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Woman pleads not guilty in death of lottery winner

The body of Abraham Shakespeare, a truck driver turned lottery millionaire, was found in late January.
The body of Abraham Shakespeare, a truck driver turned lottery millionaire, was found in late January.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Dorice "Dee Dee" Moore, arrested in February, is charged with first-degree murder
  • The body of Abraham Shakespeare was found outside a home in Plant City, Florida
  • Moore befriended Shakespeare after he won a $31 million Florida lottery prize in 2006
RELATED TOPICS
  • Florida

(CNN) -- A Florida woman accused in the death of a lottery millionaire pleaded not guilty at a court hearing Monday in Hillsborough County, CNN affiliate Bay News 9 reported.

Dorice "Dee Dee" Moore is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Abraham Shakespeare, a truck driver turned lottery millionaire. She was arrested in February.

Police said she befriended Shakespeare after he won a $31 million Florida lottery prize in 2006. She was named a person of interest after Shakespeare, 43, went missing.

Deputies found his body outside a home in Plant City in late January after receiving a tip from an associate of Moore's.

Moore might have committed fraud to obtain parts of Shakespeare's fortune, and she bought lime to deal with his body and was trying to find someone to move the corpse before authorities could find it, police said.

Shakespeare was killed on April 6 or April 7, and Moore has admitted trying to convince Shakespeare's family members that he was still alive, Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee has said.

Her attempts included writing a letter to Shakespeare's mother, claiming to be him, and getting people to call his family members, using his cell phone and claiming they were Shakespeare, Gee said.

Moore proclaimed her innocence before her arrest.

She told reporters said she was planning to help Shakespeare write a book about the challenges of winning millions and that she was helping him manage the money.