Winner of $10M lottery prize in 2017 charged with murder

SHALLOTTE, N.C. — A North Carolina man who won a $10 million lottery prize in 2017 has been arrested on a murder charge in the death of a woman whose body was found at a hotel.

The Shallotte Police Department charged Michael Todd Hill, 52, of Leland, with murder after the body of 23-year-old Keonna Graham was found Monday in a hotel room in the Brunswick County town, according to news outlets.

Authorities did not immediately release additional details about the woman’s slaying.

Graham worked as a correctional officer at a prison in Burgaw, North Carolina, according to a cousin, Antionette Lee. Before that, Graham worked for a program for people with intellectual disabilities, Lee said.

“She did all of this like it was second nature to her,” said Lee, who described her cousin as a generous, loving and adventurous woman who enjoyed hiking and bicycle rides.

Graham lived in Navassa, North Carolina, with her mother, LaTrinda Graham, and a 10-year-old sister, Zoey. Lee said Graham and her younger sister had an “unbreakable bond.”

“We are hurting. We are in pain,” Lee said. “Our family is devastated.”

Hill won $10 million from an Ultimate Millions scratch-off ticket in August 2017, WECT-TV reported.

Hill was arrested Tuesday in Southport, North Carolina. He was ordered held without bond at a Brunswick County jail after his initial court appearance.

The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation assisted in the investigation.

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