Human remains found buried under recently added concrete at a home in Plant City, Florida, are likely those of missing lottery millionaire Abraham Shakespeare, police said Thursday.
Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee said the body was slowly being uncovered. They are awaiting positive identification.
However, Gee said their investigation and information specifically led them to the area after they began to believe he might be dead because of "sinister means and motives."
"Our indications were it would be there," Gee said during a press conference Thursday night.
Police on Wednesday had scanned the newly finished concrete slabs near the home on Wednesday and removed it. On Thursday, Gee said they discovered the remains buried five feet below the surface, and it appeared the remains had been there for awhile.
Shakespeare, a 43-year-old truck driver, won a $31 million Florida lottery prize in 2006. A year later, he won a court challenge from a fellow trucker who accused Shakespeare of snatching the winning ticket out of his wallet while the two were delivering meat to Miami restaurants.
Shakespeare's family reported him missing on November 9, telling the Polk County sheriff's office they hadn't seen him since April.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said when their investigation began, they had hoped to find Shakespeare alive "and he truly had just wanted to hide from those who were asking him for money."
"As our investigation continued, the information we developed led us to believe he may very well have ended up with an untimely death," Judd said.
Both Judd and Gee said they would not comment on whether anything else was found inside the manmade grave, or whether a previous person of interest was connected to the area.
While they await identification of the remains, police said they would begin to shift their focus to a murder investigation.
"It's painfully obvious he didn't get there by himself," Judd said.
Gee said police from Polk and Hillsborough Counties were already working with prosecutors on the case and hope to bring to justice the person responsible for what they believe is clearly cold-blooded murder.
"Somebody put that body in that hole," Gee said. "This isn't by any means just where we find someone on the side of the road. Somebody has obviously put him there."
Thanks to Jazi76 for the tip.
A very sad ending indeed. I hope they find the person or persons who did this.
Wow! That's just horrible. All the more reason to claim the prize 'anonymously'.
Wow, my thoughts and prayers go out to this mans family.That is very disspointing news.
Theres still a lot of investigating to do.There is no cause of death no one knows "how" he was killed if a weapon was involved and what person(s) is responsible for what appears to be a murder.If this is a murder case , it's very sad indeed.More importantly it would mean there is still a cold blooded killer on the loose who may or may not strike again. Doesn't matter if the person(s) attempts to strike again one murder is too many and I really hope and pray to god that whoever is responsible for this hideous crime is caught and sent to jail before he or she has the chance to strike again.
An awful ending to this story.
I'm so sorry for his family.
Absolutely why I would claim anonymous...you just never know.
How horrible.
My condolences go out to his family.
I agree !!!.......Horrible.......I think too If I won......I would just keep it to myself......and give some to family and friends....who knows.......but I believe that this man was decent and generous........and met with foul play......by others who were "greedy and selfish"......because of what they did.......... he cannot help anyone at all.........now...... !!!!
I hope they lock up Dee Dee and throw away the key.
The body was found at a property owned by Dee Dee's boyfriend.
Sad news.
The Florida lottery doesn't allow winners to claim prizes anonymously, they really need to change that; it is madness!
Moving to a safer neighborhood is important.
I pray for this man rest in peace.
I have a rule in my house that after we win millions WE MOVE!!..Simple..
Wow, that sucks....its a true fact u cannot let everyone know your BUSINESS!
"a fellow trucker who accused Shakespeare of snatching the winning ticket out of his wallet"
He's the Guy!
Swift capital punishment in all states would significantly reduce 1st degree murder. Murdering another human being for no other reason than greed is especially despicable.
I did a Google search on this story and it is so sad. Apparently Dee-Dee is a real piece of work. She was supposed to be his "financial advisor". He apparently was not very well educated (poor reading skills) and everything that he bought with his money, ie real estate, etc now belongs to her. He had purchased a 1 million dollar home in a gated community and later sold it to her for about 700,000.00. She also owns or "is taking care of" the rest of his real estate through some company she is supposed to own. He took the lump sum payment of 16 million but now the police say that that money is long gone and Dee Dee has most of it or what it bought.
I figured she had him killed because even though he couldn't read or write very well, he figured out that was she was doing to him was wrong and he was probably going to go back to the lawyer who helped him win his case and tell him what she had done to him-scammed him out of all of his money and assets.
I agree. I feel bad for this mans family and for the man himself.
I feel so very sorry for Shakespeare's mother - what that poor woman has been through.
The Nightline story on how Dee Dee Moore pursued this man and took control of his money is really just the tip of the iceberg.
This woman is truly a piece of work. I'm glad she'll be arrested very soon. She better get a new attorney because the one
she had just withdrew from the case. Hope they froze all her bank accounts - if anything is left , it should be given to Shakespeare's mother.
So little regard, respect and dignity for human life. Be careful of who you trust.
So tragic for his mom and family. Condolences to them.
well as the saying goes, whatever you have in this world, there is always someone out there that wants it from you, hope this is a wake up call for florida lotto when it comes to annonimity, but who am i to say, im just an 800lbs gorilla.
Exactly what I was thinking...
"[T]hey discovered the remains buried five feet below the surface ..."
Likely 'persons'. I imagine the amount of work required to move that volume of soil -- twice -- is no small task.
While lottery winners cannot remain anonymous, there's this -- The executioner: Is a private citizen who is paid $150 per execution. State law allows for his or her identity to remain anonymous. Source: Florida Death Row Fact Sheet
Safer neighborhood? Whats that? move to where no one even knows your name. ( including family). I plan to help people the way entertainers do-- silently and anonymously.
My condolences to the family.
i can't imaging that somebody kill or murder someone cause they say no,, people that want to kill and it not even their, i dont think dee dee could have done it even though she didn't care she was getting it anyway,,she was getting it the legal way, but she could know who have done it or seem that punk.
The slab he was buried under belonged to her brother..she is knee deep in this. And NO she did not get his money "the legal way". I wish they would hook up old sparky for her but*. You are very nieve if you think someone will not kill you if you have something they desperately want. It happens everyday.
I wouldn't think so..as they found his body at Dee Dee's boyfriends house. And as I was watching fox news today..unfortunately they matched his fingerprints..it is Shakespeare...too sad..he was just surrounded by cruel and greedy people.. and they do have the death penalty in Florida and hope these 2 creeps get what they deserve !!!
This indeed is a sad story. It just goes to show how people will take advantage of you when it is obvious you can not help yourself. Sad that his "advisor" advised him out of his assets and he could not see it. It would be good to remain nameless. But that law WILL NOT change sooo.....be creative as you claim. BEFORE you claim:
1. Have arrangements made to have your present home cleaned out and loaded on a moving truck!
2. Tell NO ONE, absolutely no one that you have won. PERIOD!
3. When you do tell, make sure that the ones you tell are worthy---will not kill you for your winnings. Stipulate in your will that if you disappear under strange circumstances, their assetts are IMMEDIATELY frozen. Better yet, freeze the assets or something, then before they can enjoy, it must be proven that they had nothing to do with your demise.
4. Moving to a "safer" neighborhood would not have helped Mr. Shakespeare. His inner circle was the cause of his ultimate demise.
I am not sure, but isn't there a law where family can claim assets if the assets were swindled from a person who did not understand what they were doing? Maybe that is a will that can be contested. Dee Dee was a shark, heh!? She will get your just rewards if she has had ANYTHING to do with this. All scoundrels do---eventually.
Sad indeed. This is exactly why WHEN I win the lottery, I'll move my family from PA to North Dakota or Wyoming...
I would like to ask all of you to email the Florida lottery and the Governor of Florida and raise the issue of anonymity.
I hope he can now RIP...However staying anonymous would have not helped this poor man...It was the people he chose to bring into his circle that most likely was his own demise...The world is full of unconscious animals...Whether we are dirt poor or filthy rich, we have to take the necessary precautions to protect ourselves AT ALL TIMES...
And the media gets on the filthy rich Athletes for carrying a weapon with them at all times...I'm not saying its right to carry a weapon in a locker room or whatever...But I do understand the argument...
Hey Dee Dee, I hope you meet some nice people who know what you did and you get yours. I say let God judge her and her brother but right away. Sparky is easy. A chipper/shredder would be more of a deterent. You could also bury her alive like she and her brother did to this naive but nice man. I'm going to go look you up now Dee Dee, so I can recognize you and spread the word. Hope others do the same and you read this post.
See you later Dee Dee, I hope.
After following this story here at LotteryPost, I am reminded of a thread I posted 9-4-09 Identity Withheld Identity Revealed https://www.lotterypost.com/thread/199983/1396014 and a thread posted 12-04-09 by rdgrnr Should Lottery Commission Be Obligated to Maintain Your Anonymity? https://www.lotterypost.com/thread/204799 .
As we all dream of winning a lottery jackpot, we should seriously do an if-then plan for the safety and welfare of ourselves and our loved ones. Believe it or not you're not safe just because you move to another place where no one knows you.
I tell my significant other all the time how I admire stalkers for their tenacity. I always say if you want to be completely successful all the time, develop the personality of a stalker. I admire the stalker not for being able to strike fear/concern into the intended target. But for the discipline required to learn everything about the intended target. Even with the threat of jail/prison a stalker pursues the intended target.
Unfortunately, this young man ended up as worm food because of the people he chose to surround himself with. We need to be vigilant in the thought that money changes people. Not just the person on the receiving end but the person on the losing end.
We read every year where people are killed over their own money. Wheather it is a child killing a parent, spouse killing spouse, parent killing child, relative killing relative, friend killing friend, co-worker killing co-worker, stranger killing stranger, the list goes on and on. It happens every year. This is a very sad fact in this world.
So my message to all of the future big time winners here at LotteryPost, please be very very careful when you win. I don't any of you to suffer this fate or anything along this line. As far as I'm concerned your win is a very well deserved win, and it should be a time of celebration and thanksgiving for you and your loved ones, not the beginning of fear or terror.
My heart is grieved for this young man but my heart would be broken should it ever happen to any of my extended family here at LotteryPost. So don't make me cry. BE SAFE AND TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED!!!!!
Gee..........buried in cement........hit and killed by a car...........sure looking forward to winning that Jackpot soon,lol.
Thank you for your words of encouragement!
Very sad. I hope justice is served in this lifetime.
play pick3, pick 4 and have fun. You may not win a huge jackpot but your not likely to get your name plastered all over the place. No doubt there are those who seek the monthly jackpot winners out from what records are available. For some desperate souls this may be a full time obsession to aquire wealth. Having seen open obsession here at LP, I am sure there are well hidden and masked desperados on the lookout for an easy mark.
You have to understand when it comes to self preservation, some people have no values, rules or bars to hold them back. The hungrier they are, the more ugly it gets. The greater the temptation for huge amounts of free wealth, the greater the risk that will be taken to aquire it.
The first ten minutes of 2001 A Space Odyssey shows self preservation and murder for resources. Don't kid yourself thinking all people are anymore evolved than Moonwatcher. Not winning a jackpot may be the best thing that ever happened to you. Your wealth will freak some people out to the point that they become obsessed to get it for themselves.