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Man Wins $10 mil. Blows it. Commits Suicide
Man Wins $10 mil. Blows it. Commits Suicide
Nov 15, 2005
"(His) spending habits were the stuff of local legend"
WINNIPEG — Seven years ago, Gerald Muswagon was all smiles as his troubled life took a fairy-tale turn by winning a $10-million lottery jackpot.
On Sunday, Muswagon hung himself in his parent’s garage.
It was a shocking end for a man who appeared to have the world at his fingertips, yet clearly never could grasp the instant fame and fortune he was handed through his lucky $2 Super 7 ticket.
‘‘People are very upset, and this is all very surprising,’’ said his cousin, Mike Muswagon. ‘‘But he had been very depressed lately, although he kept that part of him well hidden.’’
Muswagon, 42, somehow managed to do what seemed unthinkable and spent nearly every penny of his winnings in only a few years.
The former resident of Norway House in northern Manitoba was forced to take a job this summer doing heavy lifting on a friend’s farm just to make ends meet while supporting his girlfriend and six young children in their modest Winnipeg home.
‘‘I really wanted him to be set up for life, so he never had to work another day,’’ said his cousin. ‘‘He should have been able to do that. But he made some very bad decisions.’’
Muswagon’s spending habits were the stuff of local legend, as rumours began to spread throughout Winnipeg shortly after he won.
Most of them were true — Muswagon bought several new vehicles for himself and friends, purchased a house which turned into a nightly ‘‘party pad’’ and often celebrated his new lifestyle with copious amounts of drugs and alcohol.
In a single day, he bought eight big screen televisions for friends.
‘‘He didn’t have the right people around him at the time, people who could have guided him,’’ recalled his cousin. ‘‘A lot of people asked a lot of him.’’
Submitted by Gwen
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