Mother a driving force as jury finds answers to Florida man's 2000 disappearance | Full episode | Forensic Files

[Music] This story has always been one that has fascinated people because it's so bizarre that this could
even happen. >> 17 and 1/2 years, we have always talked about Mike Williams being missing.
Not ever finding his body, not ever having resolution was very difficult. >> He was going to wake up early and go
duck hunting. He was a big duck hunter. And so he went off to the lake and then he never came back.
[Music] Mike Williams was a straight shooter. He loved his family. He loved his wife. if
you put her on a pedestal. >> Mike did everything that she wanted done. Denise said jump. Mike wanted to
know how high >> they were going to be celebrating their wedding anniversary. And so when he did
not come home about noon when he was supposed to, Denise started getting worried and started calling around.
>> This search was the most intensive I ever seen. >> Law enforcement and friends and family
combing the lake looking for him. They found the boat, his truck, the trailer, that was all there.
>> I got up in the helicopter, flew around, and looked for his body. And one of the
things that I noticed, there were no less than 15 to 20 very large alligators swimming all around this area.
Lake Seol is known for having a lot of alligators. We're in North Florida. There are a lot of alligators.
When we went back out there, you know, there was more evidence that there was there had been alligator activity around
there. >> That's what you believed happened to Mike? >> Yes, I I firmly believe that. I guess
you're sort of hoping you find something and sort of hoping you don't. >> Well, we was hoping if he was here, we
would find him and get closure, but no, it didn't happen. People are attacked by alligators.
Little dogs are eaten by alligators. [Music] But you never hear of someone who's just
banished, eaten by whole by an alligator. >> It is totally impossible for 185 lb man
to be consumed by an alligator without a trace. >> I think that's when we started going,
"Oh my gosh, this is not what we thought it was." Many people felt like there was foul
play involved. >> Cheryl Williams, Mike's mom, comes along. >> And I pray every day that Mike will come
home. >> Cheryl begins her crusade, if you will, trying to get answers. She'd make picket
signs and stand in front of the church. There were billboards. You know, have you seen my son? She wrote the governor
a letter every day for nine years. >> Until God tells me in my heart that that child is dead, I cannot give up looking
for him. >> She wasn't going to quit until she had a body alive or dead. >> He didn't just fall out of the boat.
This wasn't just a hunting accident. [Music] This man was murdered and they blamed it
on alligators for 17 years. [Music] [Music] You've got to really love duck hunting
to love Lake Seol. It's shallow, it's swampy, and it's popular with the local alligators.
Mike Williams really did love duck hunting. And people say that's why he came here well before dawn on December
16th, 2000, alone. His wife said the plan was that Mike would be back home in time to celebrate his wedding
anniversary. But 12 hours later, after his wife reported him missing, Lake Seol would be
swarming with rescuers, searching for Mike Williams on the land, on the water, and in the air. Can you show me the area
that you guys searched in? Basically this area from here to there about five acres.
>> Alton Reu and David Arnett were among the first law enforcement officers to get a call about a missing duck hunter.
>> What we thought had happened is that he possibly fell out of the boat or capsized.
>> Is it unusual for people to fall out of boats while they're hunting for ducks?
>> It's not unusual. It it happens um quite often out here as far as they might hit
a stump and throw them out. Early the next morning, there was a break. Mike's boat was found. On board were
some decoys and his shotgun, but no sign of Mike himself. >> We done a grid search, very slow,
meticulous grid search back and forth over the search area. >> And what began as a search and rescue
soon turned into a search for a body. We stayed with that grid until we covered this whole area.
>> Cadaavver dogs were brought in while teams scoured the murky bottom of Lake Seol in a gruesome search for Mike's
body that was high intensity and low tech. This is the tool of your trade, right?
>> That was that was actually one of the poles. >> And all you do is put it in the water
and see if you feel anything. If it's a log, it's kind of a a a thump. Kind of a
hard thump. If it would been body, you hit it, it's kind of like a pillow. >> Did you feel something ever on the
bottom that felt like a body? >> Never. Never. >> Williams vanished one day before his
sixth wedding anniversary. He met his wife Denise at North Florida Christian High School. He was a football
player. She was a cheerleader. He was president of the student council. She was the secretary.
>> How' they seem together? Great couple. >> Scott Dunie met Mike in high school. He
and his wife Anessa were among Mike's best friends. >> If you knew Mike, he's the kind of
person that uh is going to do anything and everything for you. So Denise, you know, found a gem.
They both graduated from Florida State University. Denise became an accountant for the state. Mike became a real estate
appraiser. Working for Clay Ketchum. >> This kid was straight as an error. He really truly was.
>> Clay and his wife Patty got to know Mike well. >> He was an unbelievable worker. It was
not uncommon for him to do 15-hour days. I mean, he would be in there early, work
until 1 or 2 in the morning, and then be right back. He had incredible energy. >> Before long, Mike's career took off. And
that's when he married Denise. >> He loved his wife. He even would leave the office and go pump her gas.
>> I'm sorry. Go pump her gas. >> Yes. She would call him and say, "Mike, I need gas." And Mike would run over
there, pump her gas, and run back. We all said we wanted to be married to Mike. Just before Mother's Day in 1999,
Denise gave birth to the couple's daughter. And by chance, a local Tallahassee TV station was at the
hospital. >> We're just totally overwhelmed. She was due Tuesday and she would have made me
wait a whole another year for Mother's Day. >> She tipped the scales. >> It was unbelievable. I have a whole new
respect for my wife and women in general and what they go through to bring a a new child, new life into the world.
19 months after he became a father, Mike was missing. And the longer the search lasted on Lake
Seol, the harder it was on the searchers, afraid of what they might find. One of Mike's oldest friends, Brian
Winchester, was out there looking for him from the start. And it was Brian who discovered Mike's empty boat.
Brian decided that we didn't want to be there when Mike's body was pulled up. >> Brett Ketchum was with Brian during the
search. So, we would get in a car and drive to a gas station and go get a Coke and it was very emotional trips. I mean,
it was, you know, crying and it was tough. >> The search was called off after 44 days.
Rescuers could find no trace of Mike Williams. He was listed officially as still missing and some people wondered
if he had just run off. >> We knew Mike had not run off. I mean, he loved his family and he adored his
daughter. Adored her. So, Mike did not run off. This was not some elaborate ruse.
>> Soon there was another explanation offered for why Mike's body could not be found.
that he had been snatched by an alligator. >> Alligators, they don't eat you right
then. This is morbid to talk about, but they go stuff you somewhere for 6 months
and and then come back later. >> One of the rescue teams agreed, writing, "The alligators have dismembered and
have stored the remains in a location that we would not be able to find." But there was at least one person who
had serious doubts about that theory. Mike's mother, Cheryl. She pretty early on believed that there
was more to this and that he was not in likes him at all. I think she just thought something
something's not right here. [Music] Six months after Mike Williams disappeared, investigators had no new
leads, no real hope of finding him. And then what could be a break bubbled up from the muck of Lake Seol?
>> That pole is marking a spot where the waiters had popped up. A local fisherman found a pair of
waiters like these which were believed to have belonged to Williams. >> Did it make sense to you that they
popped up here? I mean, you would you had searched that area, right? >> We had searched it many times.
>> Well, 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. >> Denise was a doting mother, the pride and joy of her life.
But Scott Dunie says now that Denise was a single mom, money was getting tight. >> 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. Mike wanted to make sure his family was taken care of because Mike hunted and
fished and did some pretty high-risisk activity and Clay really encouraged him to load up.
>> With her expenses reportedly mounting, Denise went after the insurance money quickly.
>> While the search itself is still going on, while he is still actively missing,
they're still actively searching for her. He she is going and filing a claim against his life insurance.
Jennifer Portman covered this case for the Tallahassee Democrat. She was a consultant for 48 hours.
>> 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 5 years. Denise
did not want to wait that long to collect on Mike's life insurance. >> How much time did it take in this case?
>> It took 6 months. It was very fast. Abnormally fast. >> That's because Denise's attorney argued
to a judge that the waiters, 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 Seol. Body
has not yet been recovered. >> Based on that, and that alone was what got him declared dead.
>> Pair of waiters and a fishing license and some other stuff. >> Yeah, exactly.
>> The case of the missing hunter seemed closed and was soon forgotten by almost
everyone, but not by Mike's mother, Cheryl. >> Did she believe that her son drowned in
Lake Seol. >> She never ever believed that her son was in the lake and she was absolutely
committed to finding out what happened to him. It's never out of my head. Where is this
child? >> Cheryl caught the attention of the local news. >> He may be dead, but he's not in that
lake. And if somebody did hurt my child, I want them found and I want them punished.
>> Cheryl started keeping notes of everything, copious notes of all of the, you know, strange things that were going
on. >> She eventually filled 27 single spaced pages with lots of unanswered questions
like, "What made the waiters float after 6 and 1/2 months underwater?" Her notes
ended with a plea to anyone who would listen. Please help me find my son. >> She was trying to basically compile all
of these evidence that she could find and trying to get it in front of someone who would listen to her.
>> Well, did Denise help her? >> Oh, no. Denise completely cut her off. >> Denise was adamant. No investigation.
>> She threatened to withhold Cheryl's granddaughter from her. >> Correct. She said, "If you continue to
press for this investigation, you will never see your granddaughter again." >> So, what did she do?
>> She took the energy she would have spent, love it on that child, then tried to
find her daddy. >> Charl pressed on and started poking holes in the official version of what
happened to her son. For years after Mike Williams disappeared, there was a theory that the
reason his body was never found was that he had been eaten by alligators. Turns out there is a problem with that theory.
Charled Matthew Areco, an alligator expert. Florida has a few of them. In his response, he explained that
alligators do not feed in the cold winter months. Cold weather um causes the water temperature to drop so
alligators don't feed in the winter time. >> What's more, Aresco said that when alligators kill, there is always
forensic evidence left behind. And he said attributing Mike's disappearance to an alligator attack may be a convenient
explanation for the authorities, but was virtually impossible. >> We're in North Florida. There are a lot
of alligators. I will give you that. But it is winter. Alligators do not eat human beings without leaving a trace in
the middle of December when it's cold. It just doesn't happen. [Music] >> If not for Cheryl Williams,
there's no way that we would know where Mike Williams was or anything that ever happened to him. She was the driving
force. Charl Williams knew because an expert told her that her son was not eaten by
an alligator, but she did not know much else about how he vanished. >> One of the things that has been so
difficult about this case is that there was an absolute lack of physical evidence. You didn't have a body. You
didn't have any of these things that maybe could point you towards something. >> But Cheryl had something. those 27 pages
of detailed notes. In 2004, four years after Mike disappeared, Cheryl's campaign finally caught the attention of
the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Investigators met with her and then launched a multi- agency
investigation. >> When did you first begin thinking this was a crime? >> The first night we talked to Miss
Cheryl. At the time, Derek Wester was with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. He was part of the
investigation. >> She had it all broke down, and then as she's relaying this story, all these
inconsistencies start adding up. >> Do you remember what some of those inconsistencies were?
>> The insurance. >> It was Mike's three life insurance policies that caught their attention,
particularly the last one he bought, not long before he disappeared, worth $1 million.
How did Mike Williams end up with that million-dollar life insurance policy? Who sold it to him?
>> Brian Winchester sold him the million-dollar life insurance policy about six months before he went missing.
>> Brian Winchester was an insurance agent. He'd been Mike's best friend since high
school where, like Mike, he met his future wife, Kathy Aldrich. And from then on, the two couples were
inseparable. >> You know, they did literally everything together. They went out to dinner
together. They bought houses at the same time. They >> got married at the same time.
>> Had babies at the same time. >> You know, they were they were very close. >> Brian Winchester was in the insurance
business. So, it's not that odd that he would sell his friend an insurance policy.
>> No, it's not. I mean, just the timing of it in retrospect looks a little weird.
>> That wasn't the only thing that started to look weird. Those waiters that popped
up in Lake Seol surfaced just as Denise Williams needed proof that her husband was dead in order to get the insurance
money. >> How many days before the court hearing these waiters popped up? >> Less than a month. I mean, it was really
close. >> They had supposedly been submerged in the lake for 6 months. >> These waiters was in very good shape.
They were also not slimy. >> And what did that mean? They had not been in the water very long.
>> So you looked at that stuff and you thought to yourself, "What? >> Planted?" >> It was planted.
>> Yeah. >> 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. >> We went to the wedding.
>> Was she a suspect in your mind at that point? >> I think in mine I was Yes. The minister
at some point said, "I've counseledled with this couple and they have no secrets I don't know." And Clay and I
both went. >> We kind of nudged each other like, "Well, there might be this one little
secret you don't know." all these things start becoming like clear that we now we've got the
insurance now we've got the waiters got the alligator theory being busted by the
experts so as they're building their case you know they talk to people they start
getting somewhere >> one of the first people investigators talk to was Denise Williams
>> there's no emotion there's no softening up there there's there's nothing. I mean, she's just matter of fact and
cold. >> But Brian Winchester had much more to say. He offered detectives an alibi for
the morning Mike Williams went missing. He said he was 60 miles away from the lake in bed.
>> Brian tells us that he was going hunting with his father-in-law and overslept.
>> You know for a fact that Brian was not telling you the truth then. >> Mhm. Winchester could not have known it, but
detectives already had a witness who said he saw Winchester that morning at Lake Seol.
>> I know the the man personally. I mean, I've I've known him all my life and I composed the line up and I took it to
him. Joel says, "Well, he wasn't smiling like that, but that's him." And he pointed to Brian Winchester.
>> And he had seen that same man. He said when >> that morning >> there was one more thing Winchester
didn't know. Police were talking to his ex-wife and she told them Denise and Brian might have been having an affair
for years before Mike disappeared. >> There was definitely a suspicion that him and her were having an affair well
before that December >> while Denise was still married to Mike. >> Yes, >> the plot was sure thickening, but
investigators still weren't sure what the full story was. After 2 years, the FDLE hit a wall. But
Cheryl Williams, who had been fighting since the day her son disappeared, was not giving up.
>> And it's horrible not knowing what happened to him. >> She was very, very, very frustrated with
FDLE and felt that they were not doing their job. They weren't trying. >> So, she picketed, you know, she would
have signs made and and walk up and down in front of the church. Every year she would have billboards put
up around town. >> It showed a picture of Mike and missing and if you have any information who's to
contact >> and she went after the governor. >> She wrote the governor a letter every
day for 9 years. >> In fact, the governor received 1,472 letters that we know of.
>> Her suspicion was always with Brian and Denise, more so with Denise. The two people who were considered most
likely suspects were together and unless one of them turned on the other, you were never going to find out what
happened here. >> Did you think this case would get broken? >> Not until I found out that they were
having marital problems. They turned on each other like rats in a sack. Until God tells me in my heart that that child
is dead, I cannot give up looking for him. As the years dragged on, it looked like
the mystery of what happened to Mike Williams might never be solved. If Brian and Denise knew anything about
Mike's disappearance, they weren't talking and no one could make them. By Florida law, as long as they stayed
married, neither could be forced to testify against the other. >> With Brian and Denise being married, you
were how were you ever going to get the truth? because one is not going to turn on the other.
>> But behind the scenes, Denise and Brian's marriage was disintegrating and after 7 years in 2012, they decided
to separate. >> He is, you know, self-describes as being a sex addict. He's trying to please her
by going to therapy, by getting counseling. Like, he's jumping through all these hoops, trying to do all these
things to get her back, and she's not kind of accepting them. >> After four more years of trying to patch
things up, Brian snapped. >> One morning, Denise gets in her car. She's driving to work and she senses
something in the back and Brian Winchester has hidden in the back of her car and is coming over the seat and has
got a gun. >> He's got a gun. He's got a gun. >> He had a gun. He had a tarp. The idea
was that he was going to kill her. >> He's screaming and I'm just like shaking and he's telling me to stop crying that
people are going to notice because >> Denise reported her kidnapping to the Lyon County Sheriff's Office.
>> I was like, "Are you planning on, you know, ending both of our lives today?" Well, mine. I'm planning on mine. And
then he would say, "I want to kill." He must have said a million times, "I want to kill myself."
Brian Winchester was soon arrested and charged with the kidnapping and aggravated assault of his wife.
>> I was just kind of agreeing with whatever he was saying, and I was like, I know that you love me. And
>> police quickly realized that the rift in Denise and Brian's marriage presented an
opportunity. A tag team of detectives arrived to see what they could get out of Denise to see
if she would now flip on her aranged husband and talk about his involvement in Mike Williams's disappearance.
>> I know Denise. He did it. And you knew exactly what I'm talking about. And he was going to do it
again. >> Tallahassee detective David Mccrainy tried. If he wasn't going to kill
himself, then he was going to kill you so that you couldn't talk about him later.
That is the truth. >> Mccrainy turned up the heat. >> 15 years ago, he walked in, told you he
had done something, didn't he? >> No. >> Denise, >> no. >> You have got he this is not going away,
okay? He's going to kill you. He's either going to kill himself. We just got no other avenue.
>> But Denise did not budge. My name is Mike Deainy. I'm at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
>> So, special agent Mike Deainy came in. He'd been working the Williams case for
years. >> Do you think it's responsible for Mike's disappearance? >> I do not. And I never had. I would have
never buried him if I thought that. I mean, in my mind, in my heart, no. >> She wasn't giving up anything.
>> She was giving up absolutely nothing. >> Where do you think my spirit is? >> Oh, I I have no idea. Any speculation on
that >> on where he's buried? >> Buried. >> I mean, I believe >> you don't really believe he he died at
on the lake. >> I do. >> Why? >> I just I just always have. That's what I believe.
>> That was her story and sticking to it. >> That left Brian as the only possible
source of information in the Williams case. He was facing a long stretch in prison for the kidnapping, but there was
no word about what, if anything, he would say about Mike's disappearance. We're here in state of Florida versus
Brian Winchester 2000. >> 16 months later, Brian plead guilty to kidnapping and assaulting Denise and
appeared in court for his sentencing. We had a a plea and we weren't sure what the government was going to ask for.
>> He was crying at times. He apologized. >> Tim Jansen is Brian Winchester's lawyer.
>> We had indicated we want 15. The state gets up and asks for 45. >> My client wouldn't like to address the
court. Pardon me. >> Never ever did I have any intentions of harming Denise, nor would I.
Nonetheless, I do know that she was hurt by my actions. And again, I am truly sorry.
[Music] Start by stating your name, please. >> Denise Williams. >> Denise showed up at the sentencing for
>> What was she like there? What did she want? >> She wanted him to go to prison for the
rest of his life. >> I start each day with the memory of him jumping out of the back. And I end each
day feeling the gun shoved in my ribs when I turn on my right side trying to sleep.
>> She was scared. She was compelling. >> He will finish what he has started no matter what age he is when he's
released. >> Most people in the courtroom were pretty stunned by it. It was pretty powerful.
>> I'm asking you to sentence him to life in prison for the crimes he has committed. It comes down to my life or
his. And I'm asking you please to choose mine. Thank you. [Music] >> Come on up with your client, Mr. Jansen.
for kidnapping Denise. Brian was sentenced to 20 years behind bars. >> He was shackled at the waist and the
ankles. And when they shuffled him off to prison, we felt so defeated because we said, "There'll never be an answer to
our friend Mike. Never an answer. We won't know." >> Well, you were wrong. >> We were wrong.
They had found Mike's body. [Music] [Music] This was so huge. It still is really
pretty stunning. Just one day after Brian Winchester was sentenced for kidnapping Denise
Williams, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement held a news conference. And the news really was huge.
>> Standing here now, I can tell you that we know what happened to Mike Williams.
He was murdered. They know that because sometime before he was sentenced for kidnapping, Brian
Winchester cracked and confessed in these audio recordings. >> I went and met Mike at a gas station. I
followed him to the lake. We launched the boat. It was just like a hunting trip was supposed to be.
Winchester had cut a deal with prosecutors in exchange for his confession he would not be charged with
murder even though he admitted killing his best friend. >> I got him to stand up and I pushed him
into the water and he was in a panic. Obviously I was in a panic. I didn't know what to do and I ended up shooting
him. The agreement that we drafted up said that anything he said that day could not
be used against him. >> Winchester gave prosecutors what they wanted most, the location of Mike
Williams's body. >> I backed my Suburban down to the edge of the lake and put his body in the back
and pushed his boat back out into the water. Brian says he left Mike's truck and trailer at Lake Seol to make Mike's
disappearance look like an accident. But actually, Mike's body was nowhere near Lake Seol.
He was 60 miles away at Carl Lake, a remote marshy area just 10 minutes from Winchester's home.
Brian led investigators here to the spot he buried Mike back in 2000. >> And they commenced what FDLE told me is
the most extensive search they have ever undertaken in the history of the agency.
>> The search uncovered Mike's skeletal remains and his wedding ring among other things.
And there was horrifying evidence of what happened to him. >> And what they were able to show very
clearly was that he had been shot basically at point blank range in the face with a shotgun.
>> This was up close, personal, deadly. >> Yeah. >> And gruesome. >> Yeah. >> And Winchester provided one final piece
of the puzzle. He said it was all Denise's idea. >> She would not get divorced. And so she
basically said there's only one solution. >> As he tells it, she was not willing to
endure the public shame of a divorce. So she thought murder was a better answer.
>> I guess it was better to be known as a widow than a divorce. Aea. >> Wow, that is incredibly cold. And
wouldn't it be great if we also, oh, by the way, collected, you know, almost $2 million in insurance.
>> We would end up together. We would live happily ever after. Oh, and as a side
note, we've got all this money to enjoy our wonderful life today. >> The happily ever after part didn't work
out so well. In May 2018, five months after the discovery of Mike's body was announced,
Denise Williams was arrested and charged with firstdegree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and
accessory after the fact. >> It was a very bizarre moment. And she said nothing and she didn't look at
anybody. She just looked straight ahead. >> It's a bittersweet feeling. You are so thankful that she
has been outed for the true person she is. But it doesn't you're still left with the same result.
>> Even though you saw her let away in shackles >> in an ugly dress and hair that needed a
die job. I got to tell you that felt pretty good to me cuz I know how important appearances are to her.
>> She didn't do it. She had nothing to do with it. She's completely innocent. Defense attorney Ethan Weey is
representing Denise. >> Did she know about it? >> No, not before, not during, not after.
>> You are very confident. >> I have an innocent client. It's the best kind. [Music]
>> On December 11th, 2018, prosecutor John Fuches gave his opening argument at Denise Williams's murder trial.
>> Denise likes the sound of being a widow much more than a divorce. obviously can't be caught with a murder.
So, they had to make it look like an accident. >> Raise your right hand, please.
>> Early on, the state called Brian Winchester. >> We had an agreement that she would never
say anything about me and I would never say anything about her because we felt like that as long as neither one of us
talked that nobody would ever find out what happened. >> Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Ethan Weey was in an enviable position for a defense attorney representing an accused murderer. The prosecution star
witness admits he is the killer. >> When you shot Mike Williams with a 12- gauge shotgun, was Denise Williams
standing there with you? >> No, she wasn't. She was in my head behind me. >> Denise Williams had no idea that you
shot her husband in the face with a shotgun. Did you? >> Correct. >> Sir Winchester, you're a murderer. Isn't
it true? >> Yes, sir. Mr. Winchester, you're a liar. Isn't it true? >> Yes, sir.
>> Of course, Cheryl Williams always suspected her one-time daughter-in-law was involved. And Cheryl was now a
witness for the prosecution. >> The initial theory was that he was missing and possibly eaten by
alligators, >> right? >> You never believed that, did you? >> No, sir. >> How long did it take before Denise
called you and said, "I'm sorry. I was wrong all these years." She never did. >> Finally, Winchester's ex-wife Kathy
testified Denise kept quiet as part of a conspiracy of silence between Brian and
Denise. >> Were you aware that Brian Winchester kidnapped Denise Williams? >> Yes.
>> About a week after that, did Denise ask you to do something? >> Denise asked me to get a message to
Brian that I'm not talking. After three days of testimony, both sides rested. Ethan Weey was so
confident the state had no hard evidence that he didn't want the jury to consider
any charges less than murder one. >> This is a strategy decision. As you understand, it's a little bit out of the
ordinary. >> Yes. >> I guess for one of a better word, it's a little bit of a gamble.
>> Yes. The jury was now facing an all orno decision and the attorneys presented
their closing arguments. >> This is not a case about trying to get quote justice for Mike. This is a murder
case. There's no evidence that supports any of the allegations against my client. We are counting on you to return
a verdict that speaks the truth. And that verdict is not guilty. >> Think back three days ago.
Brian Winchester is on the stand describing how he shot his best friend. Everybody in this entire room
was moved by the sheer horror of that situation. One person, that one person sat here, absolute stone
face, didn't bat an eye, didn't shed a tear. That lady right there, Miss Denise Williams. The jury took eight hours to
reach a verdict. >> The defendant is guilty of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
>> Denise Williams was found guilty. As to count two, we the jury find the defendant is guilty of firstdegree
murder. On all counts, >> the defendant is guilty of accessory after the fact of firstdegree murder.
Mike's family and friends waited 18 years for this day. >> Sometimes the wheels of justice turn
slowly, but they do still turn. >> For Cheryl Williams, it has been a long, heartbreaking fight, but now she can
finally lay her son to rest. >> It hit her really hard and and I think she's still coming to terms with it. I
mean, the brutality of it, the the finality of it, how anyone could do this to Mike,
>> it kind of destroys your your faith and in man >> to do this to him and the way it was
done and it's just unimaginable. >> You still miss him? >> Oh, yeah. >> He was such a good guy. He loved to
work. He loved his family. He put him on a pedestal and he got killed for it. That's the irony of this is the kid did
nothing wrong. [Music] CBS next. A rock star of the snake breeding world found dead.
>> I assumed it was a snake. >> It wasn't a snake, but the killer was coldblooded. Who would want to kill Ben
Renick? If you couldn't have imagined anything like that. >> 48 hours prime time double feature
continues next on CBS. [Music]

Mike Williams goes hunting in a Florida lake and vanishes. Many thought he was eaten by alligators -- but not his mother. Seventeen years later, stunning courtroom revelations: it was murder. "48 Hours" correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Mike Williams vanished during a duck hunt; years later, his wife and best friend were convicted of his murder.

Key points

The Disappearance of Mike Williams. Mike Williams vanished while duck hunting, sparking a massive search effort.
The Alligator Theory. Authorities suggest Mike was eaten by alligators, but doubts arise about this explanation.
Cheryl's Crusade for Answers. Mike's mother, Cheryl, relentlessly seeks the truth about her son's disappearance.
Insurance Money Motive. Denise Williams quickly files for life insurance after Mike's disappearance, raising suspicions.
Cheryl's Investigation. Cheryl Williams compiles evidence and questions surrounding her son's case, leading to renewed investigation.
Denise's Letters to the Governor. For nine years, Denise wrote daily letters to the governor seeking justice for Mike.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

He didn't just fall out of the boat. This wasn't just a hunting accident.

3:19WatchJul 30, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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