Published June 9, 2021 at 1:39 PM EDT. [28], Prosecutors also played a taped phone conversation in which Kathy Thomas, who was working with police at the time, had told Denise she knew the truth about the crime. Way said his client would appeal the conviction. Following a court petition by Denise, Mike was declared legally dead. Williams has been married three times and has four sons. Denise and Brian were having an affair, and they planned to murder each others husbands so that they could be together. Listen to Brian Winchesters account of what happened the day that he killed Mike Williams. The second-born child of Cliff and Clair Huxtable, Denise is known for her eccentric clothing and free-spirited, rebellious nature, earning her a reputation as . WireImage "Dinner with the TEAM!" she captioned a video of herself posing for paparazzi outside the restaurant, sharing the clip on . Denise Brown, Realtor at Keller Williams St Pete. Audio of Brian Winchester's interview with the FDLE was played in court. 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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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. The Most Notorious Crime in Every State in the U.S. Who Killed the Eight Louisiana Women in Showtime's 'Murder in the Bayou'? After four days of testimony, the jury took eight hours to convict Denise of all the charges. 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. [3], Without any of that evidence or Williams's body, it was impossible for police to make a case. Five years later, she married Brian Winchester,[15] who had sold Mike some of the policies a few months before he disappeared. [17] She supported it with an eponymous Facebook page, where she regularly publishes whatever updates she can and news about other, similar cases. 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. [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. Judge Kevin J. Carroll said Denise will get credit for time already served in prison. But Denise's friends said she took great care. [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. Contact News Director Jennifer Portman at jportman@tallahassee.com. 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. 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. However, a lengthy and exhaustive search of the lake bed in the area failed to find his body: at that time, it was the only known occasion when no remains or body had been discovered after a drowning death in the lake. Brian even tried to kidnap Denise from her car at gunpoint in 2016, after she had filed for divorce. Mike married his high school sweetheart Denise in 1994 and welcomed a daughter with her five years later. [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. He distinguished himself as "the hardest-working man I ever saw", according to the company's owner. 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. Image Credit: Alicia Devine / Tallahassee Democrat via AP. 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. Anslee is said to have a strained connection with her grandmother, Cheryl, and her family following her mothers conviction and punishment. 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. So, months later she petitioned in court to have her husband be declared legally dead and collected the $1.75 million from the three separate life insurance policies that were in Mikes name. 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. Facebook gives people the power. Williams defense attorney, Phil Padavano, said the court considered her murder conviction in previously imposing the 30-year maximum sentence on the conspiracy charge. 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. "I would say this is a suspicious missing person. In 2004 the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) agreed to reopen the case after lobbying by Cheryl Williams and a friend. 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. [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. The victim went missing that day after going out on a duck hunting trip to Lake Seminole, but his body didn't turn up. 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. A year later, after Brian testified to shooting Mike at Denises behest,she was found guilty of all charges. 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. 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. 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. She was convicted in December of first-degree murder and conspiracy in the 17-year-old cold 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. Denise married husband Lincoln Townley in 2013 and was previously married to actor Tim Healy between from 1988 until 2012. Mikes best friend and an insurance agent was Brian. She was outraged. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. His coworkers said he was as devoted to her as he was to his work. His office kept the case open, and had some persons of interest, although he did not identify them. "All they are doing is maintaining their body temperature Fifty-eight degrees is too cold for an alligator to be interested in food at all. Despite her promise to him not to tell police about the incident, she drove straight to them afterwards. 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. Denise was arrested for the murder of Jerry Michael Williams in May 2018 and was charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and accessory after the fact. Just days before Christmas, Michelle Williams is left mourning the loss of her father, Dennis Williams. 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. 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. 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. "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. "We don't know what the smoking gun is, but we hope someone will find it," she said. I think something is there. He added that that belief was shared by all the investigators at that point. All rights reserved. The story behind this killing is bit convoluted. "[Brian]'s not going to let Denise run around alone with all that money," she told the New York Daily News. Wendy Williams attended the Daniel's Leather Fashion Show. Brian said in his confession, a tape of which was played for the jury, that the affair had started in 1997 and just "snowballed". In it, Brian confessed to pulling the trigger but claims the killing was Denise's idea. [24], Ethan Way, Denise's lawyer, said his client was innocent of all the charges. "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. [12], In February 2019, Denise was sentenced to life in prison. SOLE CARDOZO WIKI, BIOGRAPHY, AGE, FAMILY, CAREER, FACTS & MORE. As part of that order, he was to provide an appraisal of the couple's house, due early in August 2016. [8], At noon, Denise called her father to tell him that Mike had not returned; Brian Winchester's (Mike's best friend) father drove with Winchester to the areas of the lake where they knew Mike Williams frequently went duck hunting. She now attends Florida State University and she also competes in pageants. 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.