Lover found lottery winner's body

Oct 30, 2010, 10:45 am (109 comments)

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A lottery winner who hanged himself in his Leicestershire home in central England was found by a live-in lover his family had no idea existed, an inquest has heard.

Richard Lang died at his house in Broughton Astley, Leicestershire on May 18. The 31-year-old had won £867,454 in the U.K. National Lottery in 2005.

On Wednesday an inquest at Leicester Town Hall heard he was found by Joshua Jones, who told police he was in a relationship with the British Waterways worker.

But the inquest heard Lang's family had no idea of Jones's existence, let alone the fact he was living at the house.

Coroner Martin Gotheridge told the court it seemed Lang had a "number of lives".  Jones, from Wrexham, was not at the inquest, but two statements were read to the court by the coroner.

He said on May 17 Lang, who carried on working as a British Waterways engineer despite his lottery win, came back from work as usual at 4.30pm.

"He went into the dining room and sorted out some paperwork, I thought that was unusual as he could do that at any time and it wasn't what he usually did in the evenings," his statement said. He said the couple ate dinner, watched a film then went to bed at about 11pm.

The coroner said, "He then says that they slept together and Lang would often say that sex was pointless and everything was pointless as nothing made him excited or interested."

The following morning Lang got up at 7.40am as normal — the inquest heard he was usually picked up by a colleague at 8am.  Jones's statement said, "I usually heard the TV come on as Lang usually watches the news as he eats his breakfast. I heard something else on the TV, it was much louder than usual. I was half asleep and I heard some noises on the stairs which I assumed was Lang getting ready for work."

But he said when he heard the van arrive, he noticed Lang did not leave the house as normal. "After approximately five minutes I thought it was strange that the van was still out on the driveway so I went downstairs. "As I looked down to the ground floor I thought I saw Lang kneeling on the floor. I went down the stairs where I realized Lang was hanging from the bannister using the Hoover cord."

Press Association, Lottery Post Staff

Comments

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

What a sad story. It's too bad he didn't get some kind of help first but it's clear he wasn't in his right mind. Really sad.

Daveyl

This is an example of how such a dramatic change in one's lifestyle does not cure the winner's underlying insecurities. People believe they are suddenly invulnerable and flushed with power and notoriety after they receive their winnings. What these folks misunderstand about this phenomenon is that they are still themselves, with all of their personal weaknesses, foibles, 'baggage' and other characteristics intact, both positive and negative. This man was in all probability mobbed by people he knew, and prevailed upon to give up his money. Personal vices such as drinking, gambling, womanizing and drug abuse are accentuated by the fact that all are affordable, and in virtually limitless supply.  A person who wins the lottery is vulnerable to all types of scams, and their eventual paranoia develops which precludes them from functioning in society as a normal human being. Marriage proposals, lawsuits, financial fraud, ex-wives, girlfriends, associates, charities, fair weather friends, family members and even an occasional extortion appear with lightning swiftness, overwhelming the hapless neophyte with legal challenges and difficult decisions regarding their finances. I think it behooves those who don't know How to be rich to research the subject of sudden wealth, and learn from those who've experienced such life-changing events.

dphillips's avatardphillips

This is a sad story, indeed.  May his soul rest in peace.

dingo's avatardingo

Quote: Originally posted by Daveyl on Oct 30, 2010

This is an example of how such a dramatic change in one's lifestyle does not cure the winner's underlying insecurities. People believe they are suddenly invulnerable and flushed with power and notoriety after they receive their winnings. What these folks misunderstand about this phenomenon is that they are still themselves, with all of their personal weaknesses, foibles, 'baggage' and other characteristics intact, both positive and negative. This man was in all probability mobbed by people he knew, and prevailed upon to give up his money. Personal vices such as drinking, gambling, womanizing and drug abuse are accentuated by the fact that all are affordable, and in virtually limitless supply.  A person who wins the lottery is vulnerable to all types of scams, and their eventual paranoia develops which precludes them from functioning in society as a normal human being. Marriage proposals, lawsuits, financial fraud, ex-wives, girlfriends, associates, charities, fair weather friends, family members and even an occasional extortion appear with lightning swiftness, overwhelming the hapless neophyte with legal challenges and difficult decisions regarding their finances. I think it behooves those who don't know How to be rich to research the subject of sudden wealth, and learn from those who've experienced such life-changing events.

I Agree!Well said.

 

Are you a counselor? May I ask. Comment such as this should be posted more often. Awesome writing!

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

It would be interesting to know what was left of the money and if Joshua Jones stood to gain any by Lang's demise.

I wonder if they did a Toxicology test.

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

Quote: Originally posted by Daveyl on Oct 30, 2010

This is an example of how such a dramatic change in one's lifestyle does not cure the winner's underlying insecurities. People believe they are suddenly invulnerable and flushed with power and notoriety after they receive their winnings. What these folks misunderstand about this phenomenon is that they are still themselves, with all of their personal weaknesses, foibles, 'baggage' and other characteristics intact, both positive and negative. This man was in all probability mobbed by people he knew, and prevailed upon to give up his money. Personal vices such as drinking, gambling, womanizing and drug abuse are accentuated by the fact that all are affordable, and in virtually limitless supply.  A person who wins the lottery is vulnerable to all types of scams, and their eventual paranoia develops which precludes them from functioning in society as a normal human being. Marriage proposals, lawsuits, financial fraud, ex-wives, girlfriends, associates, charities, fair weather friends, family members and even an occasional extortion appear with lightning swiftness, overwhelming the hapless neophyte with legal challenges and difficult decisions regarding their finances. I think it behooves those who don't know How to be rich to research the subject of sudden wealth, and learn from those who've experienced such life-changing events.

Blah, blah, blah.

Let's all group hug now.

Typical, touchy-feely, west-coast-nut-job  nonsense.

larry3100's avatarlarry3100

This is a case for Sherlock Holmes. Type

LANTERN's avatarLANTERN

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Oct 30, 2010

Blah, blah, blah.

Let's all group hug now.

Typical, touchy-feely, west-coast-nut-job  nonsense.

For a moment I thought that you said "Let's all group hung now", It scared me some.

LANTERN's avatarLANTERN

Quote: Originally posted by larry3100 on Oct 30, 2010

This is a case for Sherlock Holmes. Type

Or for Adrian Monk.

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

Quote: Originally posted by LANTERN on Oct 30, 2010

For a moment I thought that you said "Let's all group hung now", It scared me some.

No LANTERN, I was just being "sensitive" for the gentleperson from California. Hippy (no animals or trees were harmed in the writing of this post) (no transfat or salt was consumed either)

LANTERN's avatarLANTERN

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Oct 30, 2010

No LANTERN, I was just being "sensitive" for the gentleperson from California. Hippy (no animals or trees were harmed in the writing of this post) (no transfat or salt was consumed either)

I know what you mean!

Daveyl

rdgrnr, you should read the stories of people who attained quick wealth, then committed suicide, or became poor again due to their inability to properly invest and save their fortunes. The singer for Nirvana is a good example. He had money, fame, good looks, a beautiful wife, a mansion and a brand new baby. Still, he ended a very promising life. A lottery winner in Texas took his own life, after he found his friends and family were soaking him dry. A woman in Pennsylvania won TWO Lotto jackpots totaling over $5,000,000.00, but she now lives on Social Security in a small trailer, and is deeply in debt. This article is a wake-up call for potential winners to examine the factors that caused these people to go broke or kill themselves, and learn to avoid the pitfalls of sudden wealth.

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

Quote: Originally posted by Daveyl on Oct 30, 2010

rdgrnr, you should read the stories of people who attained quick wealth, then committed suicide, or became poor again due to their inability to properly invest and save their fortunes. The singer for Nirvana is a good example. He had money, fame, good looks, a beautiful wife, a mansion and a brand new baby. Still, he ended a very promising life. A lottery winner in Texas took his own life, after he found his friends and family were soaking him dry. A woman in Pennsylvania won TWO Lotto jackpots totaling over $5,000,000.00, but she now lives on Social Security in a small trailer, and is deeply in debt. This article is a wake-up call for potential winners to examine the factors that caused these people to go broke or kill themselves, and learn to avoid the pitfalls of sudden wealth.

You've been preaching about the evils of the lottery since you got here so I don't know if you're a gambling man or not but if so I would bet you dollars to donuts that a lot  more people commit suicide over the pressures of too little money than the dreaded "pitfalls of sudden wealth." 

I would even go so far as to say that the "pitfalls of sudden wealth" may have even possibly prevented a number of suicides.

 

thegrrrr8est

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Oct 30, 2010

Blah, blah, blah.

Let's all group hug now.

Typical, touchy-feely, west-coast-nut-job  nonsense.

Well, aren't you just a little ray of sunshine.

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