The Unfortunate Story of Abraham Lee Shakespeare

Whenever someone wins the lottery, it’s generally an incredibly happy occasion. The change in lifestyle, the relief of never having to worry about financial strain again and the ability to help others all work together to make the experience something that one will always remember. Unfortunately, this is the idyllic view of winning a jackpot and is often not at all how it actually pans out. While some lottery winners’ stories are inspiring and others are unfortunate, the one about Abraham Lee Shakespeare might be the most tragic of all.

Who Was Abraham Lee Shakespeare?

Abraham Lee Shakespeare was born in Lakeland, Florida, on April 23^rd, 1966. He was a simple casual labourer that worked various odd jobs to provide for himself and his family. Despite being born in the US, Abraham never had the benefit of an education and was illiterate, meaning he generally only took on positions that required physical strength and little knowledge.

Abraham’s Big Win

In November 2006, Abraham and his co-worker Michael Ford were on their way to a job in Miami when they stopped by a convenience store to get something to drink. Abraham asked Michael to buy him two lottery tickets for the famous Florida Lottery while he was in the store and gave him the money for the tickets. Unknowingly at the time, Michael bought his friend the tickets-one of which turned out to be the winning ticket of a huge jackpot. Abraham, who elected to take the cash lump-sum option of his winnings, gained a respectable $17 million return on the $2 he spent on lottery tickets that day.

Life After the Win

Abraham immediately moved out of his modest neighbourhood into a $1 million home inside a gated community. However, this was the full extent of his lavish spending. The rest of the money he kept and chose to not waste on needless things. It was at this point, in 2008, that Abraham met a woman named Dorice ‘Dee Dee’ Moore-a woman that would drastically change his life path.

The Shakespeare/Moore Relationship

Soon after meeting for the first time, Dee Dee managed to convince Abraham to go into business with her due to her ability to ‘protect his millions’-this despite the fact that she had filed for bankruptcy in 2002. Together, the two set up American Medical Professionals, LLC., which Dee Dee was to manage and run. However, soon afterward, Dee Dee emptied the company account to buy herself and her boyfriend new cars and to go on a lavish holiday. When later asked how she achieved this, it turned out that she had removed Abraham from the ownership of the company so that nothing would have to be approved by him. Dee Dee claimed that he requested to be removed so that he would not have any assets linked to the company that the court would find during a child support investigation.

Abraham’s Disappearance

In November 2009, Abraham was reported missing by his ex-wife and family. Apparently, they had not seen him since April of that year. Dee Dee came forward, stating that she had helped him leave the country due to him being unable to deal with the constant requests from friends and family for money-which was why the family waited so long to report him as missing. However, the family quickly became suspicious of this story because they kept receiving texts from Abraham stating that he was okay-even though he was illiterate and had never sent such messages in the past.

The Investigation

The Florida Police Department took notice of Abraham’s family’s suspicions and began investigating the case. Their first break came when their investigation uncovered that Dee Dee had moved into Abraham’s house around the time he had gone missing. Dee Dee claimed that she had bought the house from Abraham-even though no record of her making any payment to him for it was ever discovered. The police began watching Dee Dee more carefully and soon heard that she was looking for somebody to complete a highly unusual task for her.

Word got out that Dee Dee was looking for somebody to take the blame for the murder of Abraham Shakespeare. She was willing to pay up to a maximum of $200,000 for the person to confess to the killing-although initially she was only willing to pay $50,000. Dee Dee eventually found somebody willing to do this, shared the location of Abraham’s body and gave him the firearm that had been used in the murder.

Unfortunately for Dee Dee, the person that she had hired to take the heat for Abraham’s murder happened to be an undercover cop. In January 2010, Abraham’s body was discovered buried underneath a concrete slab in the backyard of Dee Dee’s home. She was arrested three days later and charged with first-degree murder shortly afterward. At the end of 2012, Dee Dee was convicted of her charges after trying to blame Abraham’s death on drugs, his own son and a variety of other factors. None of this convinced the judge or jury, however, and she was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Abraham’s Family

Abraham’s family was clearly distraught at the news of what had happened to him. The only solace that they now have is that the woman behind it all will be spending the rest of her life in prison. However, that will never compensate for the fact that such a happy occasion quickly turned into something so sinister and grotesque.