Lottery winner goes into hiding after jackpot
Source: Agencies |
January 24, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
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HOLLY Lahti burst into the spotlight a week ago in a feel-good story about a single mother who won a US$190 million Mega Millions jackpot in US.
Then came the mugshot: a thin young woman with disheveled brown hair, sporting a black eye and cuts and bruises on her face and neck. It turned out she was separated from a man who court records indicated had abused her, and now has a possible claim to some of the money through a quirk in Idaho law.
Lahti, 29, went underground with her two daughters after learning she had won half of a US$380 million jackpot in the January 4 drawing. She has not been seen in public since.
The mugshot was taken after Lahti and her husband, Josh Lahti, were arrested during a domestic dispute in 2003. The charges were later dropped, and the couple separated.
Josh Lahti said he did not know Holly had won the lottery until told by a reporter last week.
"That's awesome. I won't have to pay child support," he said upon learning his wife was rich.
As it turns out, the husband could be entitled to a chunk of the winnings because he and Lahti never divorced and were never legally separated. Idaho's law on the issue requires a divorce filing to grant separation, which is a key factor in splitting up assets between spouses.
While the lawyers sort out the issue in the months ahead, Holly Lahti can rejoice in the fact that her troubled past has given way to riches beyond her wildest dreams.
She quit her job as a customer service representative for a bank after winning the jackpot, then she asked family and friends not to talk with reporters. She did not appear at the January 12 press conference in Boise in which her good fortune was revealed.
Holly Lahti still lives in the couple's home in Rathdrum, a town in the Idaho Panhandle. Josh Lahti said he sees his daughters, age 12 and 10, most days.
Her friends are upset at the attention paid to the decade-old mugshot, and say it does not reflect the devoted and hardworking young mother.
"She is kind. She is friendly. She is shy," said Jennifer Mayberry, who has lived in the same neighborhood for a decade. "My children play with her children."
Then came the mugshot: a thin young woman with disheveled brown hair, sporting a black eye and cuts and bruises on her face and neck. It turned out she was separated from a man who court records indicated had abused her, and now has a possible claim to some of the money through a quirk in Idaho law.
Lahti, 29, went underground with her two daughters after learning she had won half of a US$380 million jackpot in the January 4 drawing. She has not been seen in public since.
The mugshot was taken after Lahti and her husband, Josh Lahti, were arrested during a domestic dispute in 2003. The charges were later dropped, and the couple separated.
Josh Lahti said he did not know Holly had won the lottery until told by a reporter last week.
"That's awesome. I won't have to pay child support," he said upon learning his wife was rich.
As it turns out, the husband could be entitled to a chunk of the winnings because he and Lahti never divorced and were never legally separated. Idaho's law on the issue requires a divorce filing to grant separation, which is a key factor in splitting up assets between spouses.
While the lawyers sort out the issue in the months ahead, Holly Lahti can rejoice in the fact that her troubled past has given way to riches beyond her wildest dreams.
She quit her job as a customer service representative for a bank after winning the jackpot, then she asked family and friends not to talk with reporters. She did not appear at the January 12 press conference in Boise in which her good fortune was revealed.
Holly Lahti still lives in the couple's home in Rathdrum, a town in the Idaho Panhandle. Josh Lahti said he sees his daughters, age 12 and 10, most days.
Her friends are upset at the attention paid to the decade-old mugshot, and say it does not reflect the devoted and hardworking young mother.
"She is kind. She is friendly. She is shy," said Jennifer Mayberry, who has lived in the same neighborhood for a decade. "My children play with her children."
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