For Jeffrey Dampier, winning the Illinois lottery jackpot could have been a dream come true for him as it increased his wealth and ushered him into a life he had only imagined. If only he had known it would be the end of him within a few short years, he may have taken a recourse.
In 1996, Jeffrey Dampier won $20 million in the Illinois jackpot, placing him on the list of millionaires. However, it later proved to be his undoing.
10 Unknown Facts About Jeffrey Dampier
1. Jeffrey Dampier Was Once Married
Jeffrey Dampier was born on March 24 1966 on Chicago’s west side and then in 1996, he won the Illinois lottery
At the time he won the lottery he was married and speculation has it that they split the lottery wins 50/50 after the marriage went downhill. Very little is known about his first marriage or even information about the wife.
2. Jeffrey Dampier Used Lottery Wins to Start Popcorn Business
Jeffrey Dampier moved to Tampa, Florida to give his family a shot at life after winning the lottery. There, he invested some of his winnings in a popcorn business.
3. He named the Popcorn After His Daughter
The popcorn business started by Jeffrey Dampier, Kassie’s Gourmet Popcorn was named after his daughter. Unfortunately, the business was put up for sale not long after his death because of a “family emergency.”
4. Dampier Was Having an Affair With His Sister-in-Law
He also brought his two sisters-in-law to Tampa to stabilize their lives as well as help out other in-laws with presents. Was he just a nice guy or were these niceties attached to some strings? Well, he was allegedly having an affair with one of his sisters-in-law, Victoria Jackson.
5. Jeffrey Dampier was Lured to An Apartment He Had Paid For
Victoria had details about his lottery winnings and connived with her boyfriend, Nathaniel Jackson (they shared a surname) on how to lay their hands on Dampier’s money.
Victoria lured Jeffrey Dampier to her apartment which he paid for with lies regarding her car not starting. According to reports, on getting there, things got sour as he was uncooperative in revealing how they could access his money thereby infuriating the duo.
6. Victoria’s Boyfriend Asked Her To Shoot Jeffrey Dampier
Nathaniel gave a gun to Victoria and gave her an ultimatum, whether to shoot Dampier or herself. She chose herself and shot Dampier in the back of the head.
7. His Body Was Found In A Van
No matter how well thought out a crime plan is and with the curtain of greed over it, there is bound to be a mistake or many mistakes.
Three days after he was murdered, his body was found with his hands tied behind his back in Nathaniel’s van while they had fled into hiding. It pointed investigation towards them and led to their subsequent arrest.
See Also: The Sad Story Of Jennifer Alfonso- How She Was Killed By Her Husband, Derek Medina
8. Jeffrey Dampier Trial and Victim Roll Card
During the trial of Jeffrey Dampier, Victoria Jackson, the accused was painted as the victim by her legal representation. It was alleged that she was forced into shooting him.
That did not stop the jury from finding her guilty of first-degree murder, for which she was handed a three-life sentence.
9. Robbery, Motive Behind The Murder
After killing him, they fled and went into hiding but were accosted three days after the crime in Jacksonville with $1,500 in Nathaniel Jackson’s pockets. Nobody knows where the remaining money went.
See Also: 8 crazy things people have done after winning The Lottery
10. He Would Have Been Better Off Without Winning The Jackpot
Just like the experiences of others who lived to tell of the ruin winning the lottery brought to them, years after his death, his wife stated in an interview that Jeffrey Dampier would have been better off without winning the lottery. He was thirty-nine at his death in 2005, what a waste of a man in his prime.
Well, that is another matter entirely as he has gone to meet his maker or let’s say, he joined the queue of those whose lives were upturned and ruined by the injection of sudden wealth into it.