$10M lottery winner convicted of murdering younger girlfriend – Law Officer

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. – Michael Todd Hill hit the jackpot in the summer of 2017, when he won a $10 million lottery from a scratch-off ticket purchased at a gas station. Now the North Carolina man has been sentenced to prison for the rest of his life for murder.

Hill, 54, was an employee at a nuclear power plant when he struck it rich. After winning the lottery, he chose for a smaller up-front sum, and after taxes, received more than $4 million. He talked about plans to pay bills and invest in his wife’s instructional design business, Law&Crime reported.

However, years after winning the life-changing wealth, Hill has been convicted of murdering his much-younger girlfriend, 24-year-old Keonna Tavangela Graham in a hotel room on July 20, 2020, according to the news outlet.

On Friday, a jury found Hill guilty of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, WECT reported.

Hill was subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder charge. The convicted killer received a sentence of 22 to 36 months for the firearms violation. The punishment will be served concurrently.

According to authorities, Hill fatally shot Graham in the back of the head while she was lying in bed in the SureStay Hotel in Shallotte, North Carolina. Housekeepers later discovered the murdered woman’s body and bloody crime scene. Surveillance footage showed the lottery winning millionaire was the only individual in the room with her, officials said.

A hotel manager said at the time of the homicide that Hill was the one who checked in, and none of the employees had seen Graham, according to WECT. Housekeeping later discovered the woman’s body after Hill failed to check out.

Hill said he became angry when he discovered Graham was texting other men, and ultimately confessed to killing her.

The autopsy also noted evidence of domestic violence beyond the fatal gunshot wound, according to WECT.

Graham and Hill were in a relationship for more than a year and a half after he won the lottery.

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