[10], Denise told Leon County Sheriff's Office investigators that, on August 5, the day when the appraisal had to be filed with the court, she left her home to drive to her job at Florida State University. Denise Williams' murder indictment comes nearly 18 years after her husband Mike Williams vanished while duck hunting in December 2000. The confessed killer of a Florida man contends. But because of Cheryl Williams' efforts to reopen the investigation, over 17 years later, the remains of Williams' body were found and authorities actually confirmed that he was murdered. "Everyone knows the lake is full of alligators," said the FFWCC's David Arnette. Williams was married to her middle school sweetheart Kendrick Williams from 1971 until 1975, before she relocated to California in the early 1970s. They were good friends with Brian Winchester and his wife. She not only killed my son, she stole my granddaughter, she said. The victim went missing that day after going out on a duck hunting trip to Lake Seminole, but his body didn't turn up. If I had not done what I did for 17 years, Mikes disappearance never would have been solved. Defendant Denise Williams listens during her trial for the murder of her husband Mike Williams, in Tallahassee, Fla., Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018. [3] The water, already at 58F (14C) the day of Williams's disappearance, dropped to 46F (8C), and the lake iced out to as much as 20 feet (6.1m) from shore. Denise requested protection orders, saying she feared for her life and her daughter's. Searchers thus assumed that Williams had hit a stump with his boat, fallen out, sunk into waters 812 feet (2.43.7m) deep when his waders filled, and then drowned when he was unable to extricate himself. But it did not produce any new evidence, as the potential crime scene had not been secured during the search for Williams. [3] She followed the story through Denise's conviction, making a point of keeping the poster for the case on her cubicle wall. Yet nearby were finished concrete launches that he was known to have used in the past. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. The couple went on to live in the same house where Denise and Mike had lived prior. All rights reserved. Distractify is a registered trademark. [27], On the day Mike disappeared, Winchester said, he had enticed him to Lake Seminole. While the diver who retrieved them reported that they were in an area of disturbed weeds with alligator excrement nearby, consistent with the original belief that Williams had drowned while wearing them, he allowed it was "anyone's guess" as to whether they had been later planted in that spot. Denise and her then-lover Brian Winchester were both accused of working together to kill her husband Mike Williams, a 31-year-old real estate appraiser. Denise got what she wanted after all. A 2016 kidnapping . Not knowing that just two years later, he'd be the one to crack. According to Dateline in 2018, Anslee Williams is still residing in Florida because her family is from the state. She testified in court, pleading for leniency for her mother, Denise, and insisting that her stepfather, Brian, and not Denise, was the mastermind behind her fathers murder in December 2000. After waders and a jacket containing Williams's hunting license were found in the lake six months later, he was declared legally dead, following a court petition by his widow, Denise. Regina Krieger Murder: Where Are Gilberto Rodriguez and Cody Thompson Now? According to an audio clip that The Post was able to obtain, Winchester is heard telling investigators, In my view, I had it pretty good. This line of reasoning is problematic. [21] Winchester is now imprisoned in the Wakulla Correctional Institution. On November 13, 2020, True Crime Network featured the case in season 1, episode 11, of Meet, Marry, Murder.[35]. That allowed her to claim Mike's insurance policies worth $1.75 million. The former Destiny's Child singer shared the news Sunday . "Something sounds fishy on that deal," the representative said when the situation was described to him. [16], Ten days into the search, a camouflage-patterned hunting hat was found, but it could not be connected to Williams. Anslee Williams, Mike Williams only daughter, was accessible to the media and gave interviews about her fathers murder case. Update, February 7, 2019: Denise Williams was sentenced to life in prison for her husband's murder. He found it convenient that the indictment came after Winchester had been imprisoned for several months. Copyright 2023 Distractify. At the time of the trial investigators said Denise's motives were to get out of the marriage and collect nearly $2million from life insurance. "I would say this is a suspicious missing person. During the search period, daytime temperatures averaged around 55F (13C), with overnight lows below freezing. Her defense argued that the tape should not have been admitted as evidence since Winchester was not charged with anything despite his admission; the prosecution said it simply asked him to tell the truth about what happened. Winchestertestified against Denise, whom he later married and divorced, in exchange for immunity from prosecution for the murder. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 30 years. This resulted in a pretty intense murder trial, where Winchester eventually spilled the beans about what really happened. [15], By the eighth anniversary of Williams's disappearance, however, the DIF had closed the case. Anslees family has been ripped apart since her mother and stepfather were sentenced to life in prison for killing Mike in 2000. But it can be extended by three years under certain circumstances. Denise Williams has revealed how she rebuilt her life after her two sons were brutally murdered by her ex-partner Credit: BBC Two / Victoria Derbyshire. The following year his father died. In 1994, the couple tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony in front of their friends and family in Florida and started a life together in its capital state Tallahassee. She is said to have attended Florida State University and is well-liked by her classmates. County public works employees brought in backhoes for what they were told was a training exercise. [3], Two days before his disappearance, Mike and Denise told his mother, as well as his brother Nick, that they were planning to have another child soon. Brian said in his confession, a tape of which was played for the jury, that the affair had started in 1997 and just "snowballed". She has since continued to use her first husband's surname professionally.Together they had two sons, Kendrick Jr. (b. Michael had inherited it after his father's death, and after Michael was declared legally dead it was the only one of his firearms that Denise Williams had not returned to her former in-laws. [13], After North Florida Christian, he attended Florida State University, where he majored in political science and urban planning. Shawnee Benton Gibson, whose daughter Shamony . Denise met Mike back in North Florida Christian High School when they were both just teenagers. They did say that they would seek to have her denied bail. They allegedly chose December 9, 2000, as the day Winchester would take Mike on a duck hunting trip, knock him overboard and stage his death as . His boat was soon found roughly 225 feet (69m)[16] from the ramp by a helicopter pilot, who initially assumed it was a boat being used in the search. It was noted that Denise Williams's court petition to have her husband declared legally dead mentioned only the Kansas City Life Insurance Company policies Winchester had sold him, omitting policies through other companies that Michael Williams had obtained through other sources. She. Despite her promise to him not to tell police about the incident, she drove straight to them afterwards. Anslees life was flipped upside down when her father, Mike, vanished without a trace, and an inquiry revealed her mother guilty of her fathers death nearly seventeen years later. [3] It does not normally have jurisdiction in missing-persons cases and cannot get involved in investigations purely on the basis of a citizen's request, although it can offer assistance to local agencies, as it did in this case. The one-hour special broadcast implicates the true criminal, Mikes high school sweetheart, and shows us who she really is. He assured her he did not want to kill her. In 2001, she said, they were planning to go on a cruise in Hawaii that spring; later in the year he expected to travel to Jamaica for work as well. [23], On May 8, 2018, Denise Williams was arrested at Florida State University as she left work to celebrate her daughter's 19th birthday, minutes after a grand jury had indicted her on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and accessory after the fact. After retrieving the boat, investigators found Williams's shotgun, still in its case, but no sign of Williams himself. "We have suspicions, but what we need is evidence. [3], The FDLE closed its case, convinced that the alligator theory was wrong, but without any leads or evidence that could allow it to further investigate. The immunity deal followed a plea and sentencing agreement with prosecutors after Winchester kidnapped Denise in the final days of their marriage because he was afraid she would pin the murder on him alone. As for Williams' mom, Cheryl, she's understandably heartbroken that she will never get her son back, but it's all because of her efforts that the truth finally came to light. [11] She was found guilty that December, after Winchester testified to shooting Michael at Denise's behest when their original plan to stage a boating accident failed, and was sentenced to life in prison in January of 2019. [2] In 1999, Williams's only child, a daughter, was born. [17] She supported it with an eponymous Facebook page, where she regularly publishes whatever updates she can and news about other, similar cases. However, Winchester didn't follow through with killing his ex-wife, Kathy. "[18] FDLE officials said in 2011 that Cox had not found anything requiring further investigation. However, they declined to release any details of how he had been killed, who might be a suspect or person of interest, or where the body had been found, saying they were withholding that information since only the perpetrators would be expected to know it. SOLE CARDOZO WIKI, BIOGRAPHY, AGE, FAMILY, CAREER, FACTS & MORE. "These waders, we don't know where they came from," Austin said. Testimony in the sentencing hearing ended around 10:45 a.m. Thursday. Sami Sheenthe 18-year-old daughter of exes Charlie Sheen and Denise Richardsdropped several bikini photos on Instagram nearly a year after first launching her OnlyFans account. In a shocking twist of events, in 2018 (and on his daughter's 19th birthday), Mike Williams' wife, Denise Williams-Winchester, was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, fraud, conspiracy, and accessory after the fact. He also confessed that he and Williams-Winchester were having an affair since high school. [17], Starting on New Year's Day in 2012, Cheryl began writing one letter a day to Governor Rick Scott, asking him to either have another agency besides FDLE investigate or appoint a special prosecutor to do so. [3], A possible new lead emerged in October 2007, when Michael Williams's older brother found a photograph and the serial number of a .22-caliber Ruger pistol that had once belonged to their father. [24], Ethan Way, Denise's lawyer, said his client was innocent of all the charges. By the time investigators began to realize that they should have asked some more questions, the opportunity was gone. Denise Williams stands trial in Leon County, Florida for the December 16, 2000 murder of her husband, who went by Mike. [21] Later it was reported that he had reached an agreement with prosecutors before the sentencing that they would neither seek a life sentence on the kidnapping charge nor introduce certain evidence at the hearing. Winchester later confessed to conspiring with Denise Williams to kill Mike and make it look like an accident, so they could be together and collect on his life insurance policies. Mike married his high school sweetheart Denise in 1994 and welcomed a daughter with her five years later. Two DNA tests matched the remains to his mother's sample. Photo of Williams circulated since his disappearance, Arrest and subsequent trial of Denise Williams, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, "First-degree conviction overturned 11/2020", "Court records: Fears over Mike Williams case drove 2016 kidnapping by Brian Winchester", "FDLE special agent: Mike Williams 'was murdered', "Portman: Mike Williams' disappearance continues to perplex", "Mother of missing man sends 240 letters to Scott and not a single reply", "Mystery on Lake Seminole: Mike Williams", "Man with ties to cold case in jail on unrelated charges", "Nice guy, hard worker, avid hunter, devoted dad", "Where is Mike Williams? When the boat was recovered, its engine was off, yet the gas tank was full. Patrick Shiflett, a boyhood friend of the subject, remarked that everyone simply liked him because he was just a very honest guy.. She gave investigators the coordinates of a location in Wakulla County near another boat launch. Denise Eger, Jewel Thais-Williams, Maxine Waters, Irwin Rappaport, Phill Wilson, Sharon Stone and Jeanne White-Ginder are seen at the AIDS Monument. The order of no restitutionwas approved and the fraud charges formally dropped at a Tuesday morning courthearing. "They did not protect the crime scene at all," recalled a Williams family friend with law enforcement experience, who had tended the drum fire during the search. But if Michael Williams was to be proven dead and the beneficiary were to have shown to have been involved, or if he was still alive (as his mother and many residents of Jackson County believed possible),[3] then an insurance company would strongly consider pursuing a case. After rejecting plans for a murder at Mike's office meant to look like a robbery, Winchester hit on the idea of an apparent hunting accident after he saved Mike from quicksand when the two were hunting in Arkansas. What happened to Mike Williams and Denise Williams-Winchester's daughter? There Mike excelled, serving as student council president, playing football and being active in the Key Club. [25], In late June 2018, Denise Williams was ordered held without bond, with trial date set for September 24. [30] Denise is now imprisoned at the Florida Women's Reception Center. No other details were provided. After four days of testimony, the jury took eight hours to convict Denise of all the charges. Initially, it was said he left his home in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, to go duck hunting. On Wednesday, she received a mandatory life sentence for the murder as well as an additional . In 2005, she went ahead and married Brian. Want to get an all access pass to the latest tallahassee.com news, analysis, commentary, photos and video?Become a digital subscriber to support our investigative journalism. Jerry Michael Williams was known as Michael or Mike. I was married to a wonderful woman, I was raising a child, and I was also seeing Denise in the meantime. It was actually Mike Williams' mom, Cheryl, who appealed to the judge for a maximum sentence. She said: "I don't like having to ask the judge to put her in jail for the rest of her life, but what she did to Mike, she deserves, and I think God gave us justice. "Our job was extremely difficult, and we were simply unable to develop enough evidence to proceed with the investigation," Schlein said. [12] In 2020, a Florida appellate court overturned her murder conviction but upheld her murder conspiracy conviction, for which she will serve 30 years. "All I know is I can't stop looking for him until I find him." The only person to address the court besides the lawyers was Cheryl Williams, who said that justice had finally been served, and that Denise had taken not only her son but also her granddaughter from her. In 2006, after the closure of the first FDLE investigation, she wrote a lengthy story about the case. The stipulated agreement was signed by Anslee Williamsin May, just over a year after her mother's arrest on the young woman's birthday. Carrie Cox, a self-described psychic[17] and certified forensic psychological profiler from Kentucky reviewing the case had identified a possible location of Williams's body. Both agreed to get rid of their spouses so that they could be together and collect the insurance money. She now attends Florida State University and she also competes in pageants. [2], Apart from the condition of the waders was the question of why Williams would have been wearing them when he supposedly fell out of the boat. "Then after a couple, three days and after the weeks went on, those first things looked even more out of place. Denise Williams is appealing her conviction and life-prison sentence. Assistant State Attorney Jon Fuchs had no comment on the total dollar figure, though Cheryl Williams said it was about $1.4 million. [3], The court decision allowed Denise Williams to immediately proceed with claims on her husband's life insurance policies, from which she received $1.5 million. By then, officers had learned that alligators do not, in fact, eat during the winter months, as the water is too cold, and as such, it was suspected that foul play might have occurred. In it, Brian confessed to pulling the trigger but claims the killing was Denise's idea. It turned out that the governor's office had forwarded them, unopened, to FDLE's headquarters, where they were placed in the case file. Later that year, Williams told his mother, whom he had been consoling, that he would have liked to have $50,000 to take the next year off. But police would later discover he was shot dead by Brian, who confessed to the crime 17 years later. In particular, she came to believe the investigation was hampered by the involvement of agent Mike Philips, a friend of both her son and his then-wife. [3], The initial search investigation was handled by the FFWCC. Throughout their time in high school, both of them participated in a variety of extracurricular activities. Anslee, who is now 20 years old, was rewarded all the insurance money. But instead, he managed to get to a tree stump, so Winchester fired a single shotgun blast to the face. She testified in court, pleading for leniency for her mother, Denise, and insisting that her stepfather, Brian, and not Denise, was the mastermind behind her father's murder in December 2000. All of these assets belonged to her mother, who was being investigated by the insurance company for fraud. Image Credit: Alicia Devine / Tallahassee Democrat via AP. He acted independently of her. "They could not have hurt me more if they had punched me in the face. In recent years, her days have been limited to going to court and answering media queries. Williams was found guilty of murder, conspiracy, and accessory after the fact in the death of her first husband Mike Williams nearly two decades ago. "As much as he preached that to me," the friend said, "why would he be wearing his waders while driving the boat? [3], The cove is locally believed to have been an orchard before the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers and Spring Creek were dammed to create the lake. Denise Brown, Realtor at Keller Williams St Pete. A year later, after Brian testified to shooting Mike at Denises behest,she was found guilty of all charges. They found his 1994 Ford Bronco near a remote boat launch in Jackson County, on the Florida side. Anslee Williams was only 18 months old when her father died in a tragic accident that tormented her for years. Prosecutors countered that Winchester's actions that day indicated he planned a murder-suicide that was only averted by Denise's quick thinking, and asked the court for the 45-year maximum. The story behind this killing is bit convoluted. The assets given to Anslee Williams include four pieces of Tallahasseereal estate valued at about $877,000, including her home on Centennial Oaks Circle, purchased by her parents when she was a baby. As part of that order, he was to provide an appraisal of the couple's house, due early in August 2016. He and Denise took it slow after Mike's "accident", both to let the insurance money earn further interest and to allay any suspicion. She competed for Miss Florida USA and she actually won Miss Tallahassee Teen USA in 2017. Mother hopes for break in 16-year-old cold case", "Insurance investigators take new look at Mike Williams' disappearance", "Mike Williams mystery gets national exposure", "Eight years later, still no trace of missing hunter Mike Williams", "Devastated Florida mother suspects wife, not alligators, is behind son's 2000 disappearance", "Brian Winchester sentenced to 20 years in prison", "Read the grand jury's indictment of Denise Williams", "Lawyer: Mike Williams was killed by Brian Winchester; Denise Williams is innocent", "Judge has ordered Denise Williams be held without bond and has set a trial date for September 24", "Denise Williams trial: Brian Winchester testifies affair 'snowballed' into plot to kill", "Secret recordings of Denise Williams reveal conversation about husband's murder", "Denise Williams insurance fraud case dropped, daughter gets all assets", "Denise Williams appeals murder conviction and life sentence", "Murder conviction for Denise Williams reversed by appeals court, conspiracy charge affirmed", Episode 11 Denise Williams Fri, Nov 13, 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_Mike_Williams&oldid=1138116187, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using embedded infobox templates with the title parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, First-degree murder conviction overturned; remaining charges upheld (2020). By 2006, its cold case investigators were no longer returning Cheryl Williams's phone calls. Denise Williams has been resentenced to 30 years in prison for a conspiracy conviction in her husbands death. "[18], Another possible lead that year proved fruitless as well. Anslee is said to have a strained connection with her grandmother, Cheryl, and her family following her mothers conviction and punishment. He did not want the divorce and felt he had nothing to live for if it went through. The court upheld Williams . It took its name, Stump Field, from the many remaining stumps that protruded above and below the water level,[3] requiring careful handling of any powerboat in the area. "[She] had absolutely nothing to do with Mike Williams's disappearance and had absolutely nothing to do with any of the crimes that Brian Winchester committed." [6], She believed her son might still be alive. After one such re-airing in 2015, she expressed the hope that "one day instead of a question, there will be an answer".[7]. "[16], And even if an alligator had "defied all known gator behavior," and eaten Williams's body, as another investigator, Ronnie Austin, then with the state's attorney's office, put it, it would likely have left something behind. Her efforts had severely strained her relationship with her former daughter-in-law.[6]. It was first believed he had fallen off his boat and drowned, as reported by the Daily Mail. [6], Had Williams drowned, his body would have been expected to eventually float to the surface, making it easier to discover. "[Brian]'s not going to let Denise run around alone with all that money," she told the New York Daily News. [6], Several days later, their attorney delivered the gun to the FDLE. The Crime Junkie podcast featured the case in an episode that was released in early 2019. Perry, the FFWCC officer who had been heavily involved in the original search, added at the time that if he or any other person investigating had known that there was a large life insurance policy on Williams, and who the beneficiary was, that search might have been handled differently. Mike was a promising football player and was voted best personality, while Denise Merrell, who would later become Mikes wife but was known by her maiden name at the time, cheered for the North Florida Eagles and won the title of best dressed. Mike won the title of best personality, while Denise won the title of best dressed., According to Mikes former classmates, he was well regarded at the exclusive private school, where he not only excelled academically but also held the position of student council president. However, there were no teeth marks or any other damage on the waders, none of the recovered items showed signs of having been in the water for anything like the period Williams had been missing, and there was no DNA evidence found to link the clothing to him. [33], In the early 2000s, Cheryl Williams had posted flyers, put up signs, and run newspaper ads soliciting information about the case. They claim Denise issued an ultimatum: Stop pushing for an investigation into his disappearance or never see Williams' daughter Anslee again. Anslee, an optimistic teen who saw a bright future in pageantry, recently severed her links to public appearances. I will honor Mikes memory by fulfilling my purpose.. Denise Williams was initially found guilty in December 2018 of murder and conspiracy in the case and sentenced to life in prison, but the murder conviction was later overturned. They remain estranged. In its non-prosecution statement, Fuchs said the primary purpose of the fraud case was to ensure Denise Williams did not and cannot profit from her husband's death.