Mike Williams disappeared in December 2000 while on a duck hunting trip on Lake Seminole with his friend Brian Winchester. 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. According to him, it was not out of character for Mike to play the role of the protective elder brother. But police would later discover he was shot dead by Brian, who confessed to the crime 17 years later. He said later he never was and was merely trying to comfort her; FDLE said his involvement was limited to asking his superiors if the agency could help with the search; it did not see a need to formally investigate his role. Anslee has made up her mind to stay in her hometown and confront her familys awful fate. And fortunately, it looks like the tragedy surrounding her family isn't slowing her down. I think something is there. The following year his father died. Holly Leopardi , partner of Scott Williams, lights a candle for Scott's mother Denise Williams during a vigil for him on June 16, 2020 in. She added that she is alone among her family in holding out hope that her son is still alive. A year later, after Brian testified to shooting Mike at Denise's behest, she was found guilty of all charges. Her fate, in which she could have been. Mike Williams'body was discovered in 2017 after Winchester told investigators in detail how he and Denise, who'd been having a years' long affair,planned to get rid of him, make it look like an accident and collect on his life insurance policies. A year later, after Brian testified to shooting Mike at Denises behest,she was found guilty of all charges. Despite her promise to him not to tell police about the incident, she drove straight to them afterwards. Mikes assassination enabled the couple to pay in three life insurance policies totaling roughly $2 million. "We didn't have a whole lot to go on except there was an empty boat and the guy didn't show up," one of the agency's officers recalled later, after his retirement. "All I know is I can't stop looking for him until I find him." [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. 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. I just did what God put on my heart to do.". Judge Kevin J. Carroll said Denise will get credit for time already served in prison. They found his 1994 Ford Bronco near a remote boat launch in Jackson County, on the Florida side. Mike and Denises daughter also spoke in court and asked for leniency for her mother, insisting it was Brian and not Denise who plotted the December 2000 fatal shooting. [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. What is the current location of Anslee Williams? "I get criticized a lot for not admitting that Mike's dead," she told the Tallahassee Democrat in 2007. Cheryl Williams' emotional statement at Denise Williams' sentencing. 18h ago . Williams defense attorney, Phil Padavano, said the court considered her murder conviction in previously imposing the 30-year maximum sentence on the conspiracy charge. No amount of good deeds can bring my husband back Mike back, she said. "Everyone knows the lake is full of alligators," said the FFWCC's David Arnette. 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. Denise Huxtable Kendall is a fictional character who appears on the American sitcom The Cosby Show (1984-1992), portrayed by actress Lisa Bonet.Denise also stars in the first season of its spin-off sitcom, A Different World (1987). After the trial, Williams-Winchester was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. "These waders, we don't know where they came from," Austin said. She held her stepfather responsible for her fathers death and her mothers unhappy marriage. [10], Brian told her that he was planning to kill himself with the gun. On November 13, 2020, True Crime Network featured the case in season 1, episode 11, of Meet, Marry, Murder.[35]. It was first believed he had fallen off his boat and drowned, as reported by the Daily Mail. The following year his father died. Regina Krieger Murder: Where Are Gilberto Rodriguez and Cody Thompson Now? Before we get into the meat of uncovering whatever happened to Deniece Williams, we will take a short look at her life and career. Denise Williams herself took the stand as well. The story behind this killing is bit convoluted. It was actually Mike Williams' mom, Cheryl, who appealed to the judge for a maximum sentence. Bruce Cleland Murder: Where Are Rebecca Cleland, Alvaro Quezada and Jose Quezada Now? Denise married husband Lincoln Townley in 2013 and was previously married to actor Tim Healy between from 1988 until 2012. He made it look like Mike was the only one who was ever there. 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. Denise and Brian have mostly declined to discuss the case publicly. He offered these details and led investigators to Williams' remains in exchange for immunity in his case. [13], According to Denise Williams, on the morning of December 16, 2000, a Saturday, her husband awoke early, leaving the house on Centennial Oaks Circle[2] well before dawn, boat in tow, to go duck hunting at Lake Seminole. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - Denise Williams has been resentenced to 30 years in prison for a conspiracy conviction in her husbands death. Williams was 5feet 10inches (1.78m) and 170 pounds (77kg). I'm not happy because I don't have Michael.". 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. For the next several years, she investigated on her own when not operating a day care at her home. Denise Williams is on trial for allegedly plotting murder of husband Mike Williams Prosecutors have argued that Denise, with the help of Mike's best friend, Brian Winchester, planned his. In 2006, after the closure of the first FDLE investigation, she wrote a lengthy story about the case. Meanwhile, more information about her life is now unavailable. Denise Williams resentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy in husbands death. Denise distanced herself from Mike's family, cutting off communication between them and her daughter, according to those close to the Williamses. His office kept the case open, and had some persons of interest, although he did not identify them. [6], Several days later, their attorney delivered the gun to the FDLE. Efforts continued until the search was called off in early February. However, the attorney did not think Winchester would be charged in the case as well. [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. Mike Williams Daughter Anslee Williams Interview on Fathers Murder Case. 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. [3], The initial search investigation was handled by the FFWCC. "They botched it." Anslee Williams, the only daughter of the late Mike Williams, was open to media and gave interviews on her father's murder case. [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. 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. [24], Ethan Way, Denise's lawyer, said his client was innocent of all the charges. 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. But Denise's friends said she took great care. Join Facebook to connect with Denise Williams and others you may know. [12], The state's star witness was Brian Winchester, who testified at length about how he and Denise had never really ended their high school relationship, even after they both married others. According to Distractify, the grown-up Anslee competed in Miss Florida USA, seeking to win the title of Miss USA. By 2006, its cold case investigators were no longer returning Cheryl Williams's phone calls. 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. A 2016 kidnapping . If she violates terms of the agreement, the state could force her to turn over $150,000 in damages. The lake is a large reservoir approximately 50mi (80km) west-northwest of Tallahassee located in the southwest corner of Georgia along its border with Florida, where three other streams merge to form the Apalachicola River. "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. "[28] Assistant state attorney Jon Fuchs said this evasiveness, as well as Denise's dispassionate response when Winchester told her how he had killed Mike, demonstrated how cold-bloodedly she helped plan the crime that happened on her behalf. All rights reserved. After five 16-hour days of digging 9-foot-deep (2.7m) holes in the mud at that corner of the lake, all the while holding back the lake waters by dams and pumps amid the constant presence of eels and water moccasins, the FDLE was ready to hire a private contractor to finish the job. Patrick Shiflett, a boyhood friend of the subject, remarked that everyone simply liked him because he was just a very honest guy.. Her ex-husband and Mike Williams' best friend, Brian Winchester, was also charged, although he was already in prison at the time. Denise and Mike Williams with their daughter Anslee. According to a friend who hunted with him frequently, including one week before his disappearance, Williams took safety very seriously, keeping his guns at work, away from his daughter, among other precautions. Denise and Brian were having an affair, and they planned to murder each others husbands so that they could be together. Denise Eger, Jewel Thais-Williams, Maxine Waters, Irwin Rappaport, Phill Wilson, Sharon Stone and Jeanne White-Ginder are seen at the AIDS Monument. If she breaks the conditions of the agreement, the state could order her to pay $150,000 in damages. 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. They did say that they would seek to have her denied bail. As part of that order, he was to provide an appraisal of the couple's house, due early in August 2016. On Wednesday, she received a mandatory life sentence for the murder as well as an additional . Five years after Mike's disappearance, Denise married Brian Winchester. After subsequent investigations, he was presumed to have drowned in Lake Seminole, a large reservoir located in the southwest corner of Georgia along its border with Florida; investigators later came to suspect he had been the victim of foul play, possibly at another location. Denise Williams herself took the stand as well. Deniece Williams was born "June Deniece Chandler" on June 3rd, 1951 in Gary Indiana. In December, a jury found Denise guilty of all three charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree murder, and accessory after the fact. Denise's estranged husband, Winchester, was serving his sentence at Wakulla Correctional Institution near Tallahassee; his attorney said his client would take the stand at trial if legally compelled to do so. Investigators assured the Williams family that his body would surface, like other drowning victims, within three to seven days, or perhaps slightly longer due to the cold front that had moved in after the first night's storm. Nevertheless, a week later, a Leon County judge granted Denise Williams's petition to have Mike declared legally dead on the basis of those recovered items and an assumption that alligators and other water life had consumed the body in its entirety. The order of no restitutionwas approved and the fraud charges formally dropped at a Tuesday morning courthearing. It turned out that the governor's office had forwarded them, unopened, to FDLE's headquarters, where they were placed in the case file. Williams' death was ruled a homicide. I will honor Mikes memory by fulfilling my purpose.. Brian and Denise got married after the murder but eventually separated. Denise Williams will have to serve out a full 30-year sentence for her role in conspiring to kill her husband Mike Williams more than two decades ago. 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. Both agreed to get rid of their spouses so that they could be together and collect the insurance money. [7], In 2011, the case made it into two other media formats. He assured her he did not want to kill her. [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. Before the judge handed down the sentence, the victim's mother, Cheryl Williams . Distractify is a registered trademark. [9] In 2016, Winchester was arrested on charges stemming from an incident where he allegedly kidnapped Denise, the missing man's widow, who was now divorcing him;[10] he was sentenced to 20 years in prison on the day before the FDLE announced that Williams's body had been found. Also Read:Regina Krieger Murder: Where Are Gilberto Rodriguez and Cody Thompson Now? "[3], "My gut feeling is Mike did not die in Lake Seminole", Austin said in 2006, after leaving the state's attorney's office for the FDLE. Denise suggested staging a boating accident on the Gulf of Mexico where they could throw both Mike and Kathy Thomas overboard, but Winchester did not want to kill his children's mother. 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. 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. 12K views, 80 likes, 87 loves, 652 comments, 27 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from WCTV.tv: LIVE: Denise Williams' sentencing hearing continues. Creator of Brooke's Butterfly Bash LLC . One of the policies, for $1 million, was written less than a year before he went missing by his best friend, Brian Winchester, who 17 years later confessed to killing Mike during the hunting trip after conspiring with Denise so they could be together. Arnette filtered the water in them after they were recovered, and did not find any human remains. She has since continued to use her first husband's surname professionally.Together they had two sons, Kendrick Jr. (b. 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. On Denise's behalf, Way entered a plea of not guilty. Winchester is alleged to have killed Michael with a gun. She was convicted in December of first-degree murder and conspiracy in the 17-year-old cold case. "Truth is Williams could have stopped this". Williams's Bronco and the boat had been returned to his family and friends, the footsteps of the many volunteers and searchers all over the lakeshore had made it impossible to collect any evidence from that area, and the items later recovered from the lake had not been retained. [3], If Williams had drowned after accidentally falling out of his boat, his body would be the only one of 80 known deaths in the lake never to have been found. Read More:Bruce Cleland Murder: Where Are Rebecca Cleland, Alvaro Quezada and Jose Quezada Now? According to Dateline in 2018, Anslee Williams is still residing in Florida because her family is from the state. What Is Anslee Williams Net Worth After Receiving The Assets? 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. His coworkers said he was as devoted to her as he was to his work. She went on to marry Brian Winchester, a mutual friend who had helped her take out a large life insurance policy on Williams shortly before his disappearance. 1973). He found it convenient that the indictment came after Winchester had been imprisoned for several months. 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. '"[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.