Police Say Man Killed Lotto Winning Wife, Daughter and Self in Murder-Suicide

A man killed his family in a murder-suicide after his wife won $2 million in the lottery.

On July 30, police found the bodies of Tiffani Hill, 31, her husband, John Donato, 42, and their one-year-old daughter, Leanne in their Calera, Oklahoma home. The two parents were pronounced dead at the scene, but the child died shortly after being airlifted to a Texas hospital, the New York Post reports. Each of them had gunshot wounds to the head.

Police believe Donato took his own life after murdering his wife and their daughter. The violent act happened after Hill won more than $2 million on an Instant Prize Crossword Scratchers that she bought back in November 2020 when she was in Valley Springs, California.

A few months later, Hill and Donato got married and moved to Oklahoma. According to Hill’s lawyer, the money Hill won caused friction in the two’s marriage. “Could that have sparked that argument? We’ll never have any way of knowing. But I do know there were times it caused conflict between them,” lawyer Theresa McGehee said.

Hill has three other children. They also were in the home when the shootings happened, but they weren’t harmed. Hill’s money will be set up in a trust for three children.