He also married Denise and had a daughter. At the age of 15, he began duck hunting as a hobby, and also came to know fellow student Denise Merrell. The one-hour special broadcast implicates the true criminal, Mikes high school sweetheart, and shows us who she really is. 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. Some nights got as cold as 19F (7C);[16] a fire was built in a 55-gallon drum on the shore for searchers to stay warm. '"[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. "As much as he preached that to me," the friend said, "why would he be wearing his waders while driving the boat? According to him, it was not out of character for Mike to play the role of the protective elder brother. Anslee is said to have a strained connection with her grandmother, Cheryl, and her family following her mothers conviction and punishment. [10], After she left, Brian pulled up to her and apologized for his actions. Williams'. Denise Williams herself took the stand as well. Deputies with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office were present but primarily worked in a support capacity. Normally, under Florida law, the statute of limitations on that crime is five years, meaning it would have expired in 2005. Brian, on the other hand, disobeyed the plan, and the two only managed to kill Mike. It was actually Mike Williams' mom, Cheryl, who appealed to the judge for a maximum sentence. Anslee Williams was only 18 months old when her father died in a tragic accident that tormented her for years. 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. The indictment states that Denise Williams and Brian Winchester, her husband's best friend, plotted for nearly nine months to kill the 31-year-old. Creator of Brooke's Butterfly Bash LLC . All Rights Reserved. "Michael would have wanted her to be taken care of for the rest of her life.". "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. Shawnee Benton Gibson, whose daughter Shamony . [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. Cheryl Williams wrote letters daily to the governor, asking him to have the state reopen the investigation even though two later investigations were likewise unable to uncover any significant new information, alienating many of the law enforcement officials she had previously persuaded to reopen it. [27], After discreetly rekindling the relationship, the two began to consider killing Mike so they could marry, as Denise's family frowned on divorce for religious reasons. [15], The private search team that surmised the alligator theory had been hired near the end of the original search by Williams's mother, Cheryl. [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. It would be very, very unusual to have the complete disappearance of a full-grown man. Mike went missing while on a duck hunting trip in Lake Seminole with his best friend Brian. However, their relationship didnt go as well as they had expected and they separated in 2012. "I get criticized a lot for not admitting that Mike's dead," she told the Tallahassee Democrat in 2007. Mike Williams Daughter Anslee Williams Interview on Fathers Murder Case. She testified about her time in prison, including starting GED prep courses and participating in seminars for incarcerated women. "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. 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. While she was talking on her phone to her sister, she saw someone climb over the back seat of her car. [17], Despite the failure of a third investigation to discern the fate of her son, Cheryl Williams persisted. On the morning of December 16, 2000, Williams seemingly disappeared during a duck hunt. 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. "[16], The waders, discovered almost six months after Williams's disappearance, further undermined the alligator theory. According to Dateline in 2018, Anslee Williams is still residing in Florida because her family is from the state. It was sent to a state forensics laboratory for DNA testing: the results have not been reported. Four pieces of Tallahassee real estate are included in the assets, including her parents home on Centennial Oaks Circle. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - Denise Williams has been resentenced to 30 years in prison for a conspiracy conviction in her husbands death. Regina Krieger Murder: Where Are Gilberto Rodriguez and Cody Thompson Now? If she's locked up forever, you can't say you're happy. "Mike would have wanted her to have this," said Cheryl Williams, Mike's mom and Anslee's grandmother. 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 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. Anslee Williams, the only daughter of the late Mike Williams, was open to media and gave interviews on her father's murder case. His attorney told the court that he was suicidal that day, due to not only the divorce but also his mother's recent terminal cancer diagnosis and the decision by his teenage son from his first marriage to move in with his mother, and argued for the 10-year mandatory minimum. They were both married at the time, but while Brian had the guts to divorce his wife, Denise didnt want to. 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. They were good friends with Brian Winchester and his wife. Way said his client would appeal the conviction. Winchester is serving a20 year prison term. According to the documents filed in the case, Winchester, who worked for a company that provides financial services, eventually confessed to the authorities that he had an affair with Denise beginning in the year 1997. 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. Just days before Christmas, Michelle Williams is left mourning the loss of her father, Dennis Williams. Philips had told her early on in the search that Michael had probably been eaten by alligators, so she had assumed he had been involved in the investigation at that point. They claim Denise issued an ultimatum: Stop pushing for an investigation into his disappearance or never see Williams' daughter Anslee again. The court upheld Williams . Where Are Survivors Brandon Lafferty and Marty Thomas Now? [13] On the water, he never put his waders on until he had reached the point where he planned to get out and start hunting, following a common safety procedure in order to avoid the type of accident from which he was later believed to have died. Anslees condition is that she cant use any of the money or assets she received to help pay her mothers legal bills or other costs related to the murder case or any pending appeals. I will honor Mikes memory by fulfilling my purpose.. Initially, it was said he left his home in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, to go duck hunting. [13] According to his mother, Mike was making US$200,000 annually by the time of his disappearance. Denise Williams collected $1.75 million from her husband's three life insurance policies after she had him declared dead six months after he supposedly vanishedin December 2000 during a solo-duck hunting trip on Lake Seminole in Jackson County. Denise Williams has been resentenced to 30 years in prison for a conspiracy conviction in her husbands death. The Crime Junkie podcast featured the case in an episode that was released in early 2019. Despite her promise to him not to tell police about the incident, she drove straight to them afterwards. The 51-year-old's 2018 first-degree murder conviction was dropped last November by an appeals court, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. That's all I can do for Anslee is love her, and I do love her.". A 2016 kidnapping . Yet nearby were finished concrete launches that he was known to have used in the past. Denise Williams is appealing her conviction and life-prison sentence. View the profiles of people named Denise Williams. Winchester shot and killed Mike Williams in December 2000, according to the indictment, and went on to marry Denise Williams after the murder. [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. [12], Way argued in response that there was no physical evidence linking Denise to the crime and that it had been entirely Winchester's idea; he expressed incredulity that Winchester was not on trial despite having admitted to committing the crime himself. Efforts continued until the search was called off in early February. Jerry Michael Williams was known as Michael or Mike. Assistant State Attorney Jon Fuchs had no comment on the total dollar figure, though Cheryl Williams said it was about $1.4 million. After it ended, and after her son was declared legally dead (proceedings she said in 2008 she would have contested had she been aware of them[15]), she was still not convinced that he had drowned in the lake, but her attempts to bring about a further investigation were unsuccessful. Mike and Denise's daughter, who was 18 months when the murder happened, spoke in court and asked for leniency for her mother 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. She did not speak to the media about how she reacted to the news. Facebook gives people the power. But it can be extended by three years under certain circumstances. [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. [22], No mention was made of the Williams case at Brian Winchester's sentencing, although State Attorney Jack Campbell told the media that he hoped the case against Winchester would help authorities solve that disappearance. Denise Williams herself took the stand as well. The majority of the specifics of their lives, from their younger years through their time spent together as a college pair at Florida State, are interchangeable. He offered these details and led investigators to Williams' remains in exchange for immunity in his case. Had it not been for an intuitive mom who suspected foul play after her son's disappearance in 2000, people would still be convinced that Mike Williams actually drowned and got eaten by alligators. She had not answered his many phone calls, so he came up with his plan to wait in her car and hold her at gunpoint. Defendant Denise Williams listens during her trial for the murder of her husband Mike Williams, in Tallahassee, Fla., Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018. "If you will make Denise serve every minute of her 30 year sentence for conspiracy to commit murder then and only then will I believe justice has been done for my son," Brian's mother Cheryl Williams said in court during the re-sentencing. No amount of good deeds can bring my husband back Mike back, Denise said in court.