Pastor Kevin Matthews
Outside of Pleasant Hill, there was a pastor who was close to Holmes and her family. Pastor Kevin Matthews claimed that meeting Holmes had been a fate decided for him by God and that he visited the family several times at the new house to minister to them. He said that he tried to help McDow live a better life and make positive changes. Despite these claims, though, there is no real evidence of him having been involved with the family before they won the lottery. Sounds suspicious!
Source: YouTube
Matthews wanted to build a retreat and eventually asked Holmes outright for $1.5 million to help him achieve this goal. He claims that she had verbally agreed, though there had been no formal written statement. Nevertheless, he had gone ahead and put his own money down on the property.