Mom is killed months after winning $2 million lottery prize in California, cops say

A mom who won $2 million in the California Lottery last year was killed, along with her 1-year-old daughter, by her husband, according to police.

Tiffani Hill, 31, was found dead alongside her husband John Donato, 42, on July 30 in their Oklahoma home, police said, according to KXII.

Authorities said the 1-year-old child was found alive but “badly injured,” flown to a Dallas hospital “in critical condition” and later died, according to the station. There were other children at the home, but they weren’t injured, officials said.

Hill won a $2 million scratcher ticket bought at a store in Calaveras County in November 2020, according to California Lottery.

The Valley Springs Mini Mart, where the ticket was purchased, received a $10,000 bonus.

Theresa McGehee, who previously represented Hill’s family, told CBS13 that the family believed the deaths were a case of domestic violence. Hill met Donato after winning the lottery, married him and moved to Oklahoma.

“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,” McGehee told KXII.

The lottery money will be put in a trust for Hill’s three surviving children, and Hill’s family is trying to move them to California, CBS13 reported.

Hill’s family is also working on funeral arrangements, according to the station.

This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 8:51 AM with the headline "Mom is killed months after winning $2 million lottery prize in California, cops say."