CHICAGO - In the week since news surfaced that a Chicago man was poisoned to death with cyanide just before he was to collect a lottery payout, surprising details about his family saga have trickled out daily.
Urooj Khan's widow and siblings fought for months over the businessman's estate, including the lottery check. His father-in-law owed tens of thousands of dollars in taxes. His 17-year-old daughter from a previous marriage had moved out of her stepmother's home and into her aunt's after his death. Then his ex-wife came forward, announcing in anguish that she hadn't seen her daughter in more than a decade and hadn't known she was still in the United States.
The emerging family backstory and ever-expanding cast of characters have added layers of intrigue to a baffling case in which authorities have revealed little and everyone is wondering: Who did it?
The victim's relatives hint at family squabbles. Khan's wife, Shabana Ansari, has endured clutches of reporters outside the family home and business. "She's just as curious as anyone else to get to the bottom of what caused her husband's death," said Al-Haroon Husain, who is representing Ansari in the case that will divide Khan's estate, including the $425,000 in lottery winnings.
Authorities remain tightlipped about who they may suspect. They plan to exhume Khan's body, which might allow investigators to determine exactly how he was poisoned and to gather evidence for any possible trial.
Khan, 46, had come to the United States from Hyderabad, India, in 1989, setting up several dry-cleaning businesses and investing in real estate. Despite having foresworn gambling after a pilgrimage to Mecca in 2010, Khan bought a ticket in June. He was days from receiving his winnings when he collapsed and died before dawn on July 20. The night before, Khan ate dinner with his wife, daughter, and father-in-law in their house.
Authorities determined Khan died of natural causes. But a relative, whose identity remains a mystery, asked authorities to take a closer look. Toxicology tests found a lethal amount of cyanide in his blood, leading the medical examiner in November to reclassify the death a homicide.
Khan died without a will, opening the door to a court battle. Under Illinois law, the money should be divided evenly between his wife and daughter, but Husain says the man's siblings kept asking whether they had rights to the money. In their filings, Khan's siblings accused Ansari of trying to cash the lottery check and expressed concern his daughter would not get her fair share. A judge has made Ansari the administrator until a ruling on how to divide the assets.
Khan's sister, Meraj Khan, and her husband, Mohammed Zaman, told reporters Friday that they had no suspicions before the toxicology results showed cyanide poisoning.
Detectives questioned Ansari in November. Around the same time, her stepdaughter, Jasmeen, decided to go live with Khan's sister, who had won guardianship.
And then there's Ansari's father. Months before Khan's death, two federal tax liens were filed against Fareedun Ansari. He owed $124,600, according to county records.
Finally, Khan's ex-wife, Jasmeen's mother, emerged. She told the Chicago Sun-Times she last saw her daughter 13 years ago, when she says Khan took the girl to India. "I don't know if she knows I'm still alive," she said.