The court upheld Williams . The accessory charge suggested that sometime between August 2014 and the day Winchester was sentenced, Denise had allegedly helped Winchester avoid prosecution or arrest for the crime. [17] In retrospect, many officers agreed with her that the circumstances surrounding Michael Williams' apparent drowning four years before were unusual, and were strongly at odds with that conclusion: Investigators also learned that Williams didn't usually hunt alone. She was able to calm him down and took him back to where he had parked his own truck at a nearby park. She did not speak or offer any argument on her behalf. All Rights Reserved. If she's locked up forever, you can't say you're happy. He was there for me at all times to offer his protection. Denise Williams will now serve 30 years, after previously being sentenced to life in prison on one murder charge plus 30 years for conspiracy to commit murder. During the search period, daytime temperatures averaged around 55F (13C), with overnight lows below freezing. 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. After retrieving the boat, investigators found Williams's shotgun, still in its case, but no sign of Williams himself. After Jackson County sheriff's investigator, Wester, asked the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) to look for it, agents visited Denise and Brian Winchester, now married, in their house (the same one she had lived in with Michael), to interview them. He and Denise took it slow after Mike's "accident", both to let the insurance money earn further interest and to allay any suspicion. [23], On October 18, the team of search dogs and officers finally found Mike Williams's remains in the piles of dirt stacked on plywood sheets. "[8], In 2012, Denise and Brian Winchester separated, reportedly due to his sex addiction; she filed for divorce in 2015. [3], Investigators suspicions' were further raised by the waders' conditionundamaged, without any tooth marks, and lacking any of the residues that would be expected to accumulate on an object submerged in the lake for as long as the waders had supposedly been. She spoke in court, asking leniency for her mother, Denise, and insisted that it was her step-father, Brian, and not Denise who plotted the December 2000 murder of her father. "[18] FDLE officials said in 2011 that Cox had not found anything requiring further investigation. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunUS, 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Denise Williams is seen above in court at her resentencing, Denise and her then-lover Brian Winchester were both accused of working together to kill her husband Mike Williams, Denise Williams will now serve 30 years, after previously been sentenced to life in prison, Mike went missing while on a duck hunting trip in Lake Seminole with his best friend Brian, Mike and Denises daughter, who was 18 months when the murder happened, spoke in court and asked for leniency for her mother, Florida woman Denise Williams who plotted her husbands murder with her lover decades ago is re-sentenced, Michael K. 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[17], Despite the failure of a third investigation to discern the fate of her son, Cheryl Williams persisted. On Wednesday, she received a mandatory life sentence for the murder as well as an additional . She shares Matt Healy, 32, who is a band member in The 1975, with and . [27], On the day Mike disappeared, Winchester said, he had enticed him to Lake Seminole. Deniece Williams was born "June Deniece Chandler" on June 3rd, 1951 in Gary Indiana. [15], However, Brian Jones, an expert in insurance law at Florida State University, told the Democrat that any fraud case would have to rest on more than just those facts already known to have aroused investigative interest. He and Denise had bought a home in a small upscale subdivision on the east side of the city. Efforts continued until the search was called off in early February. In 2006, after the closure of the first FDLE investigation, she wrote a lengthy story about the case. Some investigators felt aspects of the case were not consistent with the alligator theory. He helped police recover Brian's body, and testified against his former lover Denise, who had for years escaped justice as a grieving widow. Her daughter Brooke succumbed to complications of Lupus in 2017 at the age of 18, and the event is . Still, he decided to follow Williams-Winchester's new plan to get rid of Mike Williams by the lake. Email us at exclusive@the-sun.com or call 212 416 4552. She said later that he claimed this was necessary since she was not taking his calls and was blocking his text messages. The Crime Junkie podcast featured the case in an episode that was released in early 2019. Brian and Denise got married after the murder but eventually separated. Bruce Cleland Murder: Where Are Rebecca Cleland, Alvaro Quezada and Jose Quezada Now? All of these assets belonged to her mother, who was being investigated by the insurance company for fraud. That allowed her to claim Mike's insurance policies worth $1.75 million. [21] Winchester is now imprisoned in the Wakulla Correctional Institution. "Some things looked unusual right off the bat," said the FFWCC's Arnette, who had initially thought the situation was a typical case involving a missing hunter and a possible boating accident. Update, February 7, 2019: Denise Williams was sentenced to life in prison for her husband's murder. The victim went missing that day after going out on a duck hunting trip to Lake Seminole, but his body didn't turn up. After Williams's boat was found abandoned on the lake, the initial theory was that he had fallen out of it after a collision. "Everyone knows the lake is full of alligators," said the FFWCC's David Arnette. They were both married at the time, but while Brian had the guts to divorce his wife, Denise didnt want to. He acted independently of her. '"[16], It was suggested that perhaps Williams's body had become entangled in the beds of dense hydrilla beneath the lake surface, and then found by the alligators later, with turtles and catfish finishing what they had left behind. The truth, though, was that Denise had been cheating on Mike with his best friend, Brian Winchester, since 1997. Way said his client would appeal the conviction. Denise Eger, Jewel Thais-Williams, Maxine Waters, Irwin Rappaport, Phill Wilson, Sharon Stone and Jeanne White-Ginder are seen at the AIDS Monument. Denise Williams is appealing her conviction and life-prison sentence. A year later, after Brian testified to shooting Mike at Denise's behest, she was found guilty of all charges. In recent years, her days have been limited to going to court and answering media queries. It was actually Mike Williams' mom, Cheryl, who appealed to the judge for a maximum sentence. According to what Shiflett shared with The Post, If he believed somebody was picking on you, he would speak up for you. Its possible for things to go wrong on the school bus, but he didnt let it bother him. Brian had cracked and told them the truth, but, it was in exchange for complete immunity. [5], Subsequently, the FDLE revealed they had found Mike Williams's remains at the end of dead-end Gardner Road in northern Leon County, five miles (8.0km) from where he grew up; they were confirmed as his following a match to his mother's DNA. Her fate, in which she could have been. He added that if new information were received, the investigation could be reopened. She didnt want to be known as a divorcee or share custody of their daughter, so she got Brian to help her in getting rid of her husband for once and for all. Heres all that we know. Meanwhile, Winchester is serving a 20-year prison sentence for kidnapping Williams-Winchester at gunpoint in 2016. They remain estranged. She held her stepfather responsible for her fathers death and her mothers unhappy marriage. Copyright 2023 Distractify. This resulted in a pretty intense murder trial, where Winchester eventually spilled the beans about what really happened. A Florida women caught in a deadly love triangle was given a life sentence Wednesday for plotting to kill her husband with his best friend. Brian even tried to kidnap Denise from her car at gunpoint in 2016, after she had filed for divorce. [31], In January 2020, Denise Williams appealed her conviction and life sentence. "[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. However, the attorney did not think Winchester would be charged in the case as well. A chromosomal disorder "has caused a lot of developmental delays for her," explains Richards . 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. They were good friends with Brian Winchester and his wife. Brian and Denise got married after the murder but eventually separated. Her efforts led to the Investigation Discovery cable channel doing a segment on Michael's disappearance and the later investigations in late 2011. Out on the water, he had gotten Mike to put the waders on, then pushed him out of the boat, thinking he would be unable to resurface and thus would drown. Brian and Denises marriage was plagued with poison and physical assault, according to Anslee. I will honor Mikes memory by fulfilling my purpose.. [6] It was eventually concluded that his body had been eaten by alligators. Judge Kevin J. Carroll said Denise will get credit for time already served in prison. After he married Merrell in 1994, he would often go home for dinner and return to work after she (and later, his daughter as well) went to bed, and he sometimes went into work after going duck hunting in the morning. This sentencing hearing came after the First District Court of Appeals decided in Nov. 2020 to overturn her murder conviction in the case. The confessed killer of a Florida man contends. Since Mike's death could no longer be passed off as a boating accident, Winchester buried the body where it was later found, then cleaned out his truck and went to a family Christmas party, where he learned that a search was underway. Jerry Michael "Mike" Williams (October 16, 1969[2] December 16, 2000) was an American murder victim. 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. She added that she is alone among her family in holding out hope that her son is still alive. Denise Williams was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years for her role in the murder of her husband and Cheryl Willliams' son, Mike Williams. In December 2017, Brian was sentenced to 20 years in prison for Denises kidnapping, but the whole incident led to the focus to be on their relationship and their potential connection to Mikes sudden disappearance and death. But Denise's friends said she took great care. But, when Mike started to realize what was happening and started struggling, Brian panicked and shot him in the head, straight in his face at point-blank range. "With the wildlife around, I would guess that the alligators have dismembered and have stored the remains in a location that we would not be able to find," he wrote in a report. 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. Denise and Brian were having an affair, and they planned to murder each others husbands so that they could be together. [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. Two DNA tests matched the remains to his mother's sample. [3], Without any of that evidence or Williams's body, it was impossible for police to make a case. She was outraged. [34], Near the end of that year, the Investigation Discovery cable channel series Disappeared devoted an episode to the case. Anslee has made up her mind to stay in her hometown and confront her familys awful fate. [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. That's all I can do for Anslee is love her, and I do love her.". "All I know is I can't stop looking for him until I find him." It turned out that the governor's office had forwarded them, unopened, to FDLE's headquarters, where they were placed in the case file. [10], After she left, Brian pulled up to her and apologized for his actions. [27] The kidnapping that had led to his present imprisonment, he explained, was his reaction to fear that Denise would reveal the truth about what had happened to her first husband now that she and Brian were divorcing. 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. I hear him screaming for help.. "Michael would have wanted her to be taken care of for the rest of her life.".