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3백억 복권당첨자, 12년만에 빈털털이로 생 마감 - 뉴욕데일리뉴스

An unemployed ex-con turned $27 million Powerball winner has died in a community hospice care after reportedly losing his mansions, cars, Learjet and moving into a storage shed.

원본출처 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/unemployed-ex-con-turned-powerball-winner-dies-hospice-article-1.1536710

David Lee Edwards whose life was thrust into the public spotlight after going from rags to riches overnight with his monumental 2001 win, died Saturday in Kentucky at the age of 58.

The exact cause of death was not released.

For Edwards, a drug addict who had spent a third of his life behind bars for theft, New Times Broward-Palm Beach reported, the Powerball win was truly a dream come true but perhaps not as much as a blessing as first perceived.

After living unemployed in his late parents' home and borrowing money to keep his water running, the Daily Independent reported, the 46-year-old's luck all changed when a few spare dollars afforded him $7 worth of Powerball tickets.

Edwards publicly described the winning numbers at the time as a gift from God.

RELATED: PICASSO RAFFLE REJECTS COLLECTOR'S ATTEMPT TO BUY 10,000 TICKETS

Edwards and his fiancée, Shawna Maddux, pose in front of their home and luxury car in 2001.

TONY GUTIERREZ/AP

Edwards and his fiancée, Shawna Maddux, pose in front of their home and luxury car in 2001.

"I didn't want to accept this money by saying I'm going to get mansions and I'm going to get cars, I'm going to do this and that," he said while accepting his check. "I would like to accept it with humility. I want this money to last, for me, for my future wife, for my daughter and future generations."

He almost immediately next went on to share his plans to buy a Bentley while his 27-year-old fiancée, Shawna Maddux, said she wanted a Ferrari.

As time would tell, however, Edwards' so-called blessing would appear more like a curse.

James Gibbs, his former Morgan Stanley broker and financial advisor, recalled negotiating a $200,000 loan for Edwards to celebrate his win in Las Vegas.

Speaking to the New Times he revealed that in just six days into his Nevada trip, Edwards called to say he was broke and needed more money.

When he returned to Kentucky he went on to buy a $1.6 million mansion in Ashland, Kentucky, a 6,000-square-foot house in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and a third $600,000 home nearby, the Ashland Daily Independent reported.

RELATED: L.I. DELI TRIED TO SCAM CUSTOMER OUT OF $1M LOTTERY TICKET

Edwards (pictured) and his wife Shawna had multiple run-ins with police as the fortune took control of their lives.

Palm Beach Gardens PD

Edwards (pictured) and his wife Shawna had multiple run-ins with police as the fortune took control of their lives.

According to Gibbs, Edwards would fly back and forth between Kentucky and Florida, sometimes with an entourage.

His friends would do drugs, said Gibbs, and Edwards would easily supply them.

"He actually had I don't know how many friends OD once he won the money, from him giving them money and them going and buying so much and doing so much drugs that they died. Then he would pay for their funerals," he told the New Times. "I would just sit there and cringe."

That December 2001 in Malibu he also married Maddux, a convicted mother of two, whom he was already engaged to at the time of his win.

In his first three months, Gibbs said he had blown through $3 million. In a year, Edwards estimated he spent around $12 million.

To furnish his Florida garages and driveways, he allegedly purchased more than a million dollars worth of vehicles including a Lamborghini Diablo and a Chevrolet camper van.

RELATED: $130M POWERBALL TICKET SOLD AT BROOKLYN DELI

Edwards' later ex-wife, pictured, was arrested for stabbing Edwards with a crack pipe and again in 2006 for drug possession.

Palm Beach Gardens PD

Edwards' later ex-wife, pictured, was arrested for stabbing Edwards with a crack pipe and again in 2006 for drug possession.

Even more extravagant purchases included a $1.9 million Learjet, three racehorses and a limo company.

Then things started to tumble.

Edwards filed for divorce from Shawna, who had gone in and out of drug rehab, before she was involuntarily committed to a substance-abuse treatment program and their marriage rekindled, New Times Broward-Palm Beach reported.

Shawna's health didn't improve, however.

In 2004, she was arrested for stabbing Edwards with a crack pipe and again in 2006 for drug possession.

In 2006, Edwards' home was forced into foreclosure, sending the couple to their rented warehouse space for shelter.

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David Lee Edwards is seen left with his daughter, Tiffani Edwards, in 2010.

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David Lee Edwards is seen left with his daughter, Tiffani Edwards, in 2010.

The scene would later be described as littered with hypodermic needles and other unsanitary waste.

In 2007, the failed lotto winner was hospitalized before being brought back to Kentucky by his ex-wife and her new husband.

That year Edwards was described by an old friend as being "on his deathbed."

Shawna and Edwards divorced and Shawna remarried before being arrested on a first-degree assault charge for allegedly stabbing her boyfriend in a motel, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

Shawna Edwards, who changed her name to Shawna Johnson, was reported as facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Edwards leaves behind a daughter who was 11 at the time of his winnings.

His ex-wife previously said she wished he had set some money aside for her.

Gibbs said he did put about $16 million away for him in bonds and annuities, but said Edwards liquidated them.

ngolgowski@nydailynews.com