Youngest Lottery Winner Found Dead

The boy who became the youngest ever lottery winner in the United Kingdom, Stuart Donnelly was found dead earlier this month. Donnelly was only 17 when he smiled shyly into the cameras that gathered around him and the rest of the members of his lottery syndicate in 1997. Instead of joining the others with a glass of champagne, Donnelly famously toasted his part of the £25 million win with a glass of Coca Cola.

Donnelly matched six numbers on the first line of a £5 ticket while he was still a trainee chemist in Glasgow earning just £60 a week. He was so broke at the time of his win that he had to borrow the bus fare to pick up this lottery windfall which was recorded to be just under £2 million.

Living under the intense glare of the media cameras proved to be a lot for the teenager to bear and he took to isolating himself in a bungalow, caring for his ailing father, who has since died.

It was only in 2003 that the record for the youngest lottery winner was broken and the media attention was diverted away from Donnelly.

At the time he said in an interview: “It was very hard to deal with the attention I got. I even had people camping outside my house. It put a huge strain on me and my family.”

After his win, Donnelly made some dreams come true – buying a home for his parents and an executive seat at Celtic Park, where he could cheer on his favorite team in comfort.

Stuart Donnelly was found dead in his home and the police investigating the 29 year old’s death have said that there were no suspicious circumstances involved.

One of Donnelly’s aunts posted on his Bebo social networking page: “His family are devastated by their loss and cannot believe his is no longer with us. The post mortem will confirm the medical condition that caused his death. The doctors had been testing Stuart and had not diagnosed his illness.”

Today, there is less media coverage of UK lottery winners, especially if they choose to remain anonymous.