Adelaide tradie Joshua Winslet dead five years after $22m Powerball lottery win
He was only 22 when he won the life-changing jackpot but that dream-come-true has come to a nightmare end five years later.
Adelaide tradie Joshua Winslet was only 22 when he learnt he was the winner of an enormous Powerball lottery win, however it would result in a tragic end only five years later.
Winning $22m in the lottery in 2017 should have been life-changing, however for Winslet it spiralled him into a “hopeless” drug addiction and narrowly avoiding jail in 2022.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Winslet was found dead at home in December that same year, with an autopsy later confirming the cause as health complications from excessive drug use.
It was only this month that details of his death were outlined.
During sentencing for drug and gun charges in 2022, the District Court heard police attended Winslet’s New Port home on August 30, 2020 on information that drugs were being manufactured there.
They located 2.27g of cocaine on him, as well as 23.9 grams of MDMA in a safe in one of the bedrooms.
Police also found a further 4.4g of MDMA in the wardrobe, as well as a Mauser handgun and ammunition in a manhole in the bathroom.
Winslet pleaded guilty to supplying MDMA and possessing a firearm without a licence.
After winning the lottery, Winslet, who had been working as a plumber, had his millions placed in a trust fund – which was managed by his parents.
He used a large portion to buy multiple properties in South Australia and New Zealand, as well as fuelling his drug habit.
“Because of the money that you had won, there was no motivation on your part to work or do anything other than enjoy yourself,” Judge Heath Barklay said.
The court heard Winslet was hanging around with the wrong people, which he allowed to “run amok” in his house.
“You had lots of money so you could afford to buy large amounts of drugs, which you would use yourself and supply to your so-called friends from time to time,” Judge Barklay said.
“You, in many ways, were a free ride.”
Shocking photos from inside the trashed “party house” revealed bagged MDMA, bongs and empty cans and takeaway food containers accumulated in every room.
The court heard Winslet suffered from Duane syndrome and Goldenhar syndrome, congenital conditions that caused facial abnormalities, heart irregularities, and a single horseshoe-shaped kidney and was mercilessly bullied at school.
Winslet was sentenced to three years and nine months, with a non-parole period of 18-months.
“Although winning the Powerball was incredibly positive in many ways, the downside … is that you lost motivation in life and contented yourself with living a hedonistic lifestyle punctuated by drug use,” Judge Barklay said.
The sentence was suspended on a two-year good behaviour bond.
However, only a few months later, Winslet would be dead, sending shockwaves through those who had tried to help him.
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Originally published as Adelaide tradie Joshua Winslet dead five years after $22m Powerball lottery win
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