GUILTY FL - Jerry 'Mike' Williams, 31, Tallahassee, 16 Dec 2000 *Wife Arrested in 2017*

[JnRyan]

Missing Tallahassee man's widow found guilty of his murder

This is outstanding!!! Once the sentencing is complete I wonder if the details of the timeline will come out.

Justice finally caught up with the former Mrs. Williams!

 

[grillzgirl]

If she had not pushed the kidnapping issue with Brian, I don’t think he would have turned on her. She pushed for him to get a lengthy prison sentence - and it but her in the bootay.

 

[JnRyan]

If she had not pushed the kidnapping issue with Brian, I don’t think he would have turned on her. She pushed for him to get a lengthy prison sentence - and it but her in the bootay.

Sometimes those committing these acts think they are too smart to get caught. I can only imagine she thought because he pulled the trigger he had as much to lose as she did so she didn't believe he would talk. Brian getting an immunity agreement was not something that occurred to her and it blew her strategy away.

 

[JnRyan]

So going over Brian Winchester's testimony per the news reports (I haven't listened to the video clip), he shoots Mike, puts his body in his truck, pushes the boat out into the lake and drives home to be there when his wife gets up. Then goes out later to put Mike's body somewhere else. The hole in the story that is not filled in for me yet is that Mike's truck was left at the boat launch. I can see Brian undoing the boat trailer and leaving it at the boat launch and coming back with Mike's truck and hitching the trailer back up to the truck. But if it happened like that, how did Brian get back from the boat launch? Did an accomplice follow him over and drive him back? Did he have a motorcycle he could have put in the back of the truck? Of course, if he did use a motorcycle and Mike did not own one any trace the motorcycle left in the truck would be suspicious unless Mike had a black bed liner.

 

[SeesSeas]

The hole in the story that is not filled in for me yet is that Mike's truck was left at the boat launch. I can see Brian undoing the boat trailer and leaving it at the boat launch and coming back with Mike's truck and hitching the trailer back up to the truck. But if it happened like that, how did Brian get back from the boat launch?

^^snip
Mike and Brian drove separately to the boat launch:

Watch Live: Denise Williams Love Triangle Murder Trial Day 2
He brought the body to his truck (they drove to the location separately), he said.

 

[SeesSeas]

Denise Williams trial: A timeline of the Mike Williams murder case
Denise Williams trial: A timeline of the Mike Williams murder case
Published 4:25 p.m. ET May 8, 2018 | Updated 5:07 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2018
From mystery to murder trial, here's how the Mike Williams case unfolded over almost two decades.

 

[SeesSeas]

https://cvweb.clerk.leon.fl.us/public/online_services/search_courts/search_by_name.asp
37 2018 CF 001592 A - STATE OF FLORIDA vs WILLIAMS, DENISE
12/14/2018 JUGV JURY TRIAL: GUILTY VERDICT 12/14/2018 JIS
12/14/2018 TRPW TRIAL RECORD JIS
12/14/2018 EEAT EVIDENCE ENTERED AT TRIAL JIS
12/14/2018 WITL WITNESS LIST JIS
12/14/2018 VFGU VERDICT FORM: GUILTY JIS
12/14/2018 CMCS CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE SET CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE SET: 12/18/2018 10:30AM /ROOM# 3A JIS

Event Date Start Location Judge Result Source
CASE MANAGEMENT 12/18/2018 10:30 AM HANKINSON JIS
JURY NON JURY TRIAL 12/14/2018 8:30 AM HANKINSON JIS
DEF REMANDED INTO CUSTODY; CMC 12-18; DEF DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PRESENT 12-18

 

[SeesSeas]

I was surprised that Denise Williams remained seated during the reading of the verdict.
Usually, able-bodied defendants stand during the verdict announcement.

Watch Live: Murder Trial of Denise Williams
Jury returns in Denise Williams murder trial. Watch the verdict live.
Starting at 08:28

Not being asked to stand for jury's verdict was out of ordinary in court practice
SEPTEMBER 7, 2014
In our years of covering criminal cases, defendants have virtually always been asked to stand up before the jury's verdict is announced.

"Will the defendant please rise?" the judge intones, before the person on trial rises nervously. Sometimes they're asked to face the jury. Then the court clerk, or sometimes the jury's foreman, reads the verdict, declaring them guilty or not guilty.

But that didn't happen Thursday.

U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer never asked Bob and Maureen McDonnell to rise before a court clerk read the jury's verdict — guilty on most of the federal fraud and corruption charges they faced in a five-week trial.

Instead, Spencer said nothing about standing, and the state's former first couple remained seated as the 14-count indictment was pronounced, with their family's cries growing louder as the guilty findings mounted.
[…]
Local state courts use the same standard practice. "They always stand when the verdict is read unless they are physically unable to do so," explained Hampton's top prosecutor, Commonwealth's Attorney Anton Bell.
[…]

 

[nag]

Did Brian Winchester say anything about the waders, flashlight, and vest containing Mike Williams hunting license that were found in the lake 6 months after he vanished? Wondering who planted those since their discovery was used by Denise to have Mike declared legally dead.

 

[Gardenista]

Did Brian Winchester say anything about the waders, flashlight, and vest containing Mike Williams hunting license that were found in the lake 6 months after he vanished? Wondering who planted those since their discovery was used by Denise to have Mike declared legally dead.

They weren't planted. Mike's mom got him an instructor who trained him in a swimming pool on how to remove waders in water. The instructor testified at the trial.

Brian said Mike got the waders off which is why he "had" to shoot him. He wasn't going to drown. The only clothing found with Mike were his boxers and his shirt which was found over his skull. ETA and his gloves and booties.

 

[SeesSeas]

Did Brian Winchester say anything about the waders, flashlight, and vest containing Mike Williams hunting license that were found in the lake 6 months after he vanished? Wondering who planted those since their discovery was used by Denise to have Mike declared legally dead.

Mother a driving force in finding answers to son's 2000 disappearance
Oct 20, 2018
[...]
Six months after he went missing, a local fisherman found a pair of waders in Lake Seminole. And two days later, Williams' fishing jacket, hunting license and a flashlight were found at the same spot.
[...]
Six months after Mike Williams disappeared investigators had no new leads and no real hope of finding him. And then, what could be a break bubbled up from the muck of Lake Seminole.

Alton Ranew [on an airboat]: That pole is markin' a spot where the waders had popped up.

A local fisherman found a pair of waders -- waterproof pants with attached boots -- which were believed to have belonged to Williams.

Richard Schlesinger [on an airboat]: Did it makes sense to you that they popped up here? I mean ...you had searched that area, right?

Alton Ranew: We had searched it many times.

Richard Schlesinger Well?

Alton Ranew: Very well.

Then, two days after that, Mike's fishing jacket and his hunting license were found at the same spot, along with a flashlight.

But Williams was still missing. His wife Denise was raising their 2-year-old daughter, alone.

Clay Ketcham: Denise was a doting mother. … the pride and joy of her life.

But Scott Dungey says now that Denise was a single mom, money was getting tight.

Scott Dungey: I was helping her with some of the items that needed to be sold and to generate some cash until the insurance money came.

And there was a lot of insurance money involved. Williams had three policies worth more than $1.75 million.

Patti Ketcham: Mike wanted to make sure his family was taken care of because Mike hunted and fished and did some pretty high risk activity … And Clay really encouraged him to load up.

With her expenses reportedly mounting, Denise went after the insurance money quickly.

Jennifer Portman: While the search, itself, is still going on, while he is still actively missing, they're still actively searching for him -- she is going and filing a claim against his life insurance.

Jennifer Portman has covered this case for the Tallahassee Democrat and is a "48 Hours" consultant.

Jennifer Portman: She was really ready to accept the fact that he was missing and presumed dead very early on.

But the State of Florida was not. According to Florida law, since there was no proof Williams had died, he would not be declared dead for five years. Denise did not want to wait that long to collect on Mike's life insurance.

Richard Schlesinger: And how much time did it take in this case?

Jennifer Portman: It took six months. It was very fast-- abnormally fast.

That's because Denise's attorney argued to a judge that the waders, the vest and the hunting license were proof enough that Williams was dead. The judge agreed and issued a death certificate. Cause of death: "Accidental drowning while duck hunting on Lake Seminole -- body has not yet been recovered."

Jennifer Portman: Based on that and that alone was what got him declared dead.

Richard Schlesinger: A pair of waders and a fishing license and some other stuff.
[...]
Richard Schlesinger: How many days before the court hearing these waders popped up?

Jennifer Portman: Less than a month. I mean, it was really close.

They had supposedly been submerged in the lake for six months.

Alton Ranew | Florida Fish and Wildlife Officer: These waders was -- in very good shape. They were also not slimy.

Richard Schlesinger: And what did that mean?

Alton Ranew: That they had not been in the water very long.

And there was something about that flashlight they also found: it still worked.

Scott Dungey: I went to turn it on thinking there's no way it's gonna turn on, and lo and behold, it worked [laughs]. And so I was like, "Man, I need to get me one of these."

Richard Schlesinger: So you looked at that stuff and you thought to yourself what?

Derrick Wester: Planted.

Richard Schlesinger: It was planted?

Derrick Wester: Uh-huh [affirms].

No one could say for sure who planted it but, as time passed, Denise Williams and Brian Winchester started attracting attention and some suspicion, because years after Mike disappeared, Winchester divorced his wife Kathy. He began dating Denise. And then he married her.
[...]

 

[SeesSeas]

Cheryl led the way to justice for Mike Williams; the jury followed | Jennifer Portman
Published 3:55 p.m. ET Dec. 15, 2018 | Updated 6:24 p.m. ET Dec. 15, 2018
[...]
It’s true, there was virtually no physical evidence for prosecutor Jon Fuchs and his team to work with. For years Mike’s disappearance was not considered a criminal act so nothing was collected or saved. What might have been important was gone by the time anyone knew it might matter.

The state’s case was largely circumstantial and built on the confession of a proven liar and killer, a ruse by police using that man's ex-wife as an informant, and a few questionable insurance policy documents.
[...]
But the most compelling evidence perhaps considered by jurors was right in front of them at the defense table. They didn't see the cuffs on her ankles, but they appeared to see past Denise’s pastel pink and light grey cardigans and into her unreadable, wan face and lifeless dark eyes.

Jury members watched for her reaction as the testimony unfolded.

Brian’s chilling tale of shooting Mike in the face, helpless in the dark water, from a yard away?

Nothing.

Her closest, longtime friend calling her out for her role in the evil plot?

Nothing.
[...]
On Friday night, after eight hours of deliberation, the jury found Denise guilty of all three charges against her. She faces life in prison.

I’ve come to know there is the law and there is justice; they are different things and do not always go hand in hand. For Mike Williams’ family and friends, however, the real and the ideal came together in that courtroom, enveloping Cheryl Ann Williams, her son’s crusader, in its bright light.

And we who bore witness stood as Jerry Michael Williams’ loving mother wept.

 

[nag]

Thanks for those links SeesSeas! Still wondering if Brian Winchester was ever directly asked about planting evidence. Seems odd the waders and jacket weren't found during the extensive initial search only to be found months later in plain sight and surprisingly good condition. He seemed to be honest in his confession, so if he answered No to planting evidence, then maybe those really were the waders Mike wiggled out of and perhaps Denise stopped by and tossed just the jacket with license into the lake after the waders were found.

 

[Gardenista]

Mother a driving force in finding answers to son's 2000 disappearance
Oct 20, 2018
[...]
Six months after he went missing, a local fisherman found a pair of waders in Lake Seminole. And two days later, Williams' fishing jacket, hunting license and a flashlight were found at the same spot.
[...]
Six months after Mike Williams disappeared investigators had no new leads and no real hope of finding him. And then, what could be a break bubbled up from the muck of Lake Seminole.

Alton Ranew [on an airboat]: That pole is markin' a spot where the waders had popped up.

A local fisherman found a pair of waders -- waterproof pants with attached boots -- which were believed to have belonged to Williams.

Richard Schlesinger [on an airboat]: Did it makes sense to you that they popped up here? I mean ...you had searched that area, right?

Alton Ranew: We had searched it many times.

Richard Schlesinger Well?

Alton Ranew: Very well.

Then, two days after that, Mike's fishing jacket and his hunting license were found at the same spot, along with a flashlight.

But Williams was still missing. His wife Denise was raising their 2-year-old daughter, alone.

Clay Ketcham: Denise was a doting mother. … the pride and joy of her life.

But Scott Dungey says now that Denise was a single mom, money was getting tight.

Scott Dungey: I was helping her with some of the items that needed to be sold and to generate some cash until the insurance money came.

And there was a lot of insurance money involved. Williams had three policies worth more than $1.75 million.

Patti Ketcham: Mike wanted to make sure his family was taken care of because Mike hunted and fished and did some pretty high risk activity … And Clay really encouraged him to load up.

With her expenses reportedly mounting, Denise went after the insurance money quickly.

Jennifer Portman: While the search, itself, is still going on, while he is still actively missing, they're still actively searching for him -- she is going and filing a claim against his life insurance.

Jennifer Portman has covered this case for the Tallahassee Democrat and is a "48 Hours" consultant.

Jennifer Portman: She was really ready to accept the fact that he was missing and presumed dead very early on.

But the State of Florida was not. According to Florida law, since there was no proof Williams had died, he would not be declared dead for five years. Denise did not want to wait that long to collect on Mike's life insurance.

Richard Schlesinger: And how much time did it take in this case?

Jennifer Portman: It took six months. It was very fast-- abnormally fast.

That's because Denise's attorney argued to a judge that the waders, the vest and the hunting license were proof enough that Williams was dead. The judge agreed and issued a death certificate. Cause of death: "Accidental drowning while duck hunting on Lake Seminole -- body has not yet been recovered."

Jennifer Portman: Based on that and that alone was what got him declared dead.

Richard Schlesinger: A pair of waders and a fishing license and some other stuff.
[...]
Richard Schlesinger: How many days before the court hearing these waders popped up?

Jennifer Portman: Less than a month. I mean, it was really close.

They had supposedly been submerged in the lake for six months.

Alton Ranew | Florida Fish and Wildlife Officer: These waders was -- in very good shape. They were also not slimy.

Richard Schlesinger: And what did that mean?

Alton Ranew: That they had not been in the water very long.

And there was something about that flashlight they also found: it still worked.

Scott Dungey: I went to turn it on thinking there's no way it's gonna turn on, and lo and behold, it worked [laughs]. And so I was like, "Man, I need to get me one of these."

Richard Schlesinger: So you looked at that stuff and you thought to yourself what?

Derrick Wester: Planted.

Richard Schlesinger: It was planted?

Derrick Wester: Uh-huh [affirms].

No one could say for sure who planted it but, as time passed, Denise Williams and Brian Winchester started attracting attention and some suspicion, because years after Mike disappeared, Winchester divorced his wife Kathy. He began dating Denise. And then he married her.
[...]

Denise must have been lying about expenses adding up because I saw on one of the shows about this (Disappeared maybe?) that Ketchum kept sending Mike's paychecks to Denise.

 

[SeesSeas]

Thanks for those links SeesSeas! Still wondering if Brian Winchester was ever directly asked about planting evidence. Seems odd the waders and jacket weren't found during the extensive initial search only to be found months later in plain sight and surprisingly good condition. He seemed to be honest in his confession, so if he answered No to planting evidence, then maybe those really were the waders Mike wiggled out of and perhaps Denise stopped by and tossed just the jacket with license into the lake after the waders were found.

Were the waders, jacket, flashlight and hunting license planted?
I don't recall Brian being asked or testifying that those items were planted.
I recall Brian testifying that he planted the hat during the initial search DEC 2000.
I watched most of the trial testimony, but not all of it.
I don't have several hours of spare time to re-watch Brian Winchester's horrifying yet fascinating testimony.
Here is the 12/14/2018 news report about that testimony. . . . indicating that all of the evidence was planted by Winchester:
Denise Williams murder trial updates: Jurors have reached a verdict
Published 9:18 a.m. ET Dec. 14, 2018 | Updated 7:30 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2018
[...]
Over four days, witnesses recounted the search for Williams that lasted for months and the finding of pieces of evidence - a hunting jacket, hat, waders and Williams' hunting license and boat - which had been planted at Lake Seminole by Winchester.
[...]

 

[SeesSeas]

More news reports during trial about the evidence items found in Lake Seminole, including "a pair of waders growing algae and covered in sediment":

Jury deliberations underway in Denise Williams murder trial
December 14, 2018
[...]
Fuchs said the search efforts spanned two weeks and all authorities found was his boat and a hat. Six months later, however, a fisherman found some waders, a hunting license and a still-functioning flashlight.
[...]

Mike Williams murder: Complete coverage of Day 1 of Denise Williams trial
Published 9:28 a.m. ET Dec. 11, 2018 | Updated 6:49 p.m. ET Dec. 11, 2018
[...]
Jurors also heard from a Sneads fisherman, Joe Sheffield, who frequented Lake Seminole and was fishing for speckled perch in June, six months after Williams’ disappearance.

Sheffield told jurors he found a pair of waders growing algae and covered in sediment floating near the surface of the water. He said a pouch containing steel shot shotgun shells, used in duck hunting, was attached.

Mike Williams' hunting license was found inside.

“Obviously it was his waders,” he said. “They were in the area where he had gone missing.”

Divers would arrive shortly after to find other items belonging to Mike Williams — including his camo jacket and a flashlight — located in a deep hole on the western side of the lake previously was scoured by search teams.
[...]

 

[Gardenista]

Were the waders, jacket, flashlight and hunting license planted?
I don't recall Brian being asked or testifying that those items were planted.
I recall Brian testifying that he planted the hat during the initial search DEC 2000.
I watched most of the trial testimony, but not all of it.
I don't have several hours of spare time to re-watch Brian Winchester's horrifying yet fascinating testimony.
Here is the 12/14/2018 news report about that testimony. . . . indicating that all of the evidence was planted by Winchester:
Denise Williams murder trial updates: Jurors have reached a verdict
Published 9:18 a.m. ET Dec. 14, 2018 | Updated 7:30 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2018
[...]
Over four days, witnesses recounted the search for Williams that lasted for months and the finding of pieces of evidence - a hunting jacket, hat, waders and Williams' hunting license and boat - which had been planted at Lake Seminole by Winchester.
[...]

He was asked about the waders etc.. during his original confession. You can hear him talk about it here just past the 9 minute mark:

Denise Williams' bail hearing

 

[Niner]

Tuesday, Dec. 18th:
*Case Management Hearing (to set sentencing date) (@ 10:30am ET) – FL – Jerry Michael “Mike” Williams (31) (Dec. 16, 2000, Tallahassee; found Dec. 9, 2017) – *Denise Merrell Williams Winchester (48/29 @ time of crime) arrested & charged (5/7/18) with 1st degree murder, conspiracy to commit 1st degree murder & accessory after the fact. Plead not guilty. No bond (denied 6/19/18).
Also charged (8/10/18) with 3 counts of insurance fraud. Plead not guilty. Bond set at $50K for each count.
Trial started 12/10/18 is just for Murder charges.
Her ex-husband Brian Winchester (45) was indicted (8/9/16) for kidnapping, domestic assault & armed burglary of Denise. Plead no contest (10/16/17) to plea agreement where assault charges were dropped. Sentenced 20 years in prison. They were married in Dec. 2005 & separated in 2012, divorced in 2016. 6/1/18: Brian took a plea deal with immunity & confessed to killing “Mike”.
8/10/18 Update: Williams obtained three life insurance policies totaling $1.75 million from two insurance companies following the death of her husband, Mike Williams. Court documents state Mike Williams applied for life insurance coverage worth $250,000 in February 1995 due to his recent marriage to Denise. Brian Winchester is listed as the agent for the policy. In March 2000, Mike applied for additional life insurance from a different company, with a policy amount totaling $500,000. In April 2000, Mike completed another life insurance application worth $1 million, with Winchester listed as the agent.
12/14/18 Day 5: Jury instructions. Closing arguments. Jury started deliberations at 11:30am ET. Jury ended deliberations at 7:30pm – and verdict: Guilty on all 3 charges. Case Management hearing on 12/18 to set sentencing date. Defense requests a pre-sentencing investigative report be started.

 

[SeesSeas]

SENTENCING DATE: 02/06/2019 09:00 AM
https://cvweb.clerk.leon.fl.us/public/online_services/search_courts/search_by_name.asp
https://cvweb.clerk.leon.fl.us/publ.../search_by_name.asp?case_search_type=criminal
37 2018 CF 001592 A - STATE OF FLORIDA vs WILLIAMS, DENISE
12/18/2018 SENT ‹‹-Req SENTENCING DATE: E-FILED: 02/06/2019 09:00 AM ROOM - 3A JIS
12/18/2018 CTCM ‹‹-Req COURT MINUTES JIS
12/19/2018 ORGR ‹‹-Req ORDER GRANTING ORDER GRANTING IN PART DEFENDANTS MOTION TO EXCLUDE EXTRAJUDICIAL STATEMENTS BY BRIAN WINCHESTER JIS
12/19/2018 ORGR ‹‹-Req ORDER GRANTING ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS DEMAND FOR A TWELVE PERSON JURY JIS
12/19/2018 ORDE ‹‹-Req ORDER DENYING ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS FIRST MOTION IN LIMINE JIS
12/19/2018 ORGR ‹‹-Req ORDER GRANTING ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS MOTION TO PRECLUDE THE IMPOSITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY JIS
12/19/2018 ORGR ‹‹-Req ORDER GRANTING ORDER GRANTING IN PART THE STATES MOTION IN LIMINE JIS
12/20/2018 MOTN ‹‹-Req MOTION DEFENDANTS RENEWED MOTION FOR JUDGMENT OF ACQUITTAL JIS
12/21/2018 MFNT ‹‹-Req MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL JIS

 

[nag]

Here's an article on jury deliberations. Seems a 16-page love letter Denise wrote to Brian was a swaying piece of evidence. Does anyone know what year that letter dates from?

Juror: Brian Winchester's testimony was credible, Denise Williams' demeanor a factor