CATLETTSBURG — 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.
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.
Local News
Powerball wife out of jail
Edwards indigent, owes $17,000 in child support
- Local News
-
- Secretary of Education coming to Louisville
-
New laws go into effect next week
New laws approved during the Kentucky General Assembly’s 2013 regular session go into effect on Tuesday.
-
Local in brief: 6/19/13
Southland Bible Institute’s training for high school students continues through Friday at the school at 238 W. Southland Drive.
-
Saturday's Flatwoods Music Festival will include tributes to Mike Murphy
The songs of Mike Murphy and Zachariah will be remembered and performed Saturday amid an afternoon and evening of free music at the annual Flatwoods Music Festival.
-
Local WinShape camp gaining steam
The WinShape Camps for Communities at Bridges Christian Church the first week of July are starting to draw considerable buzz.
-
Camp Invention full of science-based discovery
The formula for inventing a new machine, according to 9-year-old Hayden Wheeler, goes something like this: “First, I run it through my mind and plan it out, and then I make adjustments in my mind, and then I try it out.”
-
Boyd staying with same health plan
Boyd County officials heard pitches Tuesday for two new health care plans — one for employees, the other for inmates. Both claimed they could save taxpayers thousands of dollars in medical expenses over the coming year.
-
Sentencing in Carter drug trafficking case
Five people were sentenced to prison terms last week in a federal drug-trafficking case that involved selling cocaine and pills in Carter County, according to court documents.
-
19-year-old launching one-man food drive, ‘Cans for a Cause’
Never accuse Aaron Hannah of not being ambitious and failing to set high goals for himself.
Later this month, Hannah, a 19-year-old 2012 graduate of Raceland-Worthington High School, will launch what is essentially a one-man food drive. His goal: to collect at least 10,000 pounds of canned food for River Cities Harvest to distribute to local nonprofits and churches that help feed the hungry.
Hannah, who just completed his freshman year as a Bonner Scholar at Berea College, said scholars are encouraged, but not required, to do community projects designed to help the needy. -
Westwood man charged with attempted murder
A Westwood man was arrested on attempted murder charges following an incident Sunday night, according to the Ashland Police Department.
Michael L. Thompson, 38, was charged following an investigation. - More Local News Headlines
Hoffa Mystery Still Fascinates After 4 Decades
Raw: 1 Dead in Shooting at Mo. Apartment Complex
Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park
Raw: Obama Arrives in Berlin
3 Charged in Ohio With Enslaving Mom, Daughter
Obama Seeks G-8 Support on Syria
Raw: Volcano Erupts Near Mexico City
Kid Couture: Spending Big Bucks on Babies
Suicide Bombs Target Baghdad Mosque, Killing 29
Military Plans to Put Women in Combat Jobs
Solar Power Chargers in NYC Parks
Civil Rights Groups Sue NYPD Over Muslim Spying
Raw: First Lady, Daughters Enjoy Irish Sights
RAW: NSA Director Says 50 Plots Foiled
Boeing, Airbus Battle for Sales Supremacy
