Record Powerball lottery winner's granddaughter found dead

Dec 20, 2004, 5:43 pm (29 comments)

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The body of record Powerball winner Jack Whittaker's 17-year-old granddaughter was found Monday in a rural area in western West Virginia, State Police said.

Brandi Bragg's body was tentatively identified based on tattoos on her neck, said State Police Sgt. Jay Powers.

"The troopers (at the scene) had talked to her in the past and knew her," Powers said.

State Police found the body behind a junked vehicle in a grassy area on Scary Creek Road outside Scott Depot in Putnam County, across the road from a church at about 10:30 a.m. Monday. A missing child poster with Bragg's photo on it was nailed to a telephone pole beside the church.

Bragg was last seen Dec. 4 at the home of a male friend on Scary Creek Road, police had said. Whittaker reported her missing five days later.

The unidentified friend told police that she was still at his home when he went to bed. When he woke up, she was gone, but her vehicle was still parked at his house. The friend is not considered a suspect, Sgt. Lisa Arthur of the Putnam County Sheriff's Department said last week.

Authorities do not know how long the body had been at the scene but that it could have been there since Bragg was last seen alive, Powers said.

There were no obvious signs of violence at the scene. A cause of death will not be determined until an autopsy is performed, he said.

Bragg's family was notified of the body's discovery, he said.

Troopers searched the area based on information received "through talking to people," Powers said.

"We knew where we were going," he said.

Bragg's grandfather became an instant celebrity on Christmas Day 2002 after winning a $314.9 million Powerball jackpot. He took his winnings in a lump sum of $113 million after taxes. Since then, Whittaker has been arrested twice for drunken driving in the past year and has been ordered by magistrates in two different counties to undergo substance abuse treatment.

AP

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sbrowninnl

I knew something like this had happened. Very sad.

Littleoldlady's avatarLittleoldlady

He should have moved away from there. I hope he feels some responsibility.  His prior actions may have contributed to this..this is so sad..

twisted's avatartwisted

I was not expecting this at all. I knew she was missing but thought she might have ran away because she had a quarrel with her family. This is really sad. I dont know who's fault it is but may god rest her soul.

tweetybird25024

im sorry about jack's grandaughter iwish it could be different

DoubleDown

Why don't we wait until we have all the details before trying and convicting poor ol Jack ?

This MAY not have had anything to do with him or his money. Doubtful, but lets all at least wait until the body is cold. 

DD

tweetybird25024

it probly was the family of the boy they found dead in his house

DoctorEw220's avatarDoctorEw220

i'm betting she was killed out of jealousy. you know how some people will do everything to get at someone just because of their good fortune.

kbcherokee's avatarkbcherokee

May the Great Spirit have mercy on her Soul.

DoctorEw220's avatarDoctorEw220

either my last post or jack whittaker pissed someone off.

NoClue

You guys seriously have no clue about the situation do you??? Jessie's Family did not have anything to do w/ this.... seriously how stupid could you be??? No one knows anything about this situation unless you live around here... so i dont wanna hear it

TRod

I saw in the news that a theory was she overdosed and her boyfriend freaked. God rest her soul.

NoClue

Yes, God Rest Her Soul..... along w/ Jessie's..... they were good kids.... that got into bad things.... It jus hurts me to see that people would even think of Jimmy( Jessies father) would have anything to do w/ her death.... you cant jus blame innocent people.... her death and Jessie's death has been too close to home for me.... i knew Jessie and he was a good kid.... I didnt know Brandi as well.... jus have friends that were friends of hers.... I hope Jack decides to change his life...its really sad these things had to happen , and things had to end this way.....

TRod

Was she the typical rich girl fancy cars nice vacations etc? Because in a recent picture I saw of her she didnt look it.

nomoneybabe

Hello brothers and sisters:

It is shocking news to me ...It rather use her to exchange money than killing her, why they have to play the final step like that? . She is young and innocent ...

from doctorew220 " i'm betting she was killed out of jealousy. you know how some people will do everything to get at someone just because of their good fortune."

I totally agree with your thinking!You are smartttt and very understand human ..... and I don't feel comfortable they could be everywhre beside people in the street..This is the game for anybody to have a chance to win fairly!

Someone is incredibly evil and horrible .. I 'm not rich but I never even think about going too far like this!!!

Hey! Evil wrongdoer you will get the EFFECT for thisssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Justin's avatarJustin

Why do people so young have to die?

Why do people have to kill eachother?

Money and drugs are usually the root of this kind of thing

And most deaths around here are from worthless human waste who care more about getting home fast than others lives, my aunt was smashed in the side of her vehicle when someone went thru a stop sign of a street that goes through a highway, afterwards the PRICK who hit her, got out and looked at the dent on the side of his SUV, she couldnt walk for months, shes still got no money from him, he was a truck driver, with 4 vehicles, the one he was driving being the only one uninsured.

There is so much sadness in the world i cant even take it. Anyone could die at anytime, a kid just died here a block from home, on his way to breakfast with his girlfriend, some lady plowed through a stop sign.

The moral is..........treasure every moment you have with the people you love.......because you never know how long they will be around.

I know this was off topic but some things need to be said

Justin

molilgirl

I had hoped liked others that she would return from a family squabble, friend squabble, but not dead.  No matter how much money she or her family had; she was still a soul.  Her family has feelings, they loved her.  Her friends have feelings, they love her.  All I can think of at this moment is that two friends, young, are now dead.  Did they tell the ones close to them that they loved them?  Did they hear it told to them?  When it is over, it is over, young, old, black, white, brown, yellow, rich, or poor.  Life is SHORT.  We must live it as if it were our last day.  We must learn to forgive and show love.  Mourn for the families; don't project blame.  Mourn and pray for an uplifting spiritual guidance to peace.

All4U

 My heart goes out to Jack and his family . Yes, it is true that Jack made some unwise decisions, we all have. But he did not deserve to have his granddaughter taken from him. NOBODY deserves that! The man has had two deaths in his family since his big win. In the past, I have had a thirst for wealth and power, but after reading about Jack and the deaths of two of his very young family members within just a short amount of time of each other, I don't think I want it as much now.

 Money can be replaced easily. Loved ones cannot. 

st.germain's avatarst.germain

I am always sad to hear of a young person losing their life before fulfilling it. This IS going to be the trigger that will forever change Jack's life. Either  he will plummet to the deep or he is going to turn his life around NOW !!!    Jack...this is your wake up call.

 May God have mercy on her!                                                           

                     

  Merry Christmas,  Jack..... if that is possible.                                             

st.germain's avatarst.germain

 This story burns me...what a waste of life....and someone placed her there as if it was so much trash...makes me cry !!  Don't blame jack...he has enough on his plate.

bigmoney

I really feel sorry for him and the family.  My heart goes out to all of them!

tg636

This is terrible and unacceptable no matter what Jack's fortune is or what dumb things he has done since winning it. I have no theory on it, I just hope they find out what happened and get the guy(s) who did it. 

fja's avatarfja

As the father of a 17 year old...the news stopped me cold in my tracks....I am stunned. and it wasn't the ending I had thought would come out of this.  Hope the family gets the peace that they seem to be searching for....you have my sympathy.

 

st.germain's avatarst.germain

 I am ashamed of the people here who throw accusations and conspiracy theories. There are people here who are going through some pretty tough times  ...and for you  to accuse  Jack of his lack of whatever is downright shameful. I hope you lose at the lottery.  All others...I want to thank you for your thoughtfulness and hope you win at the lottery.  May the good lord grant jack's family the peace that they deserve.

DoctorEw220's avatarDoctorEw220
Quote: Originally posted by sexxxielilmeeh on December 21, 2004


<snip>






dude. i know what you're going through. when i was q5 my cousin died of an overdose.
DoctorEw220's avatarDoctorEw220

15, sorry.

Todd's avatarTodd

Sorry DrEW, I had to delete your quoted text, because it was that same A.H. loser coming back here posting garbage, making up another story.

jim695

DoubleDown:

Good for you! I'm always glad to hear the voice of reason come forward, especially in tragic situations like this one. Even the citizens of Scott Depot, West Virginia don't know what happened yet, and it's ridiculous and disrespectful that a few of us would be offering wild conjecture in lieu of facts. This seems to be a developing trend in these threads, and I don't see what purpose it serves.

NoClue:

Please accept my most sincere and heartfelt apologies on behalf of those of us who truly are in The Whittakers' corner. The few certainly don't speak for the majority, and I believe most of us here are genuinely saddened at the news of Brandi's passing. I hope you won't think ill of all of us because some people here who have half a mind to share their thoughts have done so. Please keep us posted on further developments.

St.germain:

Excellent post! I couldn't have said it better myself.

Thanks to all of you for speaking up.

DoctorEw220's avatarDoctorEw220

was it goose or the other person?

emilyg's avataremilyg
Quote: Originally posted by st.germain on December 21, 2004


 I am ashamed of the people here who throw accusations and conspiracy theories. There are people here who are going through some pretty tough times  ...and for you  to accuse  Jack of his lack of whatever is downright shameful. I hope you lose at the lottery.  All others...I want to thank you for your thoughtfulness and hope you win at the lottery.  May the good lord grant jack's family the peace that they deserve.


thank you.
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