Lottery winner gave girlfriend some of his jackpot, but prosecutors say things turned deadly when he confronted her for stealing more

A 75-year-old Portland man died last November after a $3,200 lottery win turned into a parking lot confrontation with the woman he was dating. Prosecutors allege Mary Ann McKinzy, 55, intentionally hit James S. Miller with her car, according to The Oregonian. McKinzy was extradited back to Oregon last week.

After winning the $3,200 prize, Miller gave McKinzy $1,700, already more than half of his winnings. The conflict ignited after Miller accused McKinzy of taking another $800 from him without permission, which left him with only $700. The sum was a fraction of the jackpot behind a $167 million winner’s arrests, yet prosecutors say Miller was determined to recover it.

Instead of letting it go, he reportedly told an acquaintance that he planned to get a couple of his boys together to get his money back.

Miller was stabbing McKinzy’s tires right before he ended up under her car, court records say

In the early hours of the morning, a friend drove Miller to the Candalaria Plaza Apartments in Portland’s Centennial neighborhood. The friend later told police he didn’t know what Miller intended to do when he agreed to drive him there. When they reached the apartment complex, McKinzy was sitting inside her car. “Open the door or I’m going to bust the window open,” Miller told her at the driver’s side window, according to the friend.

Miller then told his friend to position his own vehicle so McKinzy could not drive away. In response, McKinzy backed her vehicle into the friend’s car. The friend reported seeing Miller throw a knife at McKinzy’s car, and court records say surveillance footage shows Miller stabbing her tires.

McKinzy then allegedly reversed again and ran Miller over, leaving him underneath her vehicle. The friend shouted at her to move the car, as Miller was trapped beneath it. According to court documents, McKinzy responded that Miller was “trying to kill” her before she allegedly drove away.

Portland police were dispatched after receiving a report of a stabbing. Officers found Miller dead, and police first treated the case as a stabbing homicide, as that was what the call had reported. However, the Multnomah County Medical Examiner later determined that Miller died from blunt-force trauma and ruled the death a homicide.

Investigators located McKinzy’s vehicle at a tire shop later that same day. A hubcap found at the scene matched the car, and another matching hubcap was found inside it. Police also matched a puncture in the hood to Miller’s knife and found documents bearing McKinzy’s name.

McKinzy was not arrested immediately, as she had either already left Oregon or did so shortly after investigators obtained an arrest warrant. U.S. Marshals located her in Bakersfield, California, in early August, more than eight months after Miller died. She was held in the Kern County Jail before her extradition.

Prosecutors allege McKinzy hit Miller intentionally. Court records show she has no prior convictions in Oregon. However, she was convicted in California in 2024 of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or domestic partner. Those same records describe Miller threatening her and stabbing her tires before he was hit.

McKinzy, who faces charges of second-degree murder, first-degree assault and criminally negligent homicide, is expected to make her next court appearance on September 29.