Latest / Least of These / 235. “Call for Help” - The Case of Denise Lee - North Port, Florida - [Part 2 FINAL]

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235. “Call for Help” - The Case of Denise Lee - North Port, Florida - [Part 2 FINAL] · Least of These

0:01
[SPEAKER_02]: Welcome to least of these, where I cover the cases that need most because every life matters and everyone deserves justice.
0:09
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm your host, Leah Dee, and today I'll be bringing you the conclusion of the case of Denise Lee and Northport, Florida.
0:16
[SPEAKER_02]: Let's get right to it.
0:54
[SPEAKER_02]: On January 17, 2008, 21-year-old mother of two Denise Lee was abducted from her home in Northport, Florida.
1:01
[SPEAKER_02]: The crime was related to dispatchers as it unfolded in a series of 911 calls.
1:08
[SPEAKER_02]: Northport Police learned that 36-year-old Michael King had taken Denise from her home in his green 1994 Chevy Camaro.
1:15
[SPEAKER_02]: He had gone to his cousin Harold Muxlo's house, borrowed a shovel gas cannon flashlight, and Denise was seen restrained in his vehicle, as she yelled for Harold to call the police.
1:26
[SPEAKER_02]: Harold's daughter Sabrina had called and made a report, and eventually Harold too, though he gave very little information.
1:34
[SPEAKER_02]: King then drove to the intersection of U.S. 41 and
1:41
[SPEAKER_02]: Denise had beat on the window and screamed for help from inside the car.
1:44
[SPEAKER_02]: The driver in the car next to the Camaro at the stop light, Jane Kowalski, had heard Denise's cries for help and called 911.
1:54
[SPEAKER_02]: Jane had followed the Camaro as long as she could, relaying her exact location to dispatchers.
2:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Only Jane's call was routed to the Charlotte County Call Center.
2:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Not the agency in charge of investigating Denise's abduction,
2:08
[SPEAKER_02]: and for reasons I don't think anyone will ever understand that call was not related to officers and not a single deputy was dispatched to investigate what Jane had witnessed.
2:20
[SPEAKER_02]: All of this despite the fact that Charlotte County officials to include the dispatchers were well-aware Denise Lee had been kidnapped.
2:28
[SPEAKER_02]: The Sarasota-Hero Tribune reported that at the same time, Jane called 911, Charlotte County was sending 10 deputies to assist Northport Police, but still, there was no response to Jane's 911 call.
2:41
[SPEAKER_02]: There were plenty of excuses as to why but none of them were good.
2:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Michael King was apprehended a short time later, but he was alone.
2:51
[SPEAKER_02]: Two days later investigators located Denise's body buried in a wooded area off Toledo blade boulevard.
2:58
[SPEAKER_02]: She had been shot once in the head.
3:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Michael King was charged with kidnapping, sexual assault and murder.
3:04
[SPEAKER_02]: When the public learned about the failures to dispatch helped Denise, there was outrage and there should have been.
3:12
[SPEAKER_02]: It was a monumental failure that likely cost and easily her life.
3:17
[SPEAKER_02]: It was revealed that the lead agency, Northport Police, were never made aware of Jane's 911 call by Charlotte County officials.
3:25
[SPEAKER_02]: According to ABC News, Northport Police were made aware of Jane's 911 call by Jane Kowalski herself, two days after Denise had been abducted.
3:35
[SPEAKER_02]: Jane called Northport officials to see if they needed any more information from her, or if she could help in any way.
3:41
[SPEAKER_02]: And that's when the lead detectives on Denise's case learned about James 911 call.
3:47
[SPEAKER_02]: You'd think the at the time Charlotte County Sheriff, John Davenport would be outraged as well, and maybe he was, but he sure came off as defensive.
3:57
[SPEAKER_02]: When he spoke to the media, he pointed out that Jane had relayed inaccurate information such as the color of the Camaro.
4:04
[SPEAKER_02]: Of course, she said it was blue when it was green, and she had mistaken Denise for a small child.
4:10
[SPEAKER_02]: The sheriff seemed to take no accountability, and instead, it appeared he tried to shift the blame, and he could do that all he wanted.
4:19
[SPEAKER_02]: The fact was that Jane gave detailed enough information that the 911 dispatchers had linked her call to Denise's disappearance.
4:27
[SPEAKER_02]: The call-take-or-modeard step actually filed the call under Denise's ongoing case.
4:33
[SPEAKER_02]: So it's clear that despite discrepancies, they believed it was Denise Lee in the back of that Camaro, but still sent no one to help her.
4:42
[SPEAKER_02]: They could make all the excuses they wanted, but they couldn't fool the public.
4:46
[SPEAKER_02]: The sheriff's explanation did nothing to dispel the growing anger, it only added fuel to an already raging fire.
4:53
[SPEAKER_02]: And it was about to get worse.
4:56
[SPEAKER_02]: The Sarasota Herald Tribune reported that after an internal investigation assisted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, it was determined that there were several failures, shocking, right?
5:08
[SPEAKER_02]: Of course, Nodred's step had taken Jane's call that night.
5:12
[SPEAKER_02]: She was a veteran operator with years of experience under her belt, and she had made the connection between Jane's call and Denise's abduction.
5:20
[SPEAKER_02]: But instead of inputting the information into the computer system, Nodred had written it down on a piece of paper and handed it over to Susan Calstead.
5:29
[SPEAKER_02]: Susan was a dispatcher who was communicating with the deputies in their cars that night.
5:33
[SPEAKER_02]: She failed to direct a deputy to search for the car because she believed she couldn't use her radio at that moment since it was being patched to communicate with Northport.
5:43
[SPEAKER_02]: She would later admit to investigators that she knew she had failed to do her job.
5:47
[SPEAKER_02]: She stated, I knew that I screwed up and that that information needed to have gone out.
5:54
[SPEAKER_02]: You think Susan?
5:56
[SPEAKER_02]: And as we know it didn't stop there, Susan instructed dispatchers Elizabeth Martinez and Katie Beesley to send out a unit to respond.
6:04
[SPEAKER_02]: Martinez told investigators she knew about the call, but her ship was ending and it wasn't her responsibility to dispatch a deputy.
6:11
[SPEAKER_02]: And Beesley had about the same excuse, albeit a worthless one.
6:16
[SPEAKER_02]: Anyhow, at the completion of the investigation, absolutely no one was fired, instead, noted step in her supervisor were ordered to receive her medial training.
6:26
[SPEAKER_02]: Susan Calstead was suspended for 60 hours, put on probation for six months, and also required to take remedial training.
6:34
[SPEAKER_02]: Elizabeth Martinez was suspended for 36 hours, put on probation for six months, and ordered remedial training.
6:41
[SPEAKER_02]: It's unclear if Katie Bee's leave received any reprimand, but if she did, it probably wasn't much.
6:48
[SPEAKER_02]: It all felt like a slap on the wrist, as you can imagine to niece Lee's family was upset.
6:53
[SPEAKER_02]: and a briefing on the 911 failure by Chief Deputy Bill Cameron, Nathan Lee asked him, we're going to give them a second chance.
7:01
[SPEAKER_02]: Denise didn't get a second chance.
7:04
[SPEAKER_02]: Denise's father Rick Gough spoke to the media after and said, obviously we're not happy.
7:10
[SPEAKER_02]: There were mistakes made, and we'll just leave it at that.
7:14
[SPEAKER_02]: On January 22, 2008, hundreds of friends and family gathered at the first United Methodist Church in Pana Gorda.
7:20
[SPEAKER_02]: They had been there three years earlier and witnessed a niece and Nathan exchange their vows, beginning their life together.
7:27
[SPEAKER_02]: But now they were gathered to lay Denise to rest.
7:32
[SPEAKER_02]: The community showed up, too.
7:33
[SPEAKER_02]: There were far too many mourners to fit in the little church, so others gathered at another location and watched through live video.
7:42
[SPEAKER_02]: Dozens of uniform police officers stood at attention next to Denise's casket.
7:47
[SPEAKER_02]: Denise Lee was remembered as a happy person who loved her children, her family, and animals.
7:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Brandon roommate Sean Marin said, she was good because that's all she knew.
7:58
[SPEAKER_02]: She loved cats, cats and babies, that pretty much summed up Denise Lee.
8:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Her father Rick said, she was such a happy person.
8:07
[SPEAKER_02]: You can see it in every picture of her.
8:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Nathan spoke and said in part, she did everything she knew for those kids.
8:15
[SPEAKER_02]: He went on to describe Denise as quiet and shy, but also outspoken and smart when she was passionate.
8:22
[SPEAKER_02]: He said, if you got her talking about something she was passionate about, you couldn't get her to stop.
8:29
[SPEAKER_02]: As a final gesture before laying his wife to rest, Nathan
8:58
[SPEAKER_02]: and August of 2008, the murder trial began.
9:01
[SPEAKER_02]: The Sarasota Herald Tribune reported heavily on the proceedings.
9:06
[SPEAKER_02]: During opening statements, prosecutors laid it all out.
9:10
[SPEAKER_02]: They believed Denise was cutting her son's hair on the leneye of her home when King spotted her, abducted her at gunpoint.
9:17
[SPEAKER_02]: Bound her with duct tape, took her to his home, repeatedly raped her, and then shot her at point blank range before burying her and an undeveloped section of Northport.
9:27
[SPEAKER_02]: The prosecution also told the jury just how hard Denise had thought back.
9:32
[SPEAKER_02]: During opening statements, Prosecutor Lawn Arend read a transcript of Denise Lee's words on that 911 call.
9:40
[SPEAKER_02]: Please, my name is Denise, I'm married to a beautiful husband and I just want to see my kids again.
9:45
[SPEAKER_02]: At one point in the call, Michael King could be heard stating, I was going to let you go and then you go and fuck around.
9:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Denise responded, I'm sorry, please let me go.
9:57
[SPEAKER_02]: King made a threat to take her back to his home to rape her again, stating, Now I want to go bring you in there again, I didn't want to do that.
10:07
[SPEAKER_02]: Ultimately, Denise's six-minute 911 call was later played for the jury in its entirety.
10:13
[SPEAKER_02]: Some of Denise's family left the courtroom before that call was played, but those at state broke down.
10:20
[SPEAKER_02]: Four minutes into the call Denise's father looked at King and muttered bastard under his breath before he broke out into sobs.
10:29
[SPEAKER_02]: During that 911 call Denise never got angry.
10:32
[SPEAKER_02]: She never said anything unkind to King and she said please 17 times.
10:39
[SPEAKER_02]: The 911 operator who took her call that day, Kathy, also testified.
10:49
[SPEAKER_02]: feeding her questions and trying to pinpoint the location of the cell phone.
10:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Kathy was barely out of training, but she did everything she could to get help to Denise, and Denise did everything in her power to lead police to her location.
11:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Kathy said, she did everything to save herself.
11:07
[SPEAKER_02]: It breaks my heart to think how hard she tried.
11:10
[SPEAKER_02]: She tried so hard and we still couldn't save her.
11:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Harold Muxlo identified the male voice on that call as his cousin Michael King.
11:20
[SPEAKER_02]: Muxlo also recounted for the jury how Michael King had showed up at his home at 6pm that January 17th day.
11:27
[SPEAKER_02]: He was saying his mower was stuck and he needed to borrow a gas can, shovel and flashlight.
11:33
[SPEAKER_02]: He described hearing a woman's scream called a cops from the backseat and how Michael King had reached into that seat and shoved the head of a woman with shoulder-linked hair
11:45
[SPEAKER_02]: And about how he had called his daughter Sabrina and told her the quote, someone might not be where they want to be.
11:53
[SPEAKER_02]: The jury was taken to view the Camaro, experts testified about the evidence that had been recovered from that car.
11:59
[SPEAKER_02]: There was the muddy shovel flashlight and gas can.
12:04
[SPEAKER_02]: Denise's blood had been found on the hood of the Camaro.
12:07
[SPEAKER_02]: Her hair had been found tucked away in the back seat.
12:10
[SPEAKER_02]: A DNA expert explained there was a one in nine trillion chance that DNA came from anyone else other than Denise Lee.
12:18
[SPEAKER_02]: Investigators also found Denise's palm print on the driver's side window.
12:22
[SPEAKER_02]: And, of course, Denise's heart-shaped ring had also been found in the back of the Camaro.
12:28
[SPEAKER_02]: Denise Lee had left a trail of evidence for investigators to find.
12:33
[SPEAKER_02]: Lee detective Christopher Morales said, as horrible as it was there was all the evidence a detective could hope and ask for.
12:41
[SPEAKER_02]: Inside King's home a blanket was recovered with Denise's blood and Michael King's semen.
12:47
[SPEAKER_02]: It had been found on the floor of a bedroom inside the home.
12:51
[SPEAKER_02]: Investigators also found duct tape with Denise's hair.
12:54
[SPEAKER_02]: A pair of Nathan's boxer shorts that Denise wore often in her t-shirt were found a couple hundred yards from her body.
13:02
[SPEAKER_02]: Michael King's DNA was found on the shores.
13:05
[SPEAKER_02]: Forensic pathologist Dr. Dan Schultz told the jury that Denise had been shot in the head at point blank range, and that she had bruises indicating that she'd been raped.
13:16
[SPEAKER_02]: DNA found on Denise's body prove that it was Michael King who had sexually assaulted her.
13:22
[SPEAKER_02]: Jane Kowalski testified.
13:24
[SPEAKER_02]: She identified Michael King as a driver of the Camaro that night, and told the jury all about the blood curling scream she heard coming from the back seat of his Camaro at the intersection of U.S. 41 in cranberry.
13:36
[SPEAKER_02]: As it turned out she wasn't the only one who had heard Denise screaming for help on U.S. 41 that night.
13:43
[SPEAKER_02]: Sean Johnson had also spotted King
13:51
[SPEAKER_02]: He looked over and saw that the male driver was soaked in sweat and avoided making eye contact.
13:57
[SPEAKER_02]: But unlike Jane, Sean didn't call right away.
14:00
[SPEAKER_02]: He was scared because he was on probation for marijuana charges.
14:04
[SPEAKER_02]: He was still living in a halfway house and prohibited from using a cell phone.
14:09
[SPEAKER_02]: Sean didn't want to get in trouble.
14:11
[SPEAKER_02]: So he drove back to the halfway house and told his wife about what he had seen.
14:15
[SPEAKER_02]: She told him to call police and ultimately he did.
14:19
[SPEAKER_02]: He was able to pick Michael King out of a photo line up.
14:23
[SPEAKER_02]: He recalled that he had deep regrets for not calling 911 as soon as he heard Denise scream.
14:29
[SPEAKER_02]: He stated, I should have been on the phone following that car.
14:33
[SPEAKER_02]: Needless to say, the evidence against Michael King was overwhelming, there were multiple witnesses, DNA and all of the evidence Denise Lee had left behind.
14:44
[SPEAKER_02]: And as far as the defense went, well, let's just say they tried.
14:48
[SPEAKER_02]: The defense pointed out that police had never recovered the murder weapon, a 9mm pistol, and they tried to pin Denise's murder on an acquaintance of Michael King, a 41-year-old man named Robert Salvador.
15:01
[SPEAKER_02]: As it turned out, the day Denisely had been abducted, Michael King and Robert Salvador were at a gun range together.
15:09
[SPEAKER_02]: Michael King brought a 9-millimeter pistol and borrowed ammunition from Robert.
15:14
[SPEAKER_02]: A bullet casing from the borrowed ammunition had been taken from the gun range and compared to a single 9-millimeter casing recovered from the wooded area where Denise had been buried.
15:24
[SPEAKER_02]: And it was a match.
15:26
[SPEAKER_02]: Of course King and Salvador both had access to that ammunition.
15:29
[SPEAKER_02]: But police had rolled Robert Salvador out as a suspect early on in the investigation, and he had fully cooperated with investigators.
15:39
[SPEAKER_02]: Robert Salvador was a contractor who had worked odd jobs with Michael King from time to time.
15:44
[SPEAKER_02]: Investigators had recovered logs from the range that showed Salvador and King signed into the night trail gun range on rustic road at 11.58 a.m.
15:54
[SPEAKER_02]: They shot for a little over an hour before they
16:00
[SPEAKER_02]: And there was evidence to back that up.
16:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Salvador was easy to rule out because there was a checkers receipt and surveillance video to prove that at the time King had abducted and murdered Denise Lee, Salvador was out running errands, captured on video walking through the home depot by himself.
16:17
[SPEAKER_02]: But there was a small hitch.
16:20
[SPEAKER_02]: Detectives had failed to get a copy of that video so the jury couldn't see it for themselves.
16:25
[SPEAKER_02]: However, they were able to testify all about it.
16:29
[SPEAKER_02]: And then there was Robert Salvador.
16:30
[SPEAKER_02]: He took the stand and told the jury himself that he had nothing to do with Denise's murder.
16:36
[SPEAKER_02]: When he and King parted ways that afternoon, he went on about his business as the evidence had shown.
16:41
[SPEAKER_02]: And Michael King told him that he didn't have any other plans that day.
16:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Salvador assumed King was getting himself moved into his home on Sardinia Avenue.
16:51
[SPEAKER_02]: Remember how Michael King's home had been basically empty when police kicked down the door looking for Denise?
16:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, there was a reason for that.
17:00
[SPEAKER_02]: The Sarasota Herald Tribune reported that a few months prior to the murders King had up and quit his job in Michigan and came back to Northport and the home he owned on Sardinia.
17:11
[SPEAKER_02]: He was looking for work and thought he had a job lined up with a plumbing company, but that fell through.
17:16
[SPEAKER_02]: King had always bounced back and forth between Michigan and Southwest Florida, he had a 12-year-old son who lived up north.
17:24
[SPEAKER_02]: So he got back down to Florida, thought he had a job but didn't.
17:28
[SPEAKER_02]: No job means no money and King was facing foreclosure.
17:31
[SPEAKER_02]: In fact, he had about 90 days before he had to be out, but apparently it wasn't something he told his friends, because Salvador thought he was moving back in when it was quite the opposite.
17:44
[SPEAKER_02]: And his neighbors in Northport, well they could wait for him to go.
17:47
[SPEAKER_02]: Though King had no criminal record, a few neighbors suspected King had slashed their tires and egg their cars in the past.
17:55
[SPEAKER_02]: Anyhow, the defense tried really hard to point the finger at Robert Salvador, on cross the attorney said.
18:02
[SPEAKER_02]: After the gun range, you agreed to meet him.
18:05
[SPEAKER_02]: No, Salvador responded.
18:07
[SPEAKER_02]: He continued, didn't you fire the shot that killed Denise Lee?
18:12
[SPEAKER_02]: No, I did not.
18:14
[SPEAKER_02]: The prosecution objected, there was absolutely no evidence anyone but Michael King had murder
18:25
[SPEAKER_02]: The judge agreed and asked the jury to disregard that question, because there was no basis to accuse Mr. Salvador.
18:31
[SPEAKER_02]: And with that, the defense basically had nothing.
18:35
[SPEAKER_02]: They claimed the prosecution hadn't proven King pulled the trigger, but the evidence?
18:40
[SPEAKER_02]: It was all there.
18:41
[SPEAKER_02]: It came as no surprise that the jury found King guilty of rape, kidnapping, and murder after only two hours of deliberation.
18:50
[SPEAKER_02]: After the verdict is Nathan Lee left the courthouse, he spoke to the Sarasota hero Tribune.
18:55
[SPEAKER_02]: He said, I miss her so much.
18:58
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm just anxious to get home to the boys, give them big hugs and play trucks with them.
19:02
[SPEAKER_02]: Rick Goff told the outlet, Denise is our hero.
19:06
[SPEAKER_02]: She fought the best she could fight.
19:22
[SPEAKER_02]: A week after Michael King had been found guilty of kidnapping rape and murder, everyone was back in the courtroom for sentencing.
19:34
[SPEAKER_02]: The state was asking that Michael King be put to death.
19:38
[SPEAKER_02]: The prosecution highlighted just how hard did he said thought to save herself, and at the same time to protect her two sons.
19:46
[SPEAKER_02]: And just how heinous as crime had been, I mean, does it get more heinous than this?
19:51
[SPEAKER_02]: What Michael King had done had traumatized everyone, Denise, her family, the community, and those who fought to save her that night.
20:00
[SPEAKER_02]: The Sarasota County dispatcher who took Denise's call had quit her job and moved to Iowa.
20:05
[SPEAKER_02]: King had abducted Denise from the safety of her home in front of her two babies.
20:10
[SPEAKER_02]: They had no connection.
20:11
[SPEAKER_02]: She didn't know him.
20:13
[SPEAKER_02]: She was just at home
20:19
[SPEAKER_02]: She was kind, even to him.
20:21
[SPEAKER_02]: She said, please, how many times?
20:24
[SPEAKER_02]: Denise Lee didn't deserve any of this.
20:27
[SPEAKER_02]: Michael King was a monster and monsters don't belong in society.
20:31
[SPEAKER_02]: and a desperate attempt to spare his life a defense put on evidence about King's low IQ when a brain injury he sustained while sledding as a child, coupled with the fact that he was depressed due to a relationship breakup and facing foreclosure on his home.
20:45
[SPEAKER_02]: But none of that excuse what he had done, he clearly knew right from wrong.
20:51
[SPEAKER_02]: He'd lied, plotted, and planned, and this sledding incident brain injury hadn't stopped him from working as a plumber, buying a home nor did it appear to interfere with his everyday life.
21:03
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, they really had to dig deep for that one, and they did.
21:07
[SPEAKER_02]: They brought an adopter who testified that a pet scan showed an abnormal nodger-divit and King's frontal lobe.
21:14
[SPEAKER_02]: The doctor went on to say that King's siblings reported that after that sledding accident, his behavior changed.
21:21
[SPEAKER_02]: At 13, King had almost killed his brother with a bow and arrow.
21:24
[SPEAKER_02]: At 17, after watching the Texas chainsaw massacre, he grabbed an actual chainsaw and started
21:37
[SPEAKER_02]: The state, however, brought their own doctor, who evaluated King and disagreed with the defense expert, finding that the aggression and symptoms presented by the defense as a result of frontal lobe damage were actually not consistent with someone suffering from frontal lobe damage, and he found that King's ability to follow the law was an impaired.
21:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Detective Chris Morales told the jury that in the hours action-easest murder, King was lucid,
22:06
[SPEAKER_02]: Had this letting accident made Michael King more violent, or was Michael King inherently evil?
22:12
[SPEAKER_02]: That one, you'll have to decipher yourself.
22:16
[SPEAKER_02]: The jury heard all of this testimony and recommended a sentence of death and judge Dino Aconimo, who had the ultimate say agreed.
22:24
[SPEAKER_02]: He sent it's Michael King to death, stating in part.
22:28
[SPEAKER_02]: It's extraordinary and extremely rare that one can actually hear such emotions and the voice of an innocent victim who is doomed to be murdered.
22:37
[SPEAKER_02]: His voice cracked several times as he read Denise's please for her life and another chance to see her family.
22:43
[SPEAKER_02]: Denise's family broke out and sobbed, but Michael King sat there emotionless as the judge ordered his execution.
22:50
[SPEAKER_02]: Outside of the courthouse Rick Gough said, Justice is served, we had faith in the judicial system.
22:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Denise's grandmother Nancy stated, He'll never kill again, will he?
23:04
[SPEAKER_02]: Over the years, Michael King would try to escape his punishment through appeals, but they all failed.
23:10
[SPEAKER_02]: While he tried to save his own ass, Denise Lee's family went on to make major changes to the 911 system through the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, changes that have no doubt saved countless lives.
23:23
[SPEAKER_02]: Just six months after Denise was murdered in June of 2008, Nathan Lee founded the organization
23:31
[SPEAKER_02]: Nathan dedicated his like to sharing Denise's story and advocating for reform across the country.
23:37
[SPEAKER_02]: The Denise Amber Lee Foundation partners with agencies, educators, and policy makers nationwide.
23:45
[SPEAKER_02]: The Foundation provides crucial in-person and online training and a quality assurance check that reviews policies and procedures and provides recommendations for improvement.
23:55
[SPEAKER_02]: They've been able to help thousands of agencies and prove their 911 systems.
24:00
[SPEAKER_02]: And they've made real changes through legislation.
24:03
[SPEAKER_02]: In 2008, the Denise Amber Leak was passed by floor legislatures.
24:09
[SPEAKER_02]: The act ensures that emergency dispatchers receive consistent training.
24:13
[SPEAKER_02]: Nathan Lee still travels all over the world telling Denise's story, and Jane Kualsky joined Riden on his mission.
24:20
[SPEAKER_02]: Shortly after Denise's murder, the city of Northport awarded Jane with a key to the city for her attempt to save Denise, and over the years Jane has spoken it conferences alongside Nathan sharing her story to help others.
24:36
[SPEAKER_02]: 2020 reported that Denise's younger sister became a 9-1-1 dispatcher.
24:41
[SPEAKER_02]: She was one of the first to take the test under the Denise Lee Act.
24:46
[SPEAKER_02]: Rick Gawf continued his career in law enforcement to date of this recording he has served for over 42 years.
24:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Denise's family has gone on to continue her legacy of love, light, and helping others in the most incredible ways, and they still do today.
25:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Nathan filed a wrongful death suit against the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office for mishandling the call that cost Denise her life.
25:10
[SPEAKER_02]: After years of litigation, a settlement was reached.
25:14
[SPEAKER_02]: The Sheriff's Office admitted no fault, but paid a $1.2 million settlement to the family.
25:19
[SPEAKER_02]: After all of Michael King's appeals have been exhausted, the heart-shaped ring that meant so much to Denise, that little ring that helped convict her killer was finally returned to Nathan's
25:32
[SPEAKER_02]: Nearly 20 years passed before Michael King was scheduled to be executed.
25:37
[SPEAKER_02]: On February 13th of this year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued a death warrant.
25:43
[SPEAKER_02]: King was given an expiration date of March 17th.
25:47
[SPEAKER_02]: He immediately filed a post-conviction motion and a stay of execution, taking the issue all the way up to the Florida State Supreme Court.
25:56
[SPEAKER_02]: But both were denied.
25:57
[SPEAKER_02]: Before King's execution Denise's father spoke to Gulf Coast News, he stated, He's going to burn in hell as he should.
26:05
[SPEAKER_02]: That's my feelings.
26:06
[SPEAKER_02]: He's never reached out, you know, to the family, and he still says he never did anything.
26:12
[SPEAKER_02]: King's last words were a short, pre-written statement about finding Jesus in prison and claiming he loved everyone to include the executioners who were about to end his life.
26:22
[SPEAKER_02]: He mumbled as he spoke and refused to look at Denise's family.
26:26
[SPEAKER_02]: The statement was basically an audible, and the governor's office had to relay what he had said to the media.
26:33
[SPEAKER_02]: King never acknowledged or took responsibility for what he had done, and he did not apologize to Denise's family.
26:40
[SPEAKER_02]: He was executed by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 613pm at the age of 54 on March 17, 2026.
26:51
[SPEAKER_02]: After his execution, Denise Lee's family, who were all dressed in Denise's favorite color pink spoke to the media.
26:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Here's Nathan Lee.
27:01
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, thank you all for being here.
27:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Finally, it's over.
27:06
[SPEAKER_01]: This chapter is closed.
27:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Really all I want to say, and I'll pass it over to my father-in-law.
27:12
[SPEAKER_01]: It took a lot of people to make this day happen.
27:15
[SPEAKER_01]: And everything had to go perfectly.
27:18
[SPEAKER_01]: And a lot of those people are standing here and are with us.
27:22
[SPEAKER_01]: And I don't know if fuss is a family who will ever be able to tell them how grateful we are for everything they did to make sure that this day was going to happen.
27:30
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I'm super one of the, I'm just super blessed that I got to no Denise let alone Mary her and have two amazing kids with her.
27:38
[SPEAKER_01]: So, glad the stage done and now we can focus on what we've been focusing on for the last 18 years and that's moving forward and trying to bring, you know, positive change to 911 and other things.
27:52
[SPEAKER_01]: So, um, thank you all so much for being here.
27:56
[SPEAKER_02]: It was finally over.
27:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Michael King would not be able to hurt anyone else ever again.
28:02
[SPEAKER_02]: And that was because of Denise Lee.
28:06
[SPEAKER_02]: Here's her father, Rick Gawff.
28:10
[SPEAKER_00]: She's a hero.
28:11
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, she took a killer off the street.
28:14
[SPEAKER_00]: No doubt in my mind, he would not stop killing.
28:16
[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm not so sure he hasn't killed other people in the past.
28:22
[SPEAKER_00]: that he's absolutely she's saved a lot of people's lives by what she did.
28:27
[SPEAKER_00]: When she planted so much evidence in that car, absolutely the jury was only out like two hours after a long and then presented a trial.
28:35
[SPEAKER_00]: And then he even came back with a death bill over in the like two hours.
28:38
[SPEAKER_00]: And it was back then it was hard to get a 12-0 verdict and hers was 12-0 verdict, run off the bad.
28:43
[SPEAKER_00]: And then four alternate scene became four and says they've been at 16 now because they were devoted to the same way.
28:49
[SPEAKER_00]: that she was phenomenal and just taking him off the street.
28:54
[SPEAKER_02]: Denise Amberley is a hero and she will forever be remembered for her bravery in the face of unspeakable circumstances.
29:02
[SPEAKER_02]: Her two sons were robbed of a life with her, but know that their mom bravely sacrificed her own life to make sure that they were safe.
29:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Her legacy lives on through her family and the Denise Amber Lee Foundation.
29:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Visit Deniseamberlead.org to learn how you can help or to set up training for your agency.
29:21
[SPEAKER_02]: That's Deniseamberlead.org.
29:25
[SPEAKER_02]: And that my friends is all I've got for this week.
29:28
[SPEAKER_02]: Be sure to join me next Thursday for an all-new episode.
29:31
[SPEAKER_02]: In the meantime, you can find me on Instagram at least underscore of these, or my Facebook at least of these podcasts, and if you're sick of that interruptions, I've got good news for you.
29:42
[SPEAKER_02]: You can get all your episodes at free just the way you like them for just $2 a month, and as a member of Patreon, you'll be the first to be notified when new tiers will be launched with exclusive episodes and a few bonus surprises, head on over to patreon.com slash least of these
29:59
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for listening.
30:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for caring.
30:02
[SPEAKER_02]: If you know something, say something.
30:04
[SPEAKER_02]: And until next time, be good to each other.
30:46
[SPEAKER_02]: man, what this family has been able to accomplish is absolutely incredible.
30:51
[SPEAKER_02]: What a legacy to leave behind.
30:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Denise was amazing and so is her family.
30:58
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't think that can be stated enough.
31:00
[SPEAKER_02]: The good that they've been able to bring out of such a horrific thing.
31:04
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean I keep saying it but it's true.
31:06
[SPEAKER_02]: It really is incredible and a testament to Denise and the love that they all
31:12
[SPEAKER_02]: And it's an inspiration to us all.
31:15
[SPEAKER_02]: I know she has to be so proud of her family just as they were proud of her.
31:20
[SPEAKER_02]: I didn't include this in the episode because it's not all that important, but it's just something that really grinds my gears.
31:28
[SPEAKER_02]: Just before King's execution, I read articles describing King as a Catholic and a poor brain injured boy, and the level of angry I was should probably be studied.
31:40
[SPEAKER_02]: That's an insult to all Catholics and the Christian faith as a whole.
31:44
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, come on.
31:46
[SPEAKER_02]: I would read it to you so you'd get the full picture, but I'd get too mad to go to sleep tonight.
31:52
[SPEAKER_02]: But it was something like Michael King of 50-some odd Catholic man who suffered a brain injury at six is scheduled to be executed in blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
32:02
[SPEAKER_02]: No, sir.
32:04
[SPEAKER_02]: You don't get a rewrite history like that.
32:06
[SPEAKER_02]: It isn't like somebody busted into a mass abducted a brain injured person and were planning on executing them.
32:13
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, if you read the article, you'd think that's what happened.
32:18
[SPEAKER_02]: Michael King is a murderer.
32:20
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, it was.
32:22
[SPEAKER_02]: He was found guilty by a jury of his peers and sentenced to death.
32:26
[SPEAKER_02]: And that death sentence was carried out as it should have been.
32:30
[SPEAKER_02]: As a follower of Christ, I do believe there's redemption for everybody.
32:34
[SPEAKER_02]: I truly do believe that, but you can't rewrite history, and you still have to face the punishment here on Earth according to our laws and rules.
32:43
[SPEAKER_02]: King never apologized.
32:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Never even admitted to killing Denise.
32:48
[SPEAKER_02]: Never showed any remorse.
32:50
[SPEAKER_02]: None whatsoever.
32:52
[SPEAKER_02]: And in the Christian faith, you got to come clean, admit what you did and truly repent.
32:58
[SPEAKER_02]: You don't just get a mumble somewhere.
33:01
[SPEAKER_02]: That ain't how it works.
33:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Now I can't judge anybody's heart or sincerity because I'm sure in Jesus, but it really got my goat to these people who are out there trying to make a monster look like a dang choir boy.
33:13
[SPEAKER_02]: That just ain't it.
33:16
[SPEAKER_02]: And that's about all I got to say about that.
33:20
[SPEAKER_02]: You all know I love you more and my luggage and I can't wait to talk it to you next week.
33:23
[SPEAKER_02]: But until then, bye, I'll be fine.