A Kentucky man who won a share of a $280 million Powerball jackpot in 2001 died penniless after a spending spree, a drug addiction, and a string of failed ventures wiped out his roughly $27 million payout.

David Lee Edwards had served time for armed robbery. He was unemployed when he won the lottery. The Mirror US reported that he hoped to handle the money differently from other winners. 

Edwards went on a high-profile spending spree following his win, marrying his girlfriend, Shawna Maddux, in a lavish Malibu ceremony before exhausting $12 million within a single year. His purchases included a mansion, a private jet, and high-end sports cars, a $90,000 Dodge Viper, and a $200,000 Lamborghini Diablo.

The Kentucky man also spent over $2 million on Florida real estate, including property in a private Palm Beach golf and tennis community, while pouring millions more into commercial ventures, racehorses, and a $4.5 million fiber optics company.

By the end of it, with their fortune run out, Edwards, who battled dr*g addiction, and Maddux ended up living in a storage shed in California that was reportedly fouled with human waste.

His drug addiction could be traced back to a car accident that left him with chronic back pain, for which he was prescribed OxyContin. He was later arrested on dr*g charges involving crack cocaine and contracted hepatitis from intravenous dr*g use.

Edwards’ health deteriorated in his final years. After Maddux left him and remarried, she took him into her new home and later arranged for him to move into a hospice. He died at age 58, in debt with acquaintances. He reportedly still bought lottery tickets at a local store, hoping for another win, like his $27 million payout. 

Edwards’ daughter, Tiffani, later told the Daily Mail she blamed her father’s decline in part on his relationship with Maddux, saying dr*gs had consumed both of them. She said her father regretted staying with Maddux instead of taking care of himself, but that the two had remained bound to each other and, eventually, to their addiction.

Tiffani, however, also said her father was fundamentally a good man who made poor choices, and she believes he would still be alive today had he never won the lottery. Edwards failed to set aside $1 million that he had promised her he would set aside for her, as she would reveal in a Facebook post. 

Disclaimer: Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available.