Daily Independent (Ashland, KY) – Powerball wife out of jail
The wife of Powerball winner David Edwards was released from the Boyd County Detention Center on Wednesday, under the condition that she pay the $17,000 she owes in child support.
Shawna Edwards, 32, has been in the county jail for nearly a month after she was arrested on a warrant charging her with failing to make child support payments on two children she had previous to her marriage to David Edwards. She also served 10 days in jail for giving police officers a false name when she was arrested. Thanks to Melinda for sending us this one.
David Edwards, a former Westwood resident, won $41 million in 2001 in a one-third share of a then record-setting Powerball jackpot. He took a lump-sum payment and ended up with $27 million after taxes.
Just six years later, it is clear the money is gone, with David Edwards’ possessions being sold at auction — along with reports the man had been living in a storage unit and using intravenous drugs — and Shawna being classified as indigent and being provided with a court-appointed lawyer.
“It’s just another tragic chapter in the life of a lottery winner,” said Boyd County Attorney Phillip Hedrick, who prosecuted Shawna Edwards’ case.
Hedrick said the woman was keeping up with her payments “until they (the Edwardses) went under.”
In February, Shawna Edwards signed a voluntary waiver of extradition in Orange County, Fla., where she was apparently living at a Super 8 Motel, to face her criminal charges in Kentucky.
She was released from the county jail, but after failing to appear at two consecutive court hearings in May, a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Shawna Edwards was released Wednesday on a $7,500 unsecured bond.
Hedrick said she owns a house in Ashland she bought for her mother, and could possibly pay off the $17,000 she owes through a home equity loan.
“If she could have made that happen in prison, she would have, but she had been in there for a month and nothing had been done,” Hedrick said. “We agreed to let her out so she could make the arrangements to pay this off.”
If Shawna Edwards pays off the delinquent amount, the felony charge will be dropped.
Boyd Circuit Judge Marc I. Rosen set several conditions on Shawna Edwards’ release, saying the defendant cannot leave the state, must live at the home she bought in Ashland, must make a court appearance in 30 days and must show at that hearing that she is making progress toward paying off her arrearage.
Shawna Edwards was known as Shawna Maddux when David Edwards won his share of the Powerball jackpot in August 2001.
The couple married shortly thereafter and moved into a $1.2 million home in the Ballen Isles community in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
The couple filed for divorce in 2003, but apparently reconciled.
Shawna Edwards was arrested for domestic battery in 2004 after her husband told authorities she had tried to stab him with a crack pipe.
Both Shawna and David were arrested in 2005 when police found cocaine and heroin in their bedroom.
David Edwards pleaded guilty to a drug paraphernalia possession charge and the cocaine charge was dropped. A status hearing on the heroin charge is scheduled for Tuesday in Palm Beach.
Their Florida home was foreclosed upon and sold at auction after the two failed to pay homeowners’ association dues.
Saturday, many of David Edwards’ strange and exotic possessions were sold at auction after he had failed to pay rent on the storage unit in Florida that housed the items, and were Edwards himself was allegedly living for a time.
Hedrick said the meteoric rise and fall of David and Shawna Edwards was startling.
“I’m not defending her, but it is a tragic situation with these lottery winners,” Hedrick said.
BEN FIELDS can be reached at bfields@dailyindependent.com or 
(606) 326-2651
.
Why, oh why, could this not have been me? I can assure you if I had won that much money in 2001 that in 2007 I would still be living high on the hog and so would the rest of my family. Nobody that knew me would want for anything and I can’t fathom using IV drugs. See? Some people cannot be trusted with themselves.
crazy!!! last night i went to sleep watching a story on lottery winners and david edwards was one of the folks on…..wow…i watched as he displayed his “treasures”…very much in excess….extreme…i pondered on what i may have done with over 25 million dollars at my disposal…..nothing he had matched my dreams…money doesn’t change people…greed does!!!
Well,
What can I say to Mr. Edwards to set him right now. What he needs is a friend and somebody that can make him see that life is not over yet. I have hit the bottom and I know that he’s hurting. There is alot ahead for him. He’s got a good heart. He knows that everybody admires his luck. Now he needs a friend who doesn’t mention money first. David pick up the phone and call. I’ll help no strings attached. Don’t let people judge you. You owe them nothing.
Joe Covington – texascop184@hotmail.com
Mr. Edward, Something deep down to e-mail you with this problem.
If possible could I borrow 500.00 dollars form you to pay for my car deductable, I had a wreck yesterday, and I do’nt have the money to pay my deductable. My husband on Social Security, and we live from pay check to pay check, I want to borrow, and I will sign any paper to prove to you I will pay every dime back. I am 56 years old, and I work every day, except weekends. Your help will be a blessing.
Ms. Crosby, did you not read the story above? It’s unlike that Mr. Edwards has $500 to his name, let alone $5!
And FWIW, it’s in EXTREMELY poor taste to ask a complete stranger, lottery winner or otherwise, for money. Go to your family, friends, church or employer.
How could anyone spend 25 million dollars in such a short length of time?
We all make mistakes, and who knows what we would do if we were
to suddenly have all that money instantly. I hope that I would do things totally different than david did, but you dont really know until
you are in that situation. People need to be not so judgemental.
May god bless him and Shawna.
Only an idiot would blow through 29 millions dollars in 4 years time. I bet he snorted most of it up his nose. I too saw him on Lottery Change my Life. I thought “what a stupid person” while I watched him brag about all the stuff he had purchased.
I actually hope he wins big again so he can have the chance to do it right next time. David – get off the drugs.
I can’t understand how anyone can go from rags to riches and then back to rags again I feel for David and his wife of just a short time.
But I guess we all get caught up in the moment. and then make mistakes.
If me and my group at work ever get the chance to live the powerBall dream I hope we make better decisions.
I read in an interview with some euro-millionaire in a magazine and he said he donates most of his money because he tried to spend it and couldn’t find a need to spend that much money because he jsut doesn’t need anything else. i think there is something to be said for people who make there own money, and those who fall into it out of luck. i’m not saying one is better, but it’s like a child if you earn the money to by a junky car from hard work and saving you will treat that piece of junk better than if your parents went out and bought you a brand new bmw. They say lottery is the devils greatest invention…who knows it may just be true.
Dave is an example of what happens when you combine addictions and little oversight. Dave blew through the money in less than four years. That’s not all that hard to do. But, as noted above, his addictions sure didn’t help him make clear headed decisions on how to spend his money. His original financial advisor set him up the right way, but Edwards didn’t take his advise and cashed out bonds, notes and other investments his FA had made for him. Dave wanted the money now, spent it now and then wondered why it was all gone. Edwards clearly had no idea how to handle money, or any idea of how much he actually had. It must have been a big surprise when he woke up one morning in 2005 to find he was almost broke. One financial expert said had Edwards taken his initial $27mil win and invested it and lived off the income, that he would easily have over $100mil by 2011. Easily. He warned Edwards not to spend the principal (the 27mil) and to avoid making crazy decisions on how to spend it (on weird furniture, jets, too many cars, drugs, etc). He noted that Edwards would have been able to live well of the interest income, or about $100,000 a month. Or more if he needed it. Instead, Edwards was spending like crazy, by 2004 he had spent over $20mil (that’s over $560,000 a month, averaged). Worse, by then his principle was down to around $5mil.
Investing $5mil still would leave you with a nice monthly income, but not enough to support a lifestyle like Edward’s. By then his drug habits had resumed and his lifestyle was out of control. One friend said Edwards was asking him for money in late 2005, saying his money was tied up in investments. He loaned Edwards $5000 which was never repaid. His friend assumed Edwards was broke as early as then.
Edwards wasn’t the brightest bulb to begin with. An uneducated ex-con, Edwards was a slick talker in the great rural style. He could charm the ladies, still had his hair and was slim well into his late 40’s. Even though he didn’t have steady work, a criminal record and no real talents he continued to attract young ladies in eastern Kentucky. Rumors stated he was dealing drugs until he won the Lottery. Real good stuff for young gals looking for a steady husband.
Almost instantly after the win Edwards was blowing dough at a rapid rate. Millions were gone by the first year. By the he had already cashed in most of his investments and wasn’t doing anything to replace that lost principal. Instead, he kept on spending and spending.
By 2007 Edwards was broke and had returned to his old lifestyle and role: that of a guy milking a back injury for all of the free care and sympathy he could muster. His back seemed in good shape just a year or two before during his gig on the Lottery tv show. Yet, now it was ‘acting up’ again and forcing him into that old role of unemployable mid aged man from rural America. Edwards was last seen in a local hospital getting attention for various health woes. As of 2010 its believed he is back living with relatives or friends in Ashland.
Edwards should write a book about his life and lottery experiences. I’d buy it. Might help him get his life back in order. I hope he’s just not sittting around milking the injuried back slacker routine of his past life. Let’s hope he’s learned from this, is off the drugs and booze for good and is trying to make a go of what he has left.
When I met Shawna (David’s wife), she had arrived in their private jet with a court escort (sans handcuffs) to a famous Malibu rehab with two black eyes and a big belly. She was seeking to score drugs and spending thousands on clothes and anything else she wanted. She stayed there for months and even had David send out her Ferrari. She was rich and finally free of kids and husband. She had no interest in cleaning up her life….she was court appointed so the rehab gladly took her money and catered to her every whim. She was clearly out of her element. She couldn’t understand why the cute boys from back east weren’t interested in her (even with the Ferrari).
I never saw her again. But I did read the stories about their “Powerfall”. Too bad that they both had the chance to change their lives and their kids lives but they didn’t “get it”. I spoke with her years later and she told me that her children were taken away permanently by the Courts. It was just very sad.