Ohio Woman Drops Claim To Winning Lottery Ticket
Elecia Battle Apologizes To Real Winner, Says She Wanted 'To Change Life'
UPDATED: 1:33 pm EST January 8,
2004
CLEVELAND -- The woman who claimed she lost the winning ticket for the $162 million Mega Millions jackpot apologized for filing a lawsuit to block the real winner from receiving the jackpot.
Elecia Battle, 40, of Cleveland, apologized to winner Rebecca Jemison, of South Euclid, Ohio."I apologize to Rebecca Jemison and I wish her well. I wanted it so bad to change my life it was just overwhelming," Battle said at a news conference Thursday.Battle maintains she bought a ticket and then lost it -- just not the winner. Battle told WEWS-TV in Cleveland that she remembered picking the winning numbers.Her attorney, Sheldon Starke, said that Battle would not have given up the claim to the winning ticket if WEWS hadn't shown her the winning ticket, showing her her mistake.After Jemison came forward, Battle filed a police report and sued to block the certified winner from getting the winnings.In Thursday's news conference with her attorney, Battle cried as she apologized to Jemison, her family and her attorney."It just took over me. I don't know what happened to me. It was just ovewhelming," Battle said.
She said she wanted to use the money to help her family -- and help out recently laid-off Cleveland police officers."No one knows how I felt at that time. It was just, I can't even describe how I felt. I just wanted my life to change," she said.She made the decision late Wednesday night to end the legal battle over the jackpot."I'm a good person, I'm a good mom, I have good children," she said. "I'm in pain a lot of it. I just want the world to know I apologize. I just want to get back to normal."Authorities had been investigating whether Battle lied in her police report -- a misdemeanor punishable by 30 days to six months in jail.Battle has a criminal record for credit card fraud and assault. Police said Battle used a customer's credit card number to make purchases while working at a Richmond Heights pharmacy in 1999. She paid a $450 fine for misuse of a credit card, and a 10-day jail sentence was suspended.Jemison claimed the winning jackpot. She chose the cash option of $67.2 million.
Elecia Battle, 40, of Cleveland, apologized to winner Rebecca Jemison, of South Euclid, Ohio."I apologize to Rebecca Jemison and I wish her well. I wanted it so bad to change my life it was just overwhelming," Battle said at a news conference Thursday.Battle maintains she bought a ticket and then lost it -- just not the winner. Battle told WEWS-TV in Cleveland that she remembered picking the winning numbers.Her attorney, Sheldon Starke, said that Battle would not have given up the claim to the winning ticket if WEWS hadn't shown her the winning ticket, showing her her mistake.After Jemison came forward, Battle filed a police report and sued to block the certified winner from getting the winnings.In Thursday's news conference with her attorney, Battle cried as she apologized to Jemison, her family and her attorney."It just took over me. I don't know what happened to me. It was just ovewhelming," Battle said. 
Winner's Husband
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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