Detroit man, 86, who went missing after winning $20,000 in the lottery found stabbed to death in vacant home

• Arthur Neal Jr, 86, was found stabbed multiple times in vacant home in Detroit Sunday
• He was last seen alive at his home on Trinity Street December 20
• It is believed he won $20,000 in the lottery a day before his disappearance

By Belinda Robinson and Snejana Farberov For Dailymail.com

Published: 09:04 EST, 5 February 2015 | Updated: 09:12 EST, 5 February 2015

Worst fears confirmed: Arthur Neal Jr, 86, who was last seen alive at his home in Detroit December 20, has been found stabbed to death

An 86-year-old Detroit man who went missing in December after winning $20,000 in the lottery has been found stabbed to death.

The body of Arthur Neal Jr., who was reported missing December 28, was discovered Sunday afternoon inside a vacant house in the 15800 block of Mansfield Street, about three miles from his home.

Police say Neal was found in the basement of the residence, and his body was covered.

An autopsy determined that the octogenarian died from multiple stab wounds, the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office said.

Family members told local media that Neal won $20,000 in the lottery December 19, and it is believed that he vanished the next day. A missing persons reported was filed a week later.

Police have not been able to confirm the lottery win, said Detroit Police spokeswoman Nicole Kirkwood.

Neal's death is now being investigated as a homicide.

'He's 86 years old. He can't hurt anybody. Why would they do anything like this? I don't understand,' Neal's granddaughter Christina Hall told the station WXYZ.

Hall has made an appeal to the public asking for anyone with information on her grandfather's killer to come forward.

Neal was last seen alive at his home on Trinity street in Detroit December 20. His other granddaughter, Lawanda Marshall, said a few days after his disappearance they had become concerned after he failed to show up for Christmas, as he would not have missed Christmas with his family.

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Grisly find: Neal has been found with multiple stab wounds in the basement of this vacant house in the 15800 block of Mansfield Street

According to his relatives, Neal had recently won $20,000 in a lottery game, but had no plans to leave town. There is no word at this time if Neal had cashed his prize before his killing.

Marshall said that the information about his lottery win was widely publicized and his family think this could be the reason he has vanished into thin air.

Marshall said: 'It bothers me greatly because I don't think that's the type of information that should have seeped out – if that was the case – especially that neighborhood in which he was staying and reside.'

Neal's family said they went to his house to check on him and found his home in disarray and a door left ajar, which raised their suspicions further.

Marshall described her grandfather to Mlive.com as a physically and mentally strong man who still did masonry work despite his advance age and was 'joyful.'