Posted on 11/26/2005 6:06:24 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
NEWPORT, Ky. (AP) -- A woman who won a $65.4 million Powerball jackpot with her husband five years ago was found dead at her home overlooking the Ohio River. Police said she had been dead for days before anyone found her.
Virginia Metcalf Merida's son found her dead Wednesday. Campbell County Police are awaiting autopsy results and toxicology results before announcing a cause of death.
Investigators said there was no sign of forced entry at the 5,000-square-foot, custom-built geodesic dome house that Merida, 51, bought for $559,000 in 2000.
Her husband, Mack Wayne Metcalf, died in 2003 at age 45 while living in a replica of George Washington's Mount Vernon estate built in Corbin. His death followed multiple run-ins with the law in the days following the lottery win.
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When they won the jackpot, the couple refused dozens of interview requests but told lottery officials they were going separate ways to fulfill lifelong dreams. Merida was quitting her job making corrugated boxes and planned to buy a home. Metcalf, a forklift operator, wanted to start a new life in Australia.
The couple split the winnings of the $3 ticket bought at a Florence truck stop and opted to take a $34.1 million lump sum instead of annual installments. Merida took 40 percent, or $13.6 million, while Metcalf moved to Corbin with the remaining $20.5 million.
Neighbors said Merida shunned attention successfully until last December, when a body was found in her home.
Campbell County Deputy Coroner Al Garnick confirmed that a man died of a drug overdose at the home, but he couldn't recall the person's name. Official records were unavailable because of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
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Merida had used part of her winnings to buy a second home, but when she tried to evict the resident of the home, the renter sued her in Hamilton County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday.
Carol Terrell Lawson, who is still renting the home, said Thursday that she never met Merida in person and only learned of the death after reporters began calling her.
David Huff, who bought the Mount Vernon look-alike home from Metcalf's estate, said Metcalf died of multiple ailments complicated by alcoholism.
"It was a classic case of a person who never had anything and didn't know how to handle it," Huff said. "I think things went from bad to worse when he got the money."
After winning the jackpot, Metcalf was first ordered to pay $31,000 in back child support. Court workers in Kenton County said at the time that he was behind in support payments for his daughter from his first marriage since 1986. A judge ordered him to establish an $800,000 trust fund to take care of his daughter's future needs.
A month after winning the lottery win, a Boone County judge issued a warrant for Metcalf's arrest after he failed to appear in court on a drunken driving charge. It turned out that Metcalf had crashed into several parked cars while driving drunk through a mall parking lot a month before he won the lottery.
Metcalf eventually served four days on the DUI conviction but not before he was fined for causing a bar brawl in Florence.
He also sued to reclaim $500,000 that he allegedly gave to a woman while he was drunk.
Court records were unavailable Thursday to determine the outcome of that case.
Metcalf saw the Corbin home he eventually bought and liked it so much that he made an offer. He asked the owner what it would take to buy the home, complete with all the furnishings, and then handed over the asking price, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Saturday.
The lawyer, Robert Hammons, who still lives in Corbin, declined Thursday to say what he got for the home. The 4,000-square-foot residence estate is on 43 acres, with an outdoor pool and a metal building that would eventually house Metcalf's dozen classic cars.
"It is really a bizarre story," Huff said. "Sad, when you think about it. He had a real hard life. I'm sure there are a lot of things that went wrong in his past that no one knows about."
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Be careful what you ask for....
Where are stories of people who do good with their jackpot?
Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.
Even before I quit the drugs and alcohol I thought about this situation. I always said the first thing I would do if I won the lottery would be to check myself into the Betty Ford clinic so I would be around to enjoy the money.
These days it doesn't matter because I'm clean anyway and I was never a gambler to begin with.
Same place as the good stories of the war and public schools.
If they would have just given me the money, I would model how to properly enjoy $34 million without overdosing. The guy in WV who won $315 million has also had lots of trouble.
http://www.lotterypost.com/news-103397.htm
Not to mention his car has been broken into several times at the titty bar he frequents, and I believe a dead body was found in his home as well, when he was on vacation.
It sounds like they would have had the same end even if they didn't win the money. It probably just sped it up because money was no impediment.
The article didn't mention either one's charitable givings, other than to themselves.
What a pair of morons.
If I win the lottery I plan to spend a lot of time at the local casino - at the penny machine.
Hard to believe that Boortz gets paid to spew such. It is disgusting to hear him opine that low income=low maorals and character.
Glad to learn your story. Keep up the good work.
His grandaughter also died of drug overdose. She spent millions of the money before she died.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-12-21-whittaker-death_x.htm
Living the dream.
That must have been one hell of a lap dance.
I know, that is what I linked on my post.
Wow, sounds like a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits story.
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