sad
What does anonymity have to do with this story?
This was about bad decisions not about whether the winnings were known or not!!
Unfortunately many people die like this everyday and the lottery has nothing
to do with it, she made some very bad choices.
Waste.
So sad to hear this news. There are instances that can't be avoided.
I remember thinking this is one wicked female when it was reported that she still was on her bridge card.
Now I feel sad for her and her family.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fyHGcK7mBI&feature=fvsr
So sad. RIP Amanda.
We should all choose our friends wisely and even more wisely after winning the lottery.
even though she died from drugs her death will always be associated w/ the lottery,
if anonymous we would'nt be talking about it.
She was in the final stretch of putting her legal troubles behind her and could enjoy some of her lottery winnings. Too bad she had to do drugs. RIP
I disagree with the public not knowing about her case. Once Social Services filed a claim against her, the whole thing would have become public. She committed a crime.
I do agree, she made some pretty bad choices. And it seems none of her family had any control over her. She was her own girl.
There is a theory of there being a "curse" on Jackpot winners.
But again, so many winners make bad decisions with their winnings that end up causing deep depression, family bickering, a lot of spending on ultra expensive items that cause the winners to eventally cause the winners to file for bankruptcy.
I agree, it not a curse, but poor decisions, poor judgements and greed that cause the unfortunate outcomes for many winners.
I don't believe in lottery curses. I believe in responsible and irresponsible spending/managing of your winnings.
The latter took a role in this sad case.
I agree!!!....Amanda was young and made some very bad choices in her short life. (From ripping off the welfare system, to not getting herself some help with her winnings, may her soul rest in peace!)
RIP AMANDA 9/29/2012