Abraham Shakespeare was an all around good man. He had an enormous heart, cared about people, and would give you the shirt off his back. Since he didn’t have any evil in him, Abraham had a difficult time seeing the bad in others; the man naïvely trusted people, and this is what would cost him his life.
Abraham grew up underprivileged in Plant City, Florida; he hadn’t received the best of educations, and unfortunately never learned to read. As an adult he obtained a job working for a trucking company making just $8 per hour. He lived with his mama and other family members, they pulled their money together in an effort to live a decent life.
In 2006 Abraham purchased a $20.00 scratch off and bam, just like that his life was transformed. He hit the jackpot for 31 million, though he chose a lump payout of 17 mil. He bought a big, beautiful new home, and helped everyone in his family get on their feet. Before long this big hearted man was running low on money; it seemed that everyone he’d ever met came out of the woodwork to beg for cash, and Abraham had a really difficult time telling anyone no. He even sent some inmates he’d never met some money after they wrote letters asking for help.
Abraham had been out with his cousin when he was introduced to a woman named Dorice “Dee Dee” Moore. She claimed to be a Nurse’s aid, life coach, and a writer – and now she wanted nothing more than to write a book about Abraham. He hired DeeDee; when she said she needed a house so she would have a place to write her book, Abraham bought her one. When DeeDee heard about Abraham’s money problems and his inability to say no to those who asked for help, she said that she could help with this. If Abraham were to place the cash in DeeDee’s business account, he could honestly tell people that he couldn’t give them any money as he wouldn’t have any access to it. Being a manipulative con artist, DeeDee somehow talked Abraham into thinking this was a good idea.
Abraham had always wanted to travel, he’d told everyone he knew that he was going to see the world. So when Abraham stopped contacting the people in his life, DeeDee told everyone that’s what he had decided to travel. Considering everyone in his life owed him money, many were just happy that he was gone. But Abraham’s close family knew that something was wrong, and mama demanded DeeDee put her in contact with her son.
Suddenly Abraham began contacting his mama only through text, and his grammar was perfect. Mama knew right off the bat that this wasn’t right, and she said so. Finally she got a brief call from a man who claimed to be her son, he stated that he was having a great time seeing the world.
Meanwhile DeeDee’s finances had changed drastically. She was suddenly living large; the woman had purchased beautiful property, was now driving expensive new cars, and she even had the gall to take over Abraham’s multi-million dollar home as if it were her own.
When others who were close to Abraham saw this, they demanded to speak with the missing man; at this point DeeDee told them that Abraham had contracted the AIDS virus and that he was in another country receiving treatment. Finally she stated that Abraham had died of AIDS.
Police realized that something wasn’t right. They found out that Dee Dee had talked Abraham’s friend, a barbershop owner named Greg Smith, into calling his mother in exchange for a few hundred dollars cash. Greg had been feeling guilty about having placed that phone call; at the time Dee Dee had convinced him that Abraham truly was fine, and he believed that he would be home soon. The call was made to bring his friend’s mother’s little peace of mind.
When Greg realized that something was really wrong, that his good friend who had given him the more than 60K to save his house might not be okay, he made the decision to work with the police. Greg wore a wire as he cozied up to the con artist; DeeDee grew so comfortable with him that she showed him exactly where Abraham was: the man was buried in her boyfriend’s back yard beneath a concrete slab. She told Greg that drug dealers who owed Abraham money had killed him, though she’d been searching for someone else to take the blame for Abraham’s murder. Dee Dee had even attempted to talk her own father into taking the fall.
Less than 3 years after Abraham became rich, the 43 year old was shot to death by someone he trusted. It’s believed that he was shot after confronting DeeDee about the scam she’d been running on him. He was missing for approximately 9 months.
In April of 2009 Dee Dee was sentenced to life with no parole. She maintains her innocence, she swears she was set up – the real killer was the man who’d worked with police to bring her down. It’s difficult to understand why some people continue to lie about their crimes. There’s little doubt as to Dee Dee’s guilt.
Just a side note: A woman who Abraham had a child with, named Antoinette Andrews, has since won the lotto as well. She hit the million dollar jackpot. Considering how the odds of winning big are stacked against us, this is really incredible. Because of what happened to her ex, Antoinette did mention being a little afraid to have come into a large chunk of money like this.
*Tess H, I appreciate you SO MUCH! 🤍
