Abraham Shakespeare
Encyclopedia
Abraham Lee Shakespeare (April 23, 1966–2009) was an American casual laborer who won a $30 million lottery
jackpot, receiving $17 million in 2006. In 2009 his family declared him missing
and in January 2010 his body was found buried under a concrete slab in the backyard of an acquaintance. Shakespeare's troubles after having won the lottery were profiled in the American E!
television program Curse of the Lottery.
after seventh grade, and as a result was illiterate. He was jailed after being convicted of a string of burglaries. Subsequently, he worked various labor pool jobs.
winning ticket worth $30 million was sold at a Town Star convenience store in Frostproof, Florida
, on November 15, 2006.
On that day Abraham Shakespeare and co-worker Michael Ford were headed toward Miami when they stopped briefly at the convenience store in Frostproof to buy drinks and cigarettes. Ford got out of the truck and asked Shakespeare if he wanted a soda. Shakespeare instead asked Ford to buy him two Lottery tickets. Shakespeare said that he paid Ford $2 for the tickets out of the $5 he had on him that day.
Michael Ford later approached Shakespeare demanding a share of the jackpot of no less than $1 million, which Shakespeare refused to pay, prompting Ford to sue Shakespeare accusing him of stealing the two tickets from his wallet.
Shakespeare chose a one-time, lump sum cash payment of $17 million, before taxes, instead of 30 annual payments totaling $30 million.
He moved out of his working class neighborhood in Lakeland, Florida
and into a gated community
. Several months after his lottery win, apart from a $1 million home, his only other major purchases included a Nissan Altima and a Rolex watch from a pawnshop. By late January 2010 the sheriff involved in the investigation of Shakespeare's disappearance told AP
that the lottery money "is gone now."
Friends stated Shakespeare had grown frustrated with the apparently constant appeals for money from both hangers-on and strangers. He told his brother, "I'd have been better off broke," and told a childhood friend, "I thought all these people were my friends, but then I realized all they want is just money." One of these was Dorice Donegan "Dee-Dee" Moore, who launched a business with Shakespeare, Abraham Shakespeare LLC, giving herself control of the firm's funds. Moore subsequently withdrew $1 million and bought herself a Hummer
, a Chevrolet Corvette
and a truck before going on vacation. She later claimed that the money was a gift from Shakespeare.
. A tip-off led investigators to the backyard of Moore's boyfriend Shar Krasniqi, where Shakespeare's body was found buried in five feet of dirt under a newly constructed concrete slab. Shakespeare was 43.
Hillsborough County detectives say Shakespeare died April 6 or April 7 in the single-story ranch home in Plant City. Police took Moore into custody on February 2 in connection with the murder of Shakespeare and a judge set a $1 million bond. She is charged with being an accessory after the fact in first-degree murder. Police state Moore tried to convince an acquaintance to unearth the body and move it a week after the death, and continued to try to convince others that Shakespeare was still alive. On February 19, 2010 Dorice Donegan Moore was arrested on the charge of first degree murder.
, Jamaica
, Puerto Rico
, Orlando, Florida
or was sick in a hospital. Moore even claimed that Shakespeare was sick of people asking him for money, so she helped him leave town. Moore told police different versions of what happened to Shakespeare, after they found his body under a concrete slab, in the backyard of the home she put in her boyfriend's name. Moore claimed drug-dealers killed him, a lawyer did him in and then blamed her 14-year-old-son. She also claimed she killed Shakespeare in self-defense.
Soon after Shakespeare disappeared, Moore, who was living in Shakespeare's house, kept using his cell phone and sending text messages to his friends and relatives, as though she were Shakespeare. Moore would text messages, which people thought did not sound like him and were suspicious because Shakespeare was illiterate. When people texted Shakespeare's phone back with questions that could not be answered by Moore, no response was given.
During the same time that Moore was trying to make it appear that Shakespeare was alive, she tried to find a person who would take the blame for Shakespeare's death, for $50,000. She also offered to pay someone to dig up and move Shakespeare's body to another location.
Somehow, property records show that Moore's company, American Medical Professionals bought Shakespeare's house. Moore told investigators she paid Shakespeare $655,000 for his home and bought $185,000 for loans which were actually worth much more, which people owed him; however, there is no evidence showing she paid Shakespeare anything.
Moore offered the mother of a son of Shakespeare's, a $200,000 home if she would lie to detectives and tell them she had seen him recently. She also paid a relative of Shakespeare's, $5,000, to give his mother a birthday card, implying it was from him.
Through the investigation of Moore, it was learned that she had once staged a scene to fraudulently keep a Lincoln Navigator
, of which she was in jeopardy of having repossessed, after falling behind on the payments. She had someone store the car in a garage and than pretended she was kidnapped
, sexually assaulted
and carjacked. Investigators claimed she taped her wrists and threw herself from someone else's car to make a scene. She even took a rape exam. She later would plead no contest
for the charge and received probation
.
television program Curse of the Lottery and part of an episode of Lottery Changed My Life.
Lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...
jackpot, receiving $17 million in 2006. In 2009 his family declared him missing
Missing person
A missing person is a person who has disappeared for usually unknown reasons.Missing persons' photographs may be posted on bulletin boards, milk cartons, postcards, and websites, along with a phone number to be contacted if a sighting has been made....
and in January 2010 his body was found buried under a concrete slab in the backyard of an acquaintance. Shakespeare's troubles after having won the lottery were profiled in the American E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
television program Curse of the Lottery.
Early life
Shakespeare dropped out of schoolDropping out
Dropping out means leaving a group for either practical reasons, necessities or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves....
after seventh grade, and as a result was illiterate. He was jailed after being convicted of a string of burglaries. Subsequently, he worked various labor pool jobs.
Lottery
The Florida LottoFlorida Lotto
Florida Lotto is a popular draw game offered by the Florida Lottery. It was the last US jackpot lottery game not to directly compete with a multi-jurisdictional lottery until the Florida Lottery joined Powerball on January 4, 2009....
winning ticket worth $30 million was sold at a Town Star convenience store in Frostproof, Florida
Frostproof, Florida
Frostproof is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The city is located in southern Polk County on the Lake Wales Ridge. The population was 2,975 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 2,954...
, on November 15, 2006.
On that day Abraham Shakespeare and co-worker Michael Ford were headed toward Miami when they stopped briefly at the convenience store in Frostproof to buy drinks and cigarettes. Ford got out of the truck and asked Shakespeare if he wanted a soda. Shakespeare instead asked Ford to buy him two Lottery tickets. Shakespeare said that he paid Ford $2 for the tickets out of the $5 he had on him that day.
Michael Ford later approached Shakespeare demanding a share of the jackpot of no less than $1 million, which Shakespeare refused to pay, prompting Ford to sue Shakespeare accusing him of stealing the two tickets from his wallet.
Shakespeare chose a one-time, lump sum cash payment of $17 million, before taxes, instead of 30 annual payments totaling $30 million.
He moved out of his working class neighborhood in Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...
and into a gated community
Gated community
In its modern form, a gated community is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly-controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. Gated communities usually consist of small residential...
. Several months after his lottery win, apart from a $1 million home, his only other major purchases included a Nissan Altima and a Rolex watch from a pawnshop. By late January 2010 the sheriff involved in the investigation of Shakespeare's disappearance told AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
that the lottery money "is gone now."
Friends stated Shakespeare had grown frustrated with the apparently constant appeals for money from both hangers-on and strangers. He told his brother, "I'd have been better off broke," and told a childhood friend, "I thought all these people were my friends, but then I realized all they want is just money." One of these was Dorice Donegan "Dee-Dee" Moore, who launched a business with Shakespeare, Abraham Shakespeare LLC, giving herself control of the firm's funds. Moore subsequently withdrew $1 million and bought herself a Hummer
Hummer
Hummer was a brand of trucks and SUVs, first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. In 1998, General Motors purchased the brand name and marketed three vehicles: the original Hummer H1, based on the Humvee; and the H2 and H3 models that were...
, a Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...
and a truck before going on vacation. She later claimed that the money was a gift from Shakespeare.
Missing status and death
On November 9, 2009, Shakespeare's family reported him missing, stating that they had not seen him since April of that year. Family and friends had originally hoped that he had taken his money and was living on a beach in the Caribbean SeaCaribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
. A tip-off led investigators to the backyard of Moore's boyfriend Shar Krasniqi, where Shakespeare's body was found buried in five feet of dirt under a newly constructed concrete slab. Shakespeare was 43.
Hillsborough County detectives say Shakespeare died April 6 or April 7 in the single-story ranch home in Plant City. Police took Moore into custody on February 2 in connection with the murder of Shakespeare and a judge set a $1 million bond. She is charged with being an accessory after the fact in first-degree murder. Police state Moore tried to convince an acquaintance to unearth the body and move it a week after the death, and continued to try to convince others that Shakespeare was still alive. On February 19, 2010 Dorice Donegan Moore was arrested on the charge of first degree murder.
Investigation
Before police found Shakespeare's dead body, Moore claimed Shakespeare decided to leave town and went to TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
or was sick in a hospital. Moore even claimed that Shakespeare was sick of people asking him for money, so she helped him leave town. Moore told police different versions of what happened to Shakespeare, after they found his body under a concrete slab, in the backyard of the home she put in her boyfriend's name. Moore claimed drug-dealers killed him, a lawyer did him in and then blamed her 14-year-old-son. She also claimed she killed Shakespeare in self-defense.
Soon after Shakespeare disappeared, Moore, who was living in Shakespeare's house, kept using his cell phone and sending text messages to his friends and relatives, as though she were Shakespeare. Moore would text messages, which people thought did not sound like him and were suspicious because Shakespeare was illiterate. When people texted Shakespeare's phone back with questions that could not be answered by Moore, no response was given.
During the same time that Moore was trying to make it appear that Shakespeare was alive, she tried to find a person who would take the blame for Shakespeare's death, for $50,000. She also offered to pay someone to dig up and move Shakespeare's body to another location.
Somehow, property records show that Moore's company, American Medical Professionals bought Shakespeare's house. Moore told investigators she paid Shakespeare $655,000 for his home and bought $185,000 for loans which were actually worth much more, which people owed him; however, there is no evidence showing she paid Shakespeare anything.
Moore offered the mother of a son of Shakespeare's, a $200,000 home if she would lie to detectives and tell them she had seen him recently. She also paid a relative of Shakespeare's, $5,000, to give his mother a birthday card, implying it was from him.
Through the investigation of Moore, it was learned that she had once staged a scene to fraudulently keep a Lincoln Navigator
Lincoln Navigator
The Lincoln Navigator is a full-size luxury SUV built by the Ford Motor Company for its luxury division, Lincoln. Introduced as a 1998 model, production began May 14, 1997 with sales beginning in August. The Navigator was Lincoln's first SUV as well as its first four-wheel drive capable vehicle...
, of which she was in jeopardy of having repossessed, after falling behind on the payments. She had someone store the car in a garage and than pretended she was kidnapped
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
, sexually assaulted
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
and carjacked. Investigators claimed she taped her wrists and threw herself from someone else's car to make a scene. She even took a rape exam. She later would plead no contest
Nolo contendere
is a legal term that comes from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest.In criminal trials, and in some common law jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of...
for the charge and received probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
.
In media
The difficulties Shakespeare experienced as a result of winning the lottery, including his murder, were the focus of the American E!E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
television program Curse of the Lottery and part of an episode of Lottery Changed My Life.
Timeline
- November 15, 2006 - Shakespeare's co-worker Michael Ford buys two tickets (including the winning ticket) on the request of Shakespeare at Town Star convenience store in Frostproof where they stopped briefly so Ford could buy cigarettes.
- January, 2007 - Shakespeare buys a $1.1 million home in a gated community in North Lakeland.
- April, 2007 A co-worker, Michael Ford of Zephyrhills, Florida, sues Shakespeare for stealing the winning ticket from him.
- October 19, 2007 - Jury took only a little over an hour to rule that Shakespeare did not steal winning ticket from Michael Ford's wallet.
- October of 2008 - DeeDee Moore arranges to meet Shakespeare for the purported reason of writing a book about him.
- January 9, 2009 - The ownership of Shakespeare's home worth over a $1 million is transferred over to American Medical Professionals, DeeDee Moore's company.
- 2009 - Polk Country records show Shakespeare's $1 million home and other properties were sold or assigned to a company called American Medical Professionals which was owned by DeeDee Moore. Of $570,000 debt owed to Shakespeare more than two-thirds were owed by American Medical Professionals.
- February 21, 2009 - Dee Dee Moore buys a 2008 Chevrolet CorvetteChevrolet CorvetteThe Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...
at a Chevrolet dealer for her boyfriend in the amount of $70,390.86. She paid with a cashier's check from her American Medical Professionals LLC, business account.
- March 2, 2009 - Dee Dee Moore buys a 2009 HummerHummerHummer was a brand of trucks and SUVs, first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. In 1998, General Motors purchased the brand name and marketed three vehicles: the original Hummer H1, based on the Humvee; and the H2 and H3 models that were...
for about $90,000.
- April, 2009 - Abaraham Shakespeare was last seen in Lakeland area, Florida.
- April, 6, 2009 - According to detectives, this was the last day Shakespeare used his cell phone.
- August, 2009 - Cedric Edom, Shakespeare's cousin delivered a card with $100 and a cross enclosed to Shakespeare's mother. Walker, Shakespeare's mother, claimed the signature on the card looked like Shakespeare's, but that Edom did not say who gave him the card.
- November 9, 2009 - A missing person's report on Shakespeare was filed with Sheriff's Office by Cedric Edom, Shakespeare's cousin.
- November 12, 2009 - Possibly the first interview conducted by detectives with Dee Dee Moore. On this interview detectives tried to learn how Moore appropriated Shakespeare's assets. Moore told investigators she paid Shakespeare in cash in regards to why there was no proof in her bank accounts for payments of Shakespeare's assets.
- November 24, 2009- Another early interview of Dee Dee Moore with detectives. Moore claimed the reason Shakespeare was taken off the Abraham Shakespeare LLC account was that he did not want to pay taxes. She also could not give a reason for why the account which had almost $1 million was soon withdrawn from the account days after Shakespeare's name was removed.
- November 24, 2009 - Polk County Sheriff's Office declares lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare missing.
- December 3, 2009 - In an interview with Dee Dee Moore and detectives, Moore claimed that the reason that some of Shakespeare's assets went into Moore's business account, American Medical Associates was because Shakespeare did not want to pay child support.
- December, 2009 - DeeDee Moore, posing as Abraham Shakespeare, wrote to his mother saying he was fine, even though Shakespeare could not read or write.
- December 5, 2009 - Dee Dee Moore, who had bought a HummerHummerHummer was a brand of trucks and SUVs, first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. In 1998, General Motors purchased the brand name and marketed three vehicles: the original Hummer H1, based on the Humvee; and the H2 and H3 models that were...
only 10 months before sells it to a friend of an owner of a ChevroletChevroletChevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
dealer for $49,000. She had told ChevroletChevroletChevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
she needed quick cash.
- December 27th, 2009 - Shakespeare's mother, Elizabeth Walker receives a phone call from someone pretending to be Shakespeare, while she eats out with Dee Dee Moore.
- December 28th, 2009 - Gregory Smith was one of Shakepeare's friends. who borrowed money from Shakespeare and who Dee Dee Moore was paying to make calls to Shakespeare's mom pretending to be Shakespeare. Gregory Smith was approached and interviewed by detectives and it was decided he would now start cooperating with law enforcement.
- January 2010 - Dee Dee Moore contacts Gregory Smith and asked him if he knew anyone who would admit to law enforcement that they were responsible for the killing of Shakespeare.
- January 21, 2010 - Officer Mike Smith of the Lake Wales, FloridaLake Wales, FloridaLake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,194 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 11,802 . It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area...
police department, working undercover is introduced to Dee Dee Moore by Gregory Smith. Moore agreed to pay Mike Smith $50,000 if he told law enforcement that he was responsible for Shakespeare's death. Mike Smith agreed to this but told Dee Dee Moore he needed to know where Shakespeare was buried.
- January 25, 2010 - Dee Dee Moore meets with Gregory Smith, who was cooperating with undercover officer, Mike Smith and shows him the concrete slab of which Shakespeare was buried under. Moore also gives Gregory Smith a .38 Smith and Wesson revolver which was used to kill Shakespeare.
- January 25, 2010 - In an interview with Dee Dee Moore and detectives, Moore claimed the reason she did not pay Shakespeare for his house was because he had a drug problem and the money would be used to buy drugs.
- January 27, 2010 - Police searching for missing lottery winner find a body at Plant City house a day after digging at the site
- January 28, 2010 - James Moore, Dee Dee Moore's ex-husband was interviewed by detectives. James Moore claimed that Dee Dee Moore had called him during the first 2 weeks of April, 2009, asking him to dig a hole in her yard. Dee Dee Moore claimed the hole was needed to bury concrete and trash in. James Moore claimed he dug a hole and after he left the yard, was called back 2 hours later by Dee Dee Moore, asking him to return to fill the hole. James Moore, who was being paid to do other yard work by Dee Dee, claimed he returned to fill the hole, but could not see what was in it, since it was dark.
- January 29, 2010 - A body found at backyard of a Plant City property was identified as that of missing Shakespeare
- February 2, 2010 - Police take DeeDee Moore into custody. Moore is charged with accessory after the factAccessory (legal term)An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal...
.
- February 3, 2010 - Judge sets bond at $1 million for Dorice "DeeDee" Moore.
- February 19, 2010 - Dee Dee Moore is charged with first degree murder.
- March 15th, 2010 - DeeDee Moore pled not guilty to murderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
in a Hillsborough County, FloridaHillsborough County, FloridaAs of the census of 2000, there were 998,948 people, 391,357 households, and 255,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 951 people per square mile . There were 425,962 housing units at an average density of 405 per square mile...
court.