Joshua Winslet was 22 when he won $22m on the Australia lottery – but the life of the plumber who had endured years of bullying and misery was soon to take a tragic turn
A plumber’s world was turned upside down after he scooped a whopping $22million (approximately £11m) lottery win.
Joshua Winslet was just 22 in 2017, when with only $19 (£9) left in his bank account, he decided to try his luck on Australia’s $100m (£47.9m) Powerball draw. To his utter disbelief, he found himself the sole winner of a $22m jackpot just hours later.
However, this stroke of fortune led to heartache, and ultimately death for the troubled young man. Joshua had been born with two disfiguring conditions that had made his childhood unbearable.
Joshua, who lived on New Zealand’s South Island, had been born with both Duane syndrome and Goldenhar syndrome.
Duane syndrome is an eye disorder that restricts the ability to move one or both eyes, while Goldenhar syndrome is a rare condition resulting from underdeveloped bones and muscles in the face.
Together, these two congenital abnormalities made Joshua a target for bullies throughout his school years. As a child, he underwent plastic surgery to correct some of the signs of his condition, but the procedures were not entirely successful.
After enduring a difficult time at school, Joshua briefly enrolled at Adelaide University Senior College in South Australia before deciding to drop out and pursue a plumbing apprenticeship instead. At the age of 20, he decided to relocate to New Zealand, believing he might find it easier to secure work there.
Struggling as a plumber in New Zealand and almost broke, his life turned around with a lucky lottery ticket that landed him a $22 million windfall.
The Daily Mail spoke to two of Joshua’s former schoolfriends who recalled the moment he told them about his massive win. One said: “He sent a screenshot of his lotto app and we still almost didn’t believe him. It was something that doesn’t happen to someone like Josh, you know? Especially $22million.”
Another friend remarked: “Out of everyone from our school, and after all the bullying he copped, he deserved it more than anyone.”
Initially, Joshua made some savvy moves with his riches, snapping up investment properties across South Australia and New Zealand and entrusting the rest of the loot to a trust managed by his parents.
However, the pressures of vast wealth quickly got the better of him, and his New Port mansion in Adelaide transformed into an infamous party den, awash with booze and drugs. Pinned to one wall of the disreputable mansion was a copy of Joshua’s precious lottery-winning ticket.
But in 2020, this hedonistic hideaway was hit by a police raid, uncovering a shambolic scene with over 27 grams of ecstasy, two grams of cocaine, and an illegal firearm strewn among countless empty beer bottles.
Joshua pleaded guilty to dealing drugs and possessing a firearm unlawfully in South Australia’s District Court. After his conviction in August 2022, he was handed a three-year and nine-month sentence with the chance of parole after 18 months.
During sentencing, Judge Heath Barklay remarked: “Because of the money that you had won, there was no motivation on your part to work or do anything other than enjoy yourself.”
But his prison stint was swiftly put on hold for good behaviour, seeing Joshua fall back into his wild ways. Mates witnessed him chipping away at an enormous block of cocaine, and one even bluntly cautioned: “You need to stop this or you’re going to die.”
Devastatingly, his friends’ fears came true. By December 2022, less than half a year since facing justice, Joshua was discovered lifeless at his place.
His untimely death was determined to have been the result of severe health issues brought on by reckless drug use.