WIFE SAW TO IT THAT HUSBAND’S DUCK HUNT 18 YEARS AGO WOULD BE FATAL

Florida widow is arrested 'for plotting her husband's 2000 cold-case murder with his best friend whom she then married and collected victim's $2M life insurance'

Associated Press and Snejana Farberov

Daily Mail
May 9, 2018

Florida authorities have arrested the widow of a man who was reported missing after failing to return from a duck hunt in 2000 and whose remains were recovered just five months ago.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested Denise Williams, 48, at her place of work at Florida State University on Tuesday after a grand jury indicted her for first-degree murder in the death of Mike Williams.

State attorney Jack Campbell said Denise also faces a count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and a count of being an accessory after the fact. Williams was booked into Leon County jail and is being held without bail.

FDLE agent Mark Perez said in a statement that agents and analysts have logged over 3,000 hours on the case since taking it over in 2004.

Mike, a real estate appraiser and married father-of-one, disappeared on December 16, 2000, after he had supposedly gone duck hunting alone on Lake Seminole near Tallahassee. The day coincided with his and Denise's sixth wedding anniversary.

Six months prior, Williams' best friend, Brian Winchester, 47, helped him write a $1million insurance policy.

Mike married his high school sweetheart, Denise, in 1994 and welcomed a daughter with her five years later; the child was just 18 months old when her father vanished and is now 18.

The 31-year old's body wasn't found after a 44-day search in and around the lake. One theory at the time was that he drowned and was eaten by alligators, but that was later disproved.

Six months after his disappearance, waders believed to belong to Williams were found floating in perfect condition in the search area, and reportedly showed no signs of an alligator attack.

Not long after, his widow had Williams declared dead and collected a total of $2million in death benefits, according to The Tallahassee Democrat.

In 2005, Denise and Winchester who have reportedly known each other since preschool, married. They separated in 2012 and in 2015 Denise filed for divorce, against her second husband's wishes.

Last year Winchester was charged with kidnapping Denise Williams at gunpoint. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. FDLE announced it had discovered Mike Williams' body the day after Winchester was sentenced

Authorities said they were able to find Williams' remains buried beneath a dead-end road just five miles from his mother's house after receiving 'new information.'

According to a Leon County grand jury indictment issued on Tuesday, Denise was a 'principal' in the murder and Winchester was the one who pulled the trigger. The document alleges that the pair planned Mike's killing for nine months.

So far, Winchester has not been charged in connection to Mike's slaying.

On Wednesday, a day after she was arrested in her FSU office where she worked as worked as an accountant, Denise Williams made her first appearance via teleconference but kept mum. A judge declined to set bail for her.