Life On The Line

Speaker 1 A mochi moment from Tara, who writes: For years, all my doctor said was eat less and move more, which never worked.

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Tara is a mochi member compensated for her story.

Speaker 4 We may have been missed amazing, beautiful husband, and then I just want to see my kids again.

Speaker 7 Was there any sign of forced entry or a struggle?

Speaker 8 No.

Speaker 9 No arrived. None.

Speaker 10 Nothing. Nothing.
So it looked like a woman just sounded vanished.

Speaker 9 Yep, with leaving her two precious babies behind.

Speaker 11 All he kept saying to me, I'll never forget this. Chief, something's terribly wrong.
My daughter is gone. Her car's at her house.
Her phone's at her house. Her purse is at her house.

Speaker 11 Her kids are at her house. And she's not.

Speaker 12 Ready, Daddy? I'm ready.

Speaker 13 Oh my goodness.

Speaker 9 What can we do? What can we do? What can we help? Where can we go?

Speaker 14 There's no way she would go off and leave them kids at home like this. I know 100% there's something wrong.

Speaker 15 I could see through my blinds the green Camaro going up and down the road.

Speaker 16 She's with her abductor and managing to make a 911 call.

Speaker 17 Hands coming up and just hitting that window.

Speaker 18 Wow.

Speaker 22 Child in the car and it was banging on the window and crying and screaming like, get me out of here, scream.

Speaker 23 Do you have any idea that a 21-year-old mom is missing?

Speaker 24 No. And you're witnessing a kidnapping.

Speaker 4 Let me know.

Speaker 25 I've been telling this story all over the country.

Speaker 27 I've probably told it hundreds, if not thousands of times over the years.

Speaker 25 It started just like every other day.

Speaker 27 That turned out to be literally the worst day of my life.

Speaker 28 You know what? I know. I don't know where mommy is.

Speaker 29 Northport emergency.

Speaker 19 I just got home from work and my wife, I can't find her.

Speaker 30 She's never done this before? No, no, no, no, no.

Speaker 29 A Northport man came home and found his two young children, both both under the age of three, home alone and his wife missing.

Speaker 32 Denise Lee's husband reported her missing and the massive search was underway.

Speaker 35 21-year-old mother of two has been missing since mid-afternoon.

Speaker 36 Denise Amber Lee disappeared from her home around 3.30 in the afternoon on January 17th.

Speaker 37 Authorities are still calling it an act of investigation.

Speaker 26 It's incredibly painful to dive into the story over and over again,

Speaker 26 but it's something I have to continue to do. You know, make a positive difference, have an impact impact on somebody's life.

Speaker 40 Good morning, everyone.

Speaker 38 My name is Nathan Lee.

Speaker 3 Take me back to that day.

Speaker 23 What do you remember about getting up and getting going that morning?

Speaker 25 Typically in the morning, I would try to be as quiet and, you know, ninja-like as possible, you know, getting ready for work and leaving because denise as soon as she would wake up she'd be awake i was working a bunch of different jobs and just trying to make sure that she could stay home with the boys started my shift 7 a.m to 11 a.m and the brief conversation i'll remember it like it was yesterday a nice cold front came through florida in january so it got down to like the low 70s and so i'm like open up the house turn off the ac so we can save money and she's like okay i'll do that

Speaker 14 i was gonna invite him over to eat maybe once a week we would try to do that. And I remember trying to call her, just say, hey, we guys want to come over, and never got an answer.

Speaker 27 My shift ended at 3 o'clock.

Speaker 26 I had a 25-minute drive home, and I called her a total of seven times, and she didn't answer.

Speaker 8 Was that unusual? That was weird.

Speaker 25 I started getting a little nervous that something wasn't right.

Speaker 42 I pulled to the driveway, but the windows were shut.

Speaker 26 I opened the door and the first thing I noticed was how hot it was in the house.

Speaker 27 I walked in the front door, put my phone and keys down on the chair, and noticed her cell phone sitting on the top of the couch.

Speaker 25 The AC was off, and so I turned that on and I noticed her purse and keys sitting on the counter.

Speaker 6 But no sign of Denise.

Speaker 42 No sign of Denise.

Speaker 43 Everything looked normal.

Speaker 42 And that's when I heard Noah starting to wake up from a nap, but it was coming out of Adam's bedroom.

Speaker 25 And so I walked in there and they were both in the same crib.

Speaker 3 Is that typical?

Speaker 27 That was not normal.

Speaker 25 Pick up Noah and he's immediately asking me, where's mommy?

Speaker 39 Where's mom?

Speaker 25 Where's mom?

Speaker 25 I literally walked in every room of the house and she wasn't anywhere.

Speaker 42 I didn't know what else to do. And I called 911.

Speaker 45 Northport Police Emergency.

Speaker 47 We all know those critical three digits to dial in an emergency, 911.

Speaker 23 And when Denise Lee, a young mom of two, suddenly vanishes from her West Florida home, there are a series of those calls captured in real time.

Speaker 49 And each can be the difference between life and death.

Speaker 51 Northport emergency?

Speaker 19 Yes, I'm at Latora Avenue. I just got home from work and my wife, I can't find her.

Speaker 53 My kids were in the house and I don't know where she is.

Speaker 19 I've looked every single place and I don't know.

Speaker 54 How old are your kids, sir?

Speaker 30 My oldest is two and my youngest is six months.

Speaker 28 No, I know. I don't know where mommy is.

Speaker 51 Her vehicle is in the driveway?

Speaker 55 Yes.

Speaker 56 Does she have any medical conditions? No.

Speaker 18 Her purse is here.

Speaker 18 I don't.

Speaker 19 Her cell phone is here.

Speaker 57 I don't.

Speaker 58 I don't know. I don't know.

Speaker 57 Okay, what is your name?

Speaker 3 Denise.

Speaker 14 There's little video clips of her at the park with the push in Noah and the swing, her giggling laugh. That was her.

Speaker 14 You know, that was Denise all the time with the kids. I got you.

Speaker 18 You ready daddy?

Speaker 12 I'm ready.

Speaker 59 You ready? She was a stay-at-home mom. She was like all about her boys and her family.

Speaker 38 Noah you ready? Whoa!

Speaker 61 What was she like as a mom juggling two little boys?

Speaker 42 Selfless is the number one word. She put them first for everything.

Speaker 25 Patience.

Speaker 44 I don't think I ever heard her raise her voice at them.

Speaker 51 One not.

Speaker 62 One no smile.

Speaker 28 I remember sitting back and just going, wow, you know, she's an amazing human.

Speaker 47 Denise was pretty young, 21-year-old, young mom.

Speaker 66 Tell me about her life at that point.

Speaker 13 Oh, she loved being a mom. You know, her family meant everything to her.
She was so proud of her kids and, you know, Nathan. They were her life.

Speaker 44 She looks so happy.

Speaker 13 Yeah, that's her with Noah and Adam. They look like they're about the same size.

Speaker 67 They're about the the same size.

Speaker 13 They're 18 months apart.

Speaker 10 They look like the happy family right here.

Speaker 3 Take me back to the time when you met those teen years.

Speaker 25 She was a senior in high school.

Speaker 26 I was a sophomore technically in college.

Speaker 25 She was super crazy smart and was taking college courses already.

Speaker 14 She was a brainiac and it was very smart.

Speaker 23 Denise's dad, Rick Goff, had been a longtime detective with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office at the time.

Speaker 11 Rick Goff is a legend at the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. He's been here a long time.
I felt like I just had an instant friendship with Rick, kind of guys cut from the same cloth.

Speaker 44 Cops, cops.

Speaker 69 Is that Rick?

Speaker 67 Yes. Oh my goodness.

Speaker 57 Yeah.

Speaker 23 What was it about her that attracted you?

Speaker 25 She was beautiful, funny, goofy. As we started dating and got to know each other better, the thing that I loved about her the most was how she looked at me.

Speaker 68 Nathan remembers that Denise was just 17 when she first spoke to him and the two went out on a date.

Speaker 25 I wanted to take her somewhere special because if she was the one, I wanted it to be memorable and I kind of already knew.

Speaker 43 Like it was weird.

Speaker 42 I kind of already knew.

Speaker 72 You already knew that age. I think so.

Speaker 33 So you started dating and pretty soon is February Valentine's Day.

Speaker 59 How did you mark the occasion?

Speaker 43 Yeah, it was pretty awkward.

Speaker 25 You know, Valentine's Day was not even a month after our first date.

Speaker 42 And so we went to the mall and we came up with this plan to knock over $40.

Speaker 25 Like, that was our cap.

Speaker 44 She found a ring.

Speaker 25 Not even sure what, if it was silver or what it was.

Speaker 42 It had a heart on it with a little stone in the middle.

Speaker 25 That turned out to be the most special thing, her prized possession.

Speaker 6 Soon you're talking marriage?

Speaker 25 We weren't talking marriage until we found out that somebody was going to be coming into this world.

Speaker 59 I remember finding out like she was pregnant and I was kind of shocked because she was like really young.

Speaker 53 She was really happy that day.

Speaker 13 I don't think she stopped smiling the whole day.

Speaker 42 We had Noah about five months later and then Adam was born another 18 months later.

Speaker 68 That's a quick family.

Speaker 38 Yeah,

Speaker 25 we didn't waste any time.

Speaker 42 We had no money, but we didn't care and we were madly in love.

Speaker 33 Then January 17th, 2008, everything changes.

Speaker 54 Have you checked the residence?

Speaker 39 Yes.

Speaker 58 Every closet, every room, bathroom, everywhere.

Speaker 25 It was like she evaporated.

Speaker 14 She wouldn't have left them kids for nothing.

Speaker 13 We knew she didn't leave on her own free will.

Speaker 11 Northport is a great little town.

Speaker 11 It's a beautiful city. The neighborhood that Denise and her husband lived in was just a typical small-family Florida neighborhood.
You would feel safe living in that community.

Speaker 47 How did they wind up moving to Northport?

Speaker 13 They were looking for a house to rent and they saw that one and liked it.

Speaker 14 And it was a brand new house. Never been lived in a cheap, pretty cheap.

Speaker 72 Back then, the recession was hitting and there was a ton of empty houses for rent.

Speaker 43 And we found a three bedroom, two bath for like $500 a month.

Speaker 25 And it was in a beautiful area, all pine trees, wooded area, very secluded, which we thought was a good thing.

Speaker 42 Being in our own house was really special. It was like, okay, we're a real family.

Speaker 27 But we loved it.

Speaker 44 We loved the house.

Speaker 7 But on January 17th, 2008, that house is at the center of a missing persons investigation.

Speaker 54 Have you checked the residence?

Speaker 74 The entire residence?

Speaker 19 The entire house, yes.

Speaker 55 Every closet, every room, bathroom, everywhere.

Speaker 54 Are the children okay?

Speaker 19 Yes.

Speaker 74 Well, my youngest one's crying, but they're okay.

Speaker 74 Oh, my goodness.

Speaker 54 All right, Nathan, I have an officer en route for you.

Speaker 54 If she does return home by the time we get their calls back, let us know, okay?

Speaker 57 Okay. All right, thank you.

Speaker 55 Thank you. Bye-bye.

Speaker 9 My name is Chris Morales, and I am the Deputy Chief of Police for the Northport Police Department.

Speaker 3 But at that time, you were...

Speaker 9 At the time, I was a detective with the agency in the major crimes unit.

Speaker 7 You get this call that Denise Lee is missing.

Speaker 9 I got a notification from my sergeant and said, hey, I need you two to go out to Latour Avenue reference to a missing female.

Speaker 54 10-4, thin-built. Approximately 5'2 ⁇ , dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, 110 pounds.

Speaker 9 Photos were disseminated out throughout the department to members on their computers and who to be out on the lookout for at that time.

Speaker 61 Do you just wait for the police?

Speaker 33 Do you call anybody else?

Speaker 25 Yeah, so as soon as I got off the phone with 911, I called Denise's dad.

Speaker 76 Who happens to be a detective?

Speaker 25 Rick always, when he answers the phone, he just starts talking. And the first thing Rick asked me, I'll never forget it.

Speaker 25 I can't imagine what this must have felt like from his standpoint.

Speaker 42 He asked me, do you guys want to come over for dinner tonight? And I'm like, Rick, we can't.

Speaker 25 I don't know where Denise is.

Speaker 26 And he's like, what do you mean by that?

Speaker 8 Did you immediately become concerned?

Speaker 44 Yes.

Speaker 60 Why?

Speaker 14 Because he says she wasn't around and the two boys were there home alone when he got home.

Speaker 14 Absolutely.

Speaker 27 And then he went into cop mode.

Speaker 25 Is there any signs of forced entry? Is there blood anywhere? You know, and I'm like, Rick, no, it's like she evaporated.

Speaker 26 And I, I, I felt better after talking to him because I knew if anybody was going to find where Denise was, it was him.

Speaker 14 And then I take off straight to Northport to their house and had to get a hold of my wife.

Speaker 13 I didn't know what to think. I had no idea what could have happened.

Speaker 25 So very quickly, Denise's mom arrives to take Noah and Adam home. They had taped off the house, the crime scene was there.

Speaker 13 I brought them home with me. Adam was only six months old.
She was still nursing him. I had a friend go to the store, get formula, because I knew it was going to be time for him to eat.

Speaker 13 He was hungry they were my

Speaker 13 focus

Speaker 9 now when you first go out there i would imagine you've got to rule out the husband any investigator knows that when you have something of suspicion when it comes to a domestic a husband and wife that you're going to be on hypervigilant of wanting to focus on that person right

Speaker 61 Cars from the Northport police station are soon on the scene and Nathan says one of the officers starts to hone in on him.

Speaker 25 And I understand it. You watch a lot of these types of shows and it's always the husband.

Speaker 42 But luckily, Denise's dad arrived and that changed everything.

Speaker 25 They respected his authority. This was his daughter and this investigation ramps up very quickly.

Speaker 14 First thing they go, well maybe she went with somebody else, you know, her and Nathan Haven't I go? Absolutely not. Nathan was her life.

Speaker 14 There's no way she would go off. and leave them kids at home like this.
I know 100% me there's something wrong.

Speaker 49 Everything we have for random friends.

Speaker 23 There are multiple law enforcement agencies involved.

Speaker 46 Who's taking the lead?

Speaker 14 Northport's taking the lead. I don't think it's in their jurisdiction, but Detective Morales was the case agent.

Speaker 8 Was there any sign of forced entry or a struggle? No.

Speaker 9 No.

Speaker 9 None. Nothing.
Nothing.

Speaker 10 So it looked like a woman just sounded vanished.

Speaker 9 Yep, with leaving her two precious babies behind.

Speaker 14 Her phone was there, her keys were there, her purse was there, so all indications there was something wrong.

Speaker 9 I remember Rick Goff was sitting across the street, leaned up against his car with his arms crossed and his head kind of in a way downward of dismay.

Speaker 23 He was distraught.

Speaker 9 Yeah.

Speaker 23 You're her father, but you're also in law enforcement. So what goes on for you at this moment?

Speaker 78 Me, I was,

Speaker 14 hey, you know, you always hear postpartum depression maybe after a pregnancy, but it's been six months, so you kind of, well, maybe she's just lost in the woods out here because the whole house is surrounded by woods and stuff.

Speaker 14 So I went to Chief Cameron. I called him at the time, and he was the undersheriff, and I'd say, hey, can we get her helicopter up here? Northport doesn't have a helicopter.
Can we get extra people?

Speaker 11 Instantly, I felt the panic in his voice. And all he kept saying to me, I'll never forget this.
Chief, something's wrong. Chief, something's terribly wrong.
He goes, my daughter is gone.

Speaker 11 Her car's at her house. Her phone's at her house.
Her purse is at her house. Her kids are at her house.
And she's not. He said, Chief, she would never do that.
She would never leave her kids, Chief.

Speaker 11 I said, I'm on the way, I'm bringing the cavalry. We'll help you.
We're going to find it.

Speaker 23 So you had law enforcement justice.

Speaker 9 I was hearing it about a sergeant's daughter's missing. They were just, they were coming, going, what can we do? What can we do? What can we help? Where can we go?

Speaker 11 I called the dispatchers and I said, anybody who's free, any detective, any officer, any motorcycle, doesn't matter what, send him to Northport. You've got to go find Rick's daughter.

Speaker 9 We were trying to figure out where is Denise.

Speaker 9 So we started going door to door, talking to neighbors. Around 2.30, the neighbor, a young female, had saw a green Camaro.

Speaker 13 She said she saw a man in a green Camaro. She made eye contact with him.

Speaker 15 I could see through my blinds a green Camaro going up and down the road. And I walked outside just as he was turning around.
I pulled into her driveway real quick and sat in the car.

Speaker 53 Jennifer Eckhart, who lived next door, saw him park in Denise Lee's driveway after he had kind of been prowling up and down the street several times.

Speaker 15 And he sat there for, let's say, a good 15 minutes. And so I went back inside, and then about 10 minutes later, he left.

Speaker 33 Who's inside this green Camaro that seemed to be lurking outside?

Speaker 6 Hours go by, and with the search on for this mysterious green car, a heart-stopping 911 call comes in.

Speaker 4 Please let me know. I just want to see my family again.

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Speaker 83 Denise A.

Speaker 84 Lee, Northport 118.

Speaker 52 X107 at 80 Units I went to Kimmerson area.

Speaker 23 Within minutes of Nathan Lee making that 911 call to report that his wife Denise is missing, Northport police are at his doorstep and after canvassing the neighborhood, they soon come up with their first lead.

Speaker 9 We got the information from the neighbor of a green Camaro that was seen in her driveway around 2.30. That was about an hour prior to Nathan getting home.

Speaker 9 So we were on the questions with Nathan about do you have friends that have a Camaro, family members, someone at your work?

Speaker 44 I do, actually.

Speaker 42 I know a guy, I worked with a guy, drove a green Camaro, but it turned out it wasn't him.

Speaker 19 210 is going to be a darker green Camaro, and it's going to be probably an early 2000s, late 90s model.

Speaker 11 All we had to go on at that point was look for any green Camaro you see and stop it because because that's all we have.

Speaker 13 We knew that someone had to have taken her.

Speaker 11 I put my guys at every intersection I could possibly think of because my fear was whoever it was, if they got onto the interstate, they could be in Miami in a couple of weeks, we'd lose them.

Speaker 50 Nearly four hours after Denise's neighbors spotted that green Camaro, a new 911 call comes in to Sarasota County Dispatch, and it immediately grabs their attention.

Speaker 5 Please let me go. Please let me go.

Speaker 5 I just want to see my family again.

Speaker 33 Incredibly, the woman on the line is Denise Lee herself.

Speaker 9 When that call came in, we absolutely knew that she was abducted.

Speaker 87 What's your name, ma'am?

Speaker 5 Denise, I made your beautiful husband, and then I just want to see my kids again.

Speaker 3 She's with her abductor.

Speaker 9 She's with her abductor.

Speaker 16 And managing to make a 911 call.

Speaker 9 Denise had found the phone and was able to hide the phone and call 911.

Speaker 3 That's pretty incredible.

Speaker 9 It is absolutely incredible and very heroic. She was very good at giving indicators to 911.
She didn't want to let him know that she was talking to somebody.

Speaker 56 Do you know this guy that's with you?

Speaker 56 No.

Speaker 86 You don't know him from anywhere?

Speaker 5 No, please.

Speaker 5 Oh, God, help me.

Speaker 5 What is the address of your ass?

Speaker 5 Where are we going?

Speaker 18 I got it all up in a mile now.

Speaker 5 I'm literally where?

Speaker 86 Because it's clouded. Can you see that?

Speaker 18 That's the way four streets call five streets over your house.

Speaker 4 I cleaned it up. I was.

Speaker 84 Northport L9, Sarasota just had Denise A. Lee on the phone, advised that she was taken by an unknown subject.

Speaker 14 Chief Cameron came to me and said there was a 911 call, and they said, listen, there's a girl on the phone. They think it's Denise.

Speaker 11 I said, Rick, I have to have you listen to this recording.

Speaker 11 And I played it for him.

Speaker 74 Hello?

Speaker 5 Please let me go, God, please.

Speaker 11 He cried and he said, that's her.

Speaker 60 That was horrible for me and horrible for Rick.

Speaker 14 She was trying to save her life, get back to her kids. You know, it's just tough.
It's

Speaker 14 tough to deal with.

Speaker 67 When you eventually heard that call,

Speaker 46 that couldn't have been easy for you.

Speaker 78 Yeah, that was tough.

Speaker 87 What's your home address, do you know?

Speaker 5 Oh, no, no. Please just take me to my house.

Speaker 5 Can you just take me home?

Speaker 5 I'm looking, please.

Speaker 14 Can you take me back to my house on the tour, which is the address where she lived?

Speaker 14 She's just laying on top of the phone in the back seat, best we can figure, and answering dispatches questions and then trying to relay it secretly, talking to him.

Speaker 87 Can they turn off the radio or turn it down?

Speaker 5 I can't hear you. I'm so loud.

Speaker 25 I know when she picked up that phone, she's thinking, okay, I'm going to be saved because 911 is going to know where I am, and my dad, I know, is looking for me, and they're gonna find me.

Speaker 5 I don't know where your phone is, I'm sorry.

Speaker 48 At some point on that call, you can hear the kidnapper realizing his phone is missing and demanding it back.

Speaker 18 I don't have your phone! Let's please go!

Speaker 5 I don't have it. I'm sorry.

Speaker 40 She might have the phone laid down and not hear a thing I'm saying, too.

Speaker 25 The fact that she was able to get all the information she needed, I mean, it was

Speaker 42 unbelievable.

Speaker 47 She was doing everything in her power to be found.

Speaker 14 Yes, absolutely.

Speaker 5 Are you gonna hurt me?

Speaker 5 Are you gonna let me out now?

Speaker 5 Don't, don't.

Speaker 5 I lost them.

Speaker 87 Chris, I lost her. The guy grabbed the phone from her.

Speaker 9 Unfortunately, you can hear him pull off to the side of the road and then you hear the phone disconnect.

Speaker 62 The clock is ticking.

Speaker 66 Are you hopeful?

Speaker 14 When a non-long call came in, absolutely hopeful.

Speaker 13 I was thankful that she was alive. I thought it was only a matter of time before they found her.

Speaker 25 I was thinking, okay, this is going to be her chance.

Speaker 47 21-year-old Denise Lee has just called 911, pleading for her life after being kidnapped from her home.

Speaker 61 And authorities are trying to pinpoint her location.

Speaker 25 I assume she called 911, they know where she is. That's what everybody thinks.

Speaker 64 Turns out that's not how it works.

Speaker 23 Can police pinpoint where she is at that point with the 911 call?

Speaker 14 They were trying to triangulate the call, meaning from one cell tower to this cell tower to this one, and trying to dial in an approximate area where it was at.

Speaker 9 By the time we started to go up on the phone itself with our federal partners to assist us, the phone was dead.

Speaker 25 She was still able to keep the line open and for them to get critical information about this person who had taken her.

Speaker 11 We have a phone number that ties back to whatever called into 911.

Speaker 9 We were able to take that number and through phone providers we were able to identify who the subscriber was of that number, which came back to Michael King.

Speaker 7 Had you ever heard of this man before?

Speaker 42 No, I've never heard of Michael King before.

Speaker 65 Did his name ring a bell to you at all?

Speaker 14 No, it did not.

Speaker 47 Just completely a random guy.

Speaker 57 Yes.

Speaker 11 Usually there's a connection or a relationship or a motive, some tie-in between the parties involved in cases like this. For the life of us, we couldn't figure this one out.

Speaker 9 We ran Michael King through databases and came back with Michael King, which had owned an actual green Camaro.

Speaker 67 And so you knew right away that this is- This is our guy.

Speaker 7 This is your guy. This is our guy.

Speaker 69 With police now desperately trying to locate Michael King, another alarming 911 call comes into Sarasota County.

Speaker 84 Police emergency operator Bono.

Speaker 9 Right after Denise had made this 911 call, approximately nine minutes later, we received a phone call from a Sabrina Muxloe.

Speaker 52 What's the problem?

Speaker 89 I just got a call from my dad, and his cousin came over to his house with a girl in the car.

Speaker 61 On the line is a teenage girl who tells a frightening story that she's just heard from her own father.

Speaker 89 She was tied up, and the girl came out of the car, got out of the car, and my dad's cousin went and put her back in the car.

Speaker 84 And when she got out, okay, where's your dad's house?

Speaker 89 It's in Northport.

Speaker 84 Do you know the address of it?

Speaker 30 He wants to be anonymous.

Speaker 55 The guy his cousin left.

Speaker 84 Okay, what's the cousin driving?

Speaker 89 A green Camaro.

Speaker 84 And what does he look like?

Speaker 30 He's white.

Speaker 89 Medium-sized, kind of chubby.

Speaker 84 What's the cousin's name?

Speaker 52 Oh, it's Mikey King.

Speaker 84 Michael King?

Speaker 57 Yeah. Okay.

Speaker 67 Sabrina's dad is Harold Muxlow.

Speaker 50 A cousin of Michael King.

Speaker 9 Harold, instead of calling 911, he calls his daughter.

Speaker 84 Are you sure you can't give me your dad's address?

Speaker 30 He doesn't want nothing to do with it. Like, he's afraid to call because it's his cousin.
I guess my mom says this guy's crazy.

Speaker 84 Okay, so all you can tell me his name is Michael King. He was just at your dad's house and he had a woman tied up and she tried to get out of the car and he put her back in the car, correct?

Speaker 52 And her shoes yelling.

Speaker 23 She was yelling out to Muxloe, call police, call the cops. Just the idea that she was so actively, actively, you know, some people would have been subdued in the back.

Speaker 9 Doing everything she could.

Speaker 53 He heard a woman's voice. He asked King what's going on.
King brushed him off and he let King drive away unimpeded.

Speaker 51 Okay, we've been looking for this female.

Speaker 18 Get out?

Speaker 55 Yes.

Speaker 51 We've got the helicopter up. You are just so wonderful to call us and give us this information.

Speaker 18 Okay?

Speaker 74 Yeah.

Speaker 50 You learn that his cousin, Harold Muxlow, he didn't call the police, even though she was screaming for him to call police.

Speaker 14 I was very angry at him, you know, and he called his 17-year-old daughter to stick up for him. Thank God she called 9112 and gave us the description of the car and stuff like that herself because

Speaker 14 he was too much of a coward to do it himself. He had a 17-year-old daughter, too, and he didn't want to help my daughter.

Speaker 51 911, what's the location of your emergency?

Speaker 88 I'm not sure exactly what the emergency is exactly.

Speaker 9 Harold, probably feeling guilty, goes to a local payphone up the street and then later calls us to tell us something we already know.

Speaker 88 I think there's somebody that's

Speaker 88 taken without the

Speaker 77 don't want to be where they need to be.

Speaker 86 Uh-huh.

Speaker 88 And they're in the 95 Green Camaro from Northport, somewhere.

Speaker 5 Okay.

Speaker 87 How do you know this?

Speaker 87 I know.

Speaker 86 Do you know who the guy is? Uh, no.

Speaker 56 Okay, do you know, other than the green 1995 Camaro, do you know anything else? Uh, no, sure don't. Okay, do you know the last time you saw him?

Speaker 88 Uh, about 15 minutes ago.

Speaker 69 But it's Sabrina's original 911 call that reveals a chilling detail.

Speaker 84 Now, where would he be going with this female?

Speaker 84 Um,

Speaker 30 he came over to my dad's house, borrowed a shovel, a gas tank, and found them out.

Speaker 53 King came to him with some cock and ami story about King's lawnmower being broken down. And so he asked his cousin Harold Muxlow for a shovel, a gas can, a flashlight.

Speaker 9 Once we learned he had stopped at his cousin's house to obtain those items, we knew time was of the essence that we needed to find her quickly because that window of opportunity was dwindling fast.

Speaker 63 Breaking news right now, Northport police are searching for a woman they say was kidnapped.

Speaker 67 With the desperate search for Denise Lee in high gear, 911 is about to get another call.

Speaker 13 911, where's your emergency?

Speaker 21 Well, I'm on 41 going south.

Speaker 61 This one from a woman who's driving and sees something and knows she needs to say something.

Speaker 22 It's like a, I want to say like a Camaro type of car, and there's a kid in the back seat and screaming, and not a happy scream like, get me out of here, scream. Do you want me to turn?

Speaker 22 Try to follow him?

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Speaker 17 It's a pretty busy road. US 41, it's a, yeah, it's a very busy road, actually.

Speaker 50 Jane Kowalski finds herself driving down this road in Northport, Florida, unaware that a young mom of two, Denise Lee, has been missing for three hours now.

Speaker 17 I'm on the phone with my sister, hands-free, talking, and I get up to Cranberry Boulevard, stop for a stoplight, the light had turned red, and there's screaming going on, and I turn to the left to look to the car next to me that had pulled up next to me, and the screaming was coming from that car.

Speaker 10 What kind of screams?

Speaker 72 Horrific.

Speaker 17 Loud,

Speaker 17 curdling, just horrific screams. I looked over and I see the guy, it's clear as day, it's like from here to right there, but he kept turning and trying to push something down in his back seat.

Speaker 17 And then a hand comes up and it was a Camaro, right? And so it was like two doors, so there's a little window in the back and the hand's coming up and just hitting that window.

Speaker 41 Give me a sense of how the hand was hitting the window. Okay.

Speaker 33 Wow.

Speaker 33 What's your instinct telling you about what's happening?

Speaker 17 Something's wrong. Something's completely wrong.
Something's wrong. Someone needs help.
So the light turns green and I hesitate because I want to get that license plate.

Speaker 17 In Florida, you only have license plates on the back, but the light turns green and he hesitates. We don't go.
Well, there's tons of cars behind us and they're start honking.

Speaker 7 He knows that you see him.

Speaker 17 Yeah, he knows because I looked at him and I'm because I sort of gave him the look like, what the hell? You know, what's going on in your car?

Speaker 17 And I finally go forward, thinking that he's going to go forward, but he pulls right behind me.

Speaker 3 So you can't see his license plate now because he's behind you.

Speaker 17 He's behind me.

Speaker 17 And that's also sort of scary because I know that he saw me looking at him.

Speaker 17 So I hang up with my sister, I call 911.

Speaker 13 911, where's your emergency?

Speaker 22 Well, I'm on 41 going south, and I was at a stoplight, and a man pulled up next to me, and there was a child screaming in the car.

Speaker 20 What kind of vehicle is he in?

Speaker 74 It's a blue Camaro, like a Camaro, like in the 90s or early 2000s or something.

Speaker 61 Jane's 911 call goes to a different dispatch, Charlotte County, the same agency Denise's dad works for.

Speaker 11 The way 911 phone systems work is when you dial your phone, it will hit the closest tower to where you are at that moment in time.

Speaker 11 But by the time this woman, when she makes the phone call, she's close to the Charlotte line. The closest tower rings into our dispatch.
About how old is this child?

Speaker 22 Can you see that? I did see the child. I'd say less than 10, definitely not an infant, old enough to bang on the window.

Speaker 49 But of course, it's not a child at all.

Speaker 65 It's Denise Lee, restrained, fighting to get anybody's attention for help.

Speaker 32 This particular car, the back seat was so small that Denise was probably having to lay down in the backseat of the car.

Speaker 61 And at the wheel is Michael King, the man authorities have been desperately searching for.

Speaker 93 And I turned to look at him, and he's a white male, sort of light-colored hair,

Speaker 21 sort of plump.

Speaker 22 He's behind me now, and I tried to slow down so he could pass me, and I could could read his license plate.

Speaker 22 And he's going slower than I am, which is not right because we're holding up traffic and stuff.

Speaker 22 But I think that he saw me look at him, and I'm not trying to be over dramatic here, but he's going even slower now.

Speaker 9 She's making it very well known that Michael is aware that she sees him and she knows that something's not right there. So, obviously, his speeds are reduced significantly.

Speaker 22 Okay, he's pulling over to the other lane up.

Speaker 17 I'm in this lane over here, in the right-hand lane, and he was behind me and he cuts all the way over to the turn lane over there. And that's when I'm like, should I follow him? But I'm over here.

Speaker 17 All this traffic comes in and I can't make the turn.

Speaker 21 And he's going to turn left on Toledo Blade.

Speaker 22 He's turning left right now.

Speaker 22 And I'm in the other lane.

Speaker 55 He's turning left on Toledo Blade.

Speaker 22 Do you want me to turn?

Speaker 89 Try to follow him?

Speaker 21 Or does he want her to follow him?

Speaker 55 Okay, can you turn?

Speaker 22 He just turned on Toledo Bright. I don't know if I can catch up.
There's a bunch of traffic and I can't get over.

Speaker 9 Oh, boy. He was doing everything he can to avoid her.
It is clear that he changed course of direction because of Jane Kowalski.

Speaker 20 He piled in the car and it was banging on the window and screaming.

Speaker 21 And crying.

Speaker 55 And screaming. Like, screaming, screaming, screaming.

Speaker 22 And not a happy scream like, get me out of here, scream.

Speaker 30 The vehicle had a

Speaker 20 white male white male driver blue or black camaro male had white hair and there was a child screaming in the car so

Speaker 22 and banging on the window okay and banging on the window like that okay

Speaker 20 i've got everybody hollering at me and

Speaker 17 just one second And I could hear stuff in the background, and she kept talking to other people asking questions too.

Speaker 11 That whole comp center is buzzing with two shifts of people trying to help Rick and trying to find Denise.

Speaker 93 Okay.

Speaker 22 I'm going to just pull over now. Let me get her.

Speaker 87 Yeah, that would be great.

Speaker 22 I don't know if there's

Speaker 22 an Amber alert out or something like that, but bear with me.

Speaker 41 And you asked her if there was an Amber alert issued.

Speaker 17 I did. At one point, I was like, is there Amber out? Yeah, again, I thought it was a child who had been abducted, and I didn't know what was going on.

Speaker 23 Do you have any idea that a 21-year-old mom is missing?

Speaker 65 No.

Speaker 70 And you're witnessing a kidnapping.

Speaker 17 I had no idea I was witnessing witnessing the kidnapping. I didn't know what was going on in the car.

Speaker 53 That green Camaro turned out to be a traveling crime scene in and of itself.

Speaker 73 When the Camaro turns left here on Toledo Blade, Jane loses sight of it.

Speaker 65 But with such a precise location and deputies nearby, could this be the moment Denise is finally found?

Speaker 9 At that moment, at that time, when Jane Kowalski had called 911 to Charlotte County's dispatch center, there were officers, deputies,

Speaker 9 special agents all in that area converging into the city.

Speaker 45 I activated my lights and my sirens.

Speaker 40 Central all units, drought for units, FHP has the vehicle stopped.

Speaker 96 I yelled, driver, don't give me a reason to fire into your vehicle.

Speaker 28 You know what? I know, I don't know where I'm on me.

Speaker 7 You get this call that Denise Lee is missing.

Speaker 11 In my 40-year 40-year career, the Denise Amberly case was the worst weekend of my life.

Speaker 31 The authorities say a woman's been kidnapped and they're caught on the trail.

Speaker 84 FHP has the vehicle stopped at 178 southbound.

Speaker 96 I yelled, driver, exit the vehicle. Don't give me a reason to fire into your vehicle.
And I immediately said, where is the girl?

Speaker 7 What does he say?

Speaker 9 He says that he was kidnapped.

Speaker 76 He tells you he was kidnapped? Yes.

Speaker 97 Right here.

Speaker 98 Please remain fulfilled.

Speaker 98 Let's have the real story.

Speaker 26 There's something you're not telling.

Speaker 10 She was dropping clues.

Speaker 13 Yeah.

Speaker 70 For you to find her.

Speaker 94 Is this her ring?

Speaker 18 Yes.

Speaker 52 First ring I gave her.

Speaker 58 First Valentine's Day.

Speaker 31 Everything stopped at that point.

Speaker 32 All three of us looked at each other like, what did he just say?

Speaker 24 She sees this abduction in progress, and you're witnessing a kidnapping.

Speaker 3 Northport emergency.

Speaker 19 I just got home from work and my wife, I can't find her.

Speaker 79 Her phone was there, purse, keys.

Speaker 25 The boys are home by themselves. It was like she just, poof, disappeared.

Speaker 53 This is the kind of case that people have nightmares about. A young woman abducted in broad daylight, taken away from her two little babies.

Speaker 14 She wouldn't have left them kids for nothing. I know 100% there's something wrong.

Speaker 63 Northport police are searching for a woman they say was kidnapped. Her name is Denise Lee.

Speaker 61 Three hours into the search, a chilling 911 call.

Speaker 4 Please let me know.

Speaker 11 There was a 911 phone call from Denise,

Speaker 11 from the suspect's phone and she was talking to the dispatcher.

Speaker 50 As police trace the phone, another call comes in.

Speaker 50 They kept banging on the window and screaming, and not a happy scream like, get me out of here, scream. He just turned on Toledo Blade.

Speaker 22 I don't know if I can catch up. There's a bunch of traffic and I can't get over.

Speaker 15 Oh, boy.

Speaker 69 And there's another 911 call.

Speaker 40 I just got a call from my dad and his cousin came over his house with a girl in the car, and she was tied up.

Speaker 30 He borrowed a shovel, a gas tank, and something else.

Speaker 84 What's the cousin driving?

Speaker 19 A green Camaro?

Speaker 84 What's the cousin's name?

Speaker 52 Mikey King.

Speaker 100 Put out a bowl of FHP2, please, or a dark green Camaro.

Speaker 26 Who's he saying is driving that Camaro?

Speaker 18 Michael King.

Speaker 72 So you know now who you're looking for.

Speaker 71 100%.

Speaker 41 And the key is now to track him down.

Speaker 9 Find him and save her.

Speaker 61 As the manhunt for Michael King is ramping up, Denise's younger sister, Amanda, is at the movies 150 miles away, unaware of her sister's disappearance when she gets a voicemail.

Speaker 59 It was like very hysterical. I heard about what happened to Denise.

Speaker 59 I immediately called my parents and I was like, what is happening? Like, what's going on?

Speaker 62 What's going through your mind?

Speaker 59 Just a lot of emotions, like a lot of worry. You would never think ever that something like that would happen to you, especially with our dad being in law enforcement.

Speaker 23 You're a detective with Charlotte County.

Speaker 78 Yes.

Speaker 47 You had worked undercover.

Speaker 46 Were you processing whether this could have been related to a case that you had handled?

Speaker 14 Absolutely. That was the first thing that came up on everybody's radar thing.
And I worked some pretty big people in the day, so.

Speaker 57 When you learned that police have zeroed in on a guy named michael king did his name ring a bell to you at all no it did not

Speaker 73 with michael king identified as their prime suspect police race to his northport home so you're making your way to his home with the hope that you'll find her there this was the biggest lead um that we had

Speaker 94 we have the house surrounded with the three units on scene two of us are in point close nobody's coming to the door they don't see any car there is a tv on and it sounds like voices in this home.

Speaker 11 They got to go in. If she's in there, go in.
Now kick the door in.

Speaker 97 I want entry made on that house.

Speaker 94 10th floor.

Speaker 74 There's two marked officers at the front.

Speaker 94 Make entry. This is a uniformed officers.
Make entry.

Speaker 6 When you got here, what did you see right away inside?

Speaker 9 Very dark and gloomy inside.

Speaker 9 They found out that it was pretty much TV music. And it was probably used to keep volume up high for what was probably occurring in the house.

Speaker 73 There's indication that someone had been there.

Speaker 57 Yes.

Speaker 6 But no sign of Denise

Speaker 50 or Michael King.

Speaker 57 Correct.

Speaker 32 His house was basically empty except for a TV and that is where we believe he took her.

Speaker 9 There was obviously signs of someone being held against their will. They saw a makeshift bed in the master bedroom go with a pool blanket.

Speaker 31 Her hair tie was left on the floor.

Speaker 9 They saw an elongated mirror that was propped up against the wall.

Speaker 52 Would you have duct tape watered up in a bedroom with long strands that looked like a lot of brown hair?

Speaker 14 But then they found some duct tape and some blonde hair that stuck to the duct tape and stuff like that.

Speaker 46 You had to know that that does not sound good.

Speaker 44 Right.

Speaker 11 Once we figured out they were no longer there, then we treated it as a crime scene. But at this point, we're still just worried about finding Denise.
All of that's secondary.

Speaker 11 The main thing is, is she still alive? Where are they?

Speaker 48 So you missed this moment and then what next?

Speaker 61 Where are you hoping to find him?

Speaker 9 Pretty much what we were doing was shutting down the city.

Speaker 40 We need some cars shut down so no one can get to the interstate.

Speaker 9 We shut down Northport and was holding a roadblock to vehicles going in and out and looking for a green Camaro.

Speaker 40 We also need the on-ramp shut down to the interstate.

Speaker 77 I need one of you guys making sure nobody gets on the interstate unless they're checked.

Speaker 62 What is it like for you as those hours are going by and no real firm word?

Speaker 13 The more worried I got,

Speaker 13 the less hopeful I was.

Speaker 50 The entire search now revolves around finding that one green Camaro.

Speaker 6 Florida Highway Trooper Edward Pope is scouring I-75.

Speaker 96 I end up making a U-turn right on the median.

Speaker 96 Suddenly out of nowhere, a pair of headlights appeared and I realized that it was a green Camaro.

Speaker 77 Get a green Camaro heading southbound. I swung around on it, I'm trying to catch up here.

Speaker 96 Immediately I saw the first three digits of the tag. I knew knew at this point I had the right vehicle.

Speaker 84 FHP had the vehicle stopped at 178 southbound, 178 southbound.

Speaker 96 I yelled, Driver, don't give me a reason to fire into your vehicle.

Speaker 40 New units responding to the interstate.

Speaker 54 North for 232 DF traffic.

Speaker 54 200724.

Speaker 18 Anyone, any units that are on a perimeter need to stay there.

Speaker 18 249 Central. Well, what's that tag on our Camaro?

Speaker 18 Why are the green Camaro with a black?

Speaker 18 Hold on one second.

Speaker 68 It's around 9 p.m.

Speaker 48 Five hours since Denise vanished.

Speaker 50 Trooper Edward Pope has spotted Michael King's green Camaro and is in hot pursuit.

Speaker 45 I activated my lights and my sirens.

Speaker 45 He was a little hesitant, but he finally pulled over.

Speaker 84 Northport Units, FHP has the vehicle stopped at 178 southbound, 178 southbound.

Speaker 9 It came over the radio. FHP had the car stopped, and immediately I jumped in my car and headed out to the scene.

Speaker 31 You heard about a green Camaro that had been spotted.

Speaker 57 Yes.

Speaker 14 I was real hopeful on the radio because I heard him stop in the car. We were hopeful that she was going to be found.

Speaker 96 And I made several commands for the driver of the vehicle to exit. So after about the fourth command, I noticed he was trying to move the rearview mirror in order to try to find my location.

Speaker 96 I yelled, driver, exit the vehicle. Don't give me a reason to fire into your vehicle.

Speaker 96 And immediately there was a second pause. The driver's side door swung open.
I identified who I was and I pulled him out of the vehicle at gunpoint. And I immediately said, where is the girl?

Speaker 14 And so I'm like waiting and waiting and waiting and come across radio again that she's not in the car.

Speaker 84 Michael King is 10-12. The female is not 10-12 with the vehicle.

Speaker 25 Rick called me and said, hey, they found the guy, but she's not in the car.

Speaker 47 What happened for you at that moment?

Speaker 25 I was like, okay. Like, what does that mean? He's like, I don't know.

Speaker 26 They're still looking.

Speaker 96 I was able to go to the vehicle and what I could see was a gas can, a shovel that appeared to have been used somewhere.

Speaker 9 He's standing there.

Speaker 26 Concerning is...

Speaker 9 He's soaking wet from his waist all the way down with water and mud and muck.

Speaker 64 That's not good. That's not good.

Speaker 3 And you take him into custody. Yep.

Speaker 7 What does he say?

Speaker 9 He says that he was kidnapped. He was kidnapped with Denise.

Speaker 76 He tells you he was kidnapped? Yes.

Speaker 3 And what do you make of this story?

Speaker 9 So, obviously, it's not believable. Obviously, you know he's lying.

Speaker 103 Today, January 17, 2008, approximately 11.24 p.m., President Detective Morales, President Michael King.

Speaker 99 You came to us and you told me that you were a hostage and you were a victim. At that point, my focus was, okay, we need to find where she is, and we seem like you wanted to assist us.

Speaker 103 We need to just find out what happened. You understand?

Speaker 3 But before Detective Morales can really begin questioning King, he needs to read him his rights.

Speaker 94 Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to us here now?

Speaker 94 No, I just want an attorney. You want an attorney?

Speaker 9 He didn't want to speak anything that could incriminate him, so he lawyers up. So we went ahead and said, okay, tell us how you're a victim.
Tell us how you and Denise were kidnapped.

Speaker 46 Police send in a detective who knows king offering pizza and water hoping to keep him talking i just asked him if i come here and talk to you yeah sitting in here by yourself i'm not i'm not i'm not a problem but yeah it's had a mess

Speaker 14 they got bad luck

Speaker 74 i ain't picking up nobody anymore

Speaker 74 what'd you do i just picked up somebody they were on the side of the road and I didn't think nothing of it and I'm boom just grading right here screwing right on the floor. That was it.

Speaker 74 And he's like, Don't move. And then he put something on my legs.
And Arn, I couldn't freaking move, man.

Speaker 74 You're not hurting anywhere. No.

Speaker 14 No one can believe those stories. And how they just turned him loose and out in the middle of nowhere and just made no sense whatsoever.

Speaker 75 Running out of options and time, police now bring in King's cousin, Harold Muxlow, who says he saw a woman with King hours after Denise Lee was abducted.

Speaker 70 He agrees to talk to King.

Speaker 9 We were hoping that Harold would open up the microphone saying, hey, it's done, it's over. Just tell them where she is.
I'm going after the girl.

Speaker 9 I see it where the girl King took off on her. Or whatever he did.
I don't know. It's crazy.
Can't they ask her or anything?

Speaker 9 Did they let her go? Do you know?

Speaker 9 I mean, they could tell her.

Speaker 67 Muxlow presses King on a crucial detail.

Speaker 6 Earlier that day, his cousin had come to his house to borrow a shovel, a gas can, and a flashlight.

Speaker 68 The same items found in King's car.

Speaker 68 What do you need a flashlight for?

Speaker 68 Told me

Speaker 74 he said to get that and a shovel.

Speaker 105 Why'd they let you go?

Speaker 103 I don't know.

Speaker 103 What's going on?

Speaker 103 I don't know.

Speaker 103 They should have let her go, too. Oh, you're laughing with her.

Speaker 74 I know I would, but it looked pretty bad on your side there.

Speaker 105 You know, someone kidnapping my daughter, man,

Speaker 74 I wouldn't be too happy. I don't know.

Speaker 74 I agree with you. I'd be all over, too, man.

Speaker 69 Investigators collect evidence, fibers, fingernail clippings, DNA swabs, then arrest King.

Speaker 97 You're under arrest, Michael, for kidnapping.

Speaker 42 All right now.

Speaker 97 For right now.

Speaker 6 With King clamming up, investigators turn to his cousin.

Speaker 97 And I see him in there rustling with somebody, and I hear some girl say, Call the cops.

Speaker 106 Did you see the person that was in the back?

Speaker 55 No, very well.

Speaker 100 But when they give him a polygraph, extreme deception indicated.

Speaker 36 So let's have the real story.

Speaker 26 There's something you're not telling.

Speaker 35 John, a lot is changing by the moment here in Sarasota County. We have heard that a suspect is in custody.

Speaker 63 Just a short time ago, the Florida Highway Patrol arrested this man, 36-year-old Michael King. They've also located that car, the Green Camaro, but they did not find Denise Lee in it.

Speaker 106 Take these off the front and go on the back.

Speaker 97 You're under arrest, Michael.

Speaker 103 Get it this way, Mike. This is only the beginning now.

Speaker 61 With Michael King now in custody, police continue talking to him, treating him as a potential victim.

Speaker 9 At that time, if he wants to say he's kidnapped, we were going to talk to him and hopefully him will lead us to where she may be.

Speaker 76 Does he take you to a location?

Speaker 9 He takes us to a couple locations, yes.

Speaker 97 I need Tier 1 over in this area here.

Speaker 60 He's led us to this.

Speaker 18 Temple, L9, I need you to call me.

Speaker 101 We're hopeful, and we tell all the rescuers we're still looking for a person, not a body.

Speaker 11 I was getting information from all agencies and giving the updates.

Speaker 25 I was 100% confident we'd find her. I thought she was somewhere.

Speaker 42 He must have just dropped her off in the woods somewhere, or you know, she's wandering on the side of a road and they would find her.

Speaker 103 Take you back up, start looking for hot spots around that area where the Sussex 1715.

Speaker 36 Templar. Meanwhile, we're learning more about the man in custody in connection with Lee's kidnapping.

Speaker 67 With the search going on, questions are swirling around Michael King. To his parents, the accusations are unbelievable.

Speaker 12 We've never had a problem with Michael.

Speaker 12 You know, it just don't seem like he would do something like this. It's not in Michael.

Speaker 34 This is the first time King's posed for a mugshot in Florida. The unemployed plumber doesn't have a criminal record here.

Speaker 61 Police visit King's ex-girlfriend who tells them she's equally stunned.

Speaker 94 Do you, in your opinion, think that when Michael would ever do something like this?

Speaker 18 No, I want no.

Speaker 94 Do you think he has a capability or something?

Speaker 21 No.

Speaker 6 King has an 11-year-old son whom he'd been raising on his own.

Speaker 61 At the time, that boy was living with relatives in another state.

Speaker 9 We learned that Michael King was going through foreclosure at the time and had broken up with his girlfriend. Seemed like a person that was down on his luck.

Speaker 94 Then his attitude changed toward the end of his

Speaker 94 relationship.

Speaker 94 He can't remember, yeah, he got a little depressed, you know, and I would talk to him because he lost a good paying job, he's worried about his health, you know, the payments on it and stuff.

Speaker 48 Police toured to King's cousin to try to get some answers.

Speaker 74 There's a vehicle, he's parked across the road,

Speaker 74 and

Speaker 97 I see him in there wrestling with somebody, and I heard some girl say, call the cops.

Speaker 105 And he goes, oh, don't worry about it. And we took off.

Speaker 106 Did you see the person that was in the back?

Speaker 97 No, very well.

Speaker 7 But the story he's telling now doesn't match what his daughter Sabrina says he told her.

Speaker 89 I just got a call from my dad, and his cousin came over to his house with a girl in the car, and she was tied up.

Speaker 6 Faced with this contradictory account, investigators bring Muxlow in for a polygraph exam.

Speaker 105 Why do you think you're in this room, Harold?

Speaker 106 A little statement that my daughter made, probably.

Speaker 103 Please remain still. The test is about to begin.

Speaker 103 Did you see that girl tied up?

Speaker 99 No.

Speaker 103 Did you see that girl get out of that car? No.

Speaker 30 Did you see that girl before you gave Mike that shovel? No.

Speaker 63 I'm going to hit the score button.

Speaker 36 What's that say? Extreme deception indicated.

Speaker 100 Extreme deception indicated.

Speaker 98 So let's have the real story, because I don't think I got it.

Speaker 106 I don't know about him I can blame for

Speaker 19 this thing.

Speaker 14 We're not blaming him.

Speaker 74 But we gotta move forward.

Speaker 105 There's people out here that need answers.

Speaker 74 They got a daughter that's gone.

Speaker 68 Finally, Muxlow admits to what he saw.

Speaker 74 I seen him russ in the front door with somebody on the other side of the car.

Speaker 55 And he

Speaker 55 put her in the car and I didn't see her tie it out.

Speaker 106 I had seen him get out of the car.

Speaker 74 It upset me.

Speaker 74 Clamped it.

Speaker 74 And I didn't do nothing.

Speaker 74 Is that it? That was it.

Speaker 74 Are you sure?

Speaker 63 That that is what was bothering you on that polygram.

Speaker 63 Yeah.

Speaker 14 But I didn't see her tie it out.

Speaker 53 I think most people put themselves in Harold Muxlow's shoes and say, would I do that? Or would I do something different?

Speaker 9 Very disappointed in what he could have prevented and what he could have stopped.

Speaker 9 I wish there was a law that could charge him and put him away, but unfortunately in the law, he has no duty to call or stop. you know, someone for help.

Speaker 85 During a search of Michael King's Camaro, police discover a heart-shaped ring in the rear passenger seat.

Speaker 46 The only question is: does it belong to Denise?

Speaker 61 Investigators bring her husband, Nathan, here to this interview room to see if he can identify it.

Speaker 103 We have a piece of jewelry here that I want you to look at, okay?

Speaker 98 Only you will be able to tell us if this is it or not.

Speaker 103 We're not, well, we're not sure, okay?

Speaker 26 Is this her ring?

Speaker 77 Yes.

Speaker 87 That was the first ring I gave her. Prince Valentine's Day.

Speaker 94 How confident are you that's her ring?

Speaker 74 100%.

Speaker 62 What happens for you at that moment?

Speaker 57 Well,

Speaker 25 I still was trying to keep hope,

Speaker 96 but really struggle with

Speaker 27 the reality that was starting to set in, that we weren't going to find her alive.

Speaker 37 Now, authorities are still calling it an active investigation. So, if you have any information about the suspect in custody, the Northport Police wants to hear from you.

Speaker 81 Police press on, and then a new witness is brought into the interrogation room, a man who was with Michael King just hours before the abduction.

Speaker 94 Why are you nervous, Tommy?

Speaker 94 Why wouldn't you be nervous?

Speaker 9 We started doing grid searches with hundreds of deputies and hundreds of special agents throughout the state state

Speaker 9 from exactly where Michael King was stopped all the way down to the road where he had pulled out onto Tulio Blade.

Speaker 73 When the search was underway for Denise Lee, this housing development didn't exist.

Speaker 76 This was all woods.

Speaker 33 And it was here that a searcher, along with her canine, noticed something unusual.

Speaker 31 I was a canine handler for Sarasota Canine Search and Rescue. I was assigned this area with canine CQ.

Speaker 14 I was at the command post and Tammy Treadway, who was the handler of CQ,

Speaker 14 it was getting late in the day. She said she's walking the sidewalk and her dog just took off into the woods.

Speaker 31 I'm watching his body language and he's moving in and out of the brush, so I'm just looking around, trying to see if I see anything that's out of place.

Speaker 91 I happened to notice that there was an area that was cleared.

Speaker 31 There was grass pulled up and laid in an ice layer across the top of it.

Speaker 11 And miraculously, that was it.

Speaker 11 That was the site.

Speaker 107 Very sad news at a North Port. The search for a kidnapped woman has been suspended.

Speaker 32 Michael King put a gun to Denise's forehead and pulled the trigger. The hole that Denise was buried in was not shallow.
It was probably about four feet down.

Speaker 53 King's DNA was found on Denise Lee's body.

Speaker 62 It can't be easy hearing that she was sexually assaulted, that she was shot in the head.

Speaker 62 How did you manage to handle that?

Speaker 14 I had to come home and tell her and Nate

Speaker 14 they found her and what happened.

Speaker 42 He wanted me to hear from him, not

Speaker 63 anyone else.

Speaker 55 So that was, yeah, that was tough.

Speaker 59 I remember him telling us that they found her

Speaker 31 and she wasn't alive.

Speaker 59 And just, everyone just broke down.

Speaker 23 Rick, you have always sort of portrayed yourself as a tough cop, but how did you manage this?

Speaker 14 I am, by the way. But anyway.

Speaker 31 You are?

Speaker 14 I was a big baby when that happened. I can tell you, like being kicked in the groin or something, because it's like,

Speaker 14 I'm not so tough after that.

Speaker 14 She's my firstborn baby girl.

Speaker 14 I was a

Speaker 14 fell apart.

Speaker 13 I just

Speaker 13 thought about the boys, Noah and Adam.

Speaker 13 That you know, they're

Speaker 13 they're gonna have to grow up without their mother.

Speaker 58 On behalf of my sons, Noah and Adam.

Speaker 58 I'd like to thank everybody so much.

Speaker 58 Denise is my soulmate.

Speaker 55 I'm going to miss her so much.

Speaker 58 I don't know how I'm going to go through the rest of my life without her.

Speaker 77 Denise is thankful that all your efforts brought her home.

Speaker 13 I'm sure

Speaker 13 the boys, that's the reason she left with Michael King. She wanted to save the boys and just make sure they were safe, so

Speaker 13 she left with him.

Speaker 60 Right now, we believe it's an absolute random act of incredible evil.

Speaker 50 Investigators can't locate the murder weapon, but they learned that just hours before Denise's kidnapping, Michael King had been at a local gun range with this man, Robert Salvador, someone King had met while working on plumbing jobs.

Speaker 74 He said he had a gun, it was a 9mm. He said he didn't have any ammunition, and I said you don't have to worry about that because I had a a 9mm and I said I have ammunition.

Speaker 9 The shell casings found at the gun range were a match to the casing found at the scene.

Speaker 94 Why are you nervous, Tommy?

Speaker 103 Scares me that I'm even associated with somebody that could have done something of that nature.

Speaker 103 I actually, you know,

Speaker 103 met with him that day. I shot guns with the guy.
Every time I think about that woman's family, my God.

Speaker 9 At the time, Robert Salvador was a person of interest, but he was able to dispel us with receipts and proof that during a time that Denise was abducted and was with Michael King, Robert Salvador was nowhere near him.

Speaker 108 Her murder left family, friends, even law enforcement in shock and disbelief. Tonight, Denise Lee got her final farewell.

Speaker 59 I remember the line of cars.

Speaker 59 It was amazing.

Speaker 25 Gosh, the community carried us through it.

Speaker 27 I think it was over 2,000 people at the funeral.

Speaker 53 And I promise her that those kids will

Speaker 57 know exactly who their mother was.

Speaker 61 In the midst of the grief Denise's family and the community are feeling,

Speaker 81 news breaks about a possible missed opportunity to rescue her.

Speaker 63 Could a 911 call have saved a kidnapped woman's life? The woman called 911 to say she heard screaming inside a car at a stoplight.

Speaker 67 That woman is Jane Kowalski.

Speaker 49 Remember, her 911 call went to neighboring Charlotte County, not Sarasota County, where all the previous 911 calls had come in.

Speaker 7 Incredibly, it turns out her call was never dispatched to the deputies searching for Denise.

Speaker 11 That never got dispatched over the air, which was just a terrible mistake. The call staker

Speaker 11 should have

Speaker 11 typed into the system what she's being told by the caller. She wrote it on a piece of paper and handed it to the dispatcher, which would not be the way it should have been done.

Speaker 65 Jane Kowalski gives them details.

Speaker 7 She sees this abduction in progress.

Speaker 25 She was giving cross streets, telling police, I see this happening.

Speaker 43 There's a person, child, whoever, screaming in the car.

Speaker 25 That should have been the moment she should have been saved.

Speaker 14 That was a major screw-up.

Speaker 14 When I say major, I mean, it could have saved her life.

Speaker 23 Was that hard for you? That's your department.

Speaker 10 Oh, absolutely. That you say screwed up.

Speaker 14 Absolutely.

Speaker 11 He just said,

Speaker 11 Chief, that was our last chance to get her. In his gut, in his heart, his family let him down.

Speaker 36 Officials are defending themselves after some claim that a murdered mother could have been saved if 911 workers had been communicating better.

Speaker 80 The assumption is that Charlotte County screwed up and could have saved this girl's life. And I'm telling you that until the facts come out here,

Speaker 80 that's the wrong assumption to make.

Speaker 3 The sheriff also said that you gave inaccurate information.

Speaker 33 You had the color of the car wrong.

Speaker 23 You said it was a child screaming.

Speaker 17 My answer to that is this. So what? You're not going to go after someone if I think there's a child that's been adopted, right? They should have still sent a car.

Speaker 13 They would have pulled him over. She would have still been in the car.

Speaker 13 It would have been a,

Speaker 13 you know, a completely different turnout.

Speaker 80 I don't think it would have changed the outcome one bit, simply because we had people in the area looking for the exact vehicle.

Speaker 46 The sheriff at the time, Sheriff Davenport, said it would not have made a difference.

Speaker 14 Oh, he's 100% wrong. I have faith in the people I work with.
I've been by that sheriff's office 41 years now. There's no doubt in my mind she would have been rescued.

Speaker 59 She could have been saved, and the system failed her.

Speaker 61 An internal investigation found the dispatchers did receive information about Jane's call, but violated procedure by not immediately dispatching it, and were disciplined.

Speaker 61 One of them suspended for 60 hours, another 36 hours, both assigned a day of remedial training and given six months probation.

Speaker 7 Was that sufficient, Sue?

Speaker 13 No.

Speaker 66 And now you have to get through a trial.

Speaker 109 King is accused of killing 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee.

Speaker 32 This case was one of the worst of the worst and that warranted the death penalty.

Speaker 32 We had an abundance of evidence, and a lot of that was from Denise herself.

Speaker 61 But at trial, Michael King's attorneys make a jaw-dropping claim, insisting he's not the man responsible for Denise's murder.

Speaker 101 Didn't you fire the shot that killed Denise Lee?

Speaker 32 All three of us looked at each other like, what did he just say?

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Speaker 109 The murder trial for the man accused of kidnapping and killing Denise Amber Lee began in Sarasota County today.

Speaker 109 King faces either life in prison or the death penalty.

Speaker 67 Nearly two years after Denise Lee's death, her family and friends pour into a Sarasota courtroom.

Speaker 61 They've come to see the man accused of killing her, Michael King, face a jury.

Speaker 41 What was that like for you seeing Michael King in court?

Speaker 38 It was

Speaker 42 sickening.

Speaker 26 I try to keep telling myself that you're sitting here and you're going to get what you deserve.

Speaker 61 Prosecutor Lon Aaron begins by reading Denise's harrowing 911 call.

Speaker 14 I'm sorry.

Speaker 102 I just want to go.

Speaker 102 I just want to see my family. Those are the last words that Denise Lee said that anybody other than Michael King heard on January 17, 2008.

Speaker 61 The prosecution builds its case by calling eyewitnesses to place Michael King with Denise in her final hours.

Speaker 36 State Call Jane Kowalski.

Speaker 53 We wanted to transport the jury to

Speaker 53 being with Denise and the defendant, so much so that they could actually live and breathe what Denise was going through.

Speaker 17 A hand came up from the back seat and was banging on the window very loudly.

Speaker 53 Were you able to show the jury?

Speaker 53 But

Speaker 17 Even louder than that. I mean, it was very loud.

Speaker 61 Defense lawyers push back.

Speaker 101 You can't identify who the person was in the vehicle, can you?

Speaker 78 I cannot.

Speaker 7 The jury is taken to one of the crime scenes, the Camaro itself.

Speaker 53 We wanted them to understand that that car was almost as important as the role that Michael King played.

Speaker 53 It took her from her home to Michael King's home, to Harold Muxlow's home, to the place where her life eventually ended.

Speaker 61 Prosecutors present what they believe to be indisputable evidence that Denise was in King's car.

Speaker 32 What is that a picture of?

Speaker 15 That is

Speaker 32 her ring.

Speaker 14 It was clever. She hid her ring in the back seat because she knew she wasn't going to be found, probably.

Speaker 14 She pulled hair out by the roots and stuck them under the back seats. She knew about DNA, had to have the roots and stuff.

Speaker 32 When there's overwhelming evidence, the defense tries to poke holes in the state's case.

Speaker 101 No nine millimeter handgun was found out on Plantation Boulevard.

Speaker 64 That is correct, sir.

Speaker 32 Because we didn't have a gun, that was a hole. That was a big hole.

Speaker 40 The state called Robert Southworth.

Speaker 49 Without a murder weapon, prosecutors turned to ballistics.

Speaker 61 and the man who went shooting with Michael King just hours before the murder.

Speaker 32 At some point, did you meet the police at the gun range?

Speaker 64 Yes.

Speaker 32 What did you assist them with at the gun range?

Speaker 64 They wanted whatever 9mm shells we could find.

Speaker 32 We didn't have the actual gun. We had the shell casing at the scene of Denise's murder that matched the shell casings where he was shooting earlier with Rob Salvador.

Speaker 6 But on cross-examination, the defense's line of questioning catches just about everybody in the courtroom off guard.

Speaker 101 At the gun range, before you parted ways with Michael King, you arranged to meet him later that day, didn't you?

Speaker 64 No, sir.

Speaker 101 And didn't you meet him out during the evening hours of January 17th, 2008?

Speaker 64 No, sir.

Speaker 101 And Mr. Salvador, didn't you fire the shot that killed and took the life of Denise Lee?

Speaker 14 Absolutely not.

Speaker 32 All three of us looked at each other like, what did he just say?

Speaker 102 Judge, I have great concerns at this point over the behavior that just took place in this courtroom.

Speaker 32 We objected and we went up to the bench to talk to the judge. The judge agreed with us.
Because you can't just say things like that if you have no evidence.

Speaker 111 And I'm asking you to disregard such, ladies and gentlemen, because there is no basis in fact from the evidence.

Speaker 61 The defense rests without calling a single witness. Their argument: the prosecution has failed to prove that Michael King was the one who pulled the trigger.

Speaker 101 What you have received is an invitation to guess.

Speaker 101 Your reply to his invitation

Speaker 9 must be no.

Speaker 9 Thank you.

Speaker 111 All right. Thank you, Lacey.
You may retire to consider your verdict. Thank you.

Speaker 32 It is such a serious decision that you're making, and I'm sure everyone wanted to make sure that they could live with it. You have to live with this.

Speaker 67 Just over two hours after they begin deliberations, the jury is back with a verdict.

Speaker 95 We, the jury, find as follows as to count one of the indictment. The defendant is guilty of murder in the first degree as charged.

Speaker 41 What was that like when you heard guilty?

Speaker 102 Amazing.

Speaker 25 I knew, okay, you know, Denise won.

Speaker 42 You know, Denise won.

Speaker 14 She's an absolute hero. She took this murderer off the street and made sure we had plenty of evidence.
There's no doubt in anybody's mind that he's a killer.

Speaker 112 The jury that took just two hours to convict Michael King of first-degree murder took nearly three to recommend he be sentenced to death.

Speaker 64 He was

Speaker 92 just

Speaker 13 straight-faced, no emotion, nothing.

Speaker 13 I don't think he's capable of feeling emotion.

Speaker 48 But even with King headed to death row, Denise's family feels they still had some unfinished business.

Speaker 67 You didn't take this all quietly.

Speaker 25 I wanted people that made mistakes to be held accountable.

Speaker 48 In 2009, Nathan files a wrongful death lawsuit against the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, alleging negligence in the handling of Jane Kowalski's 911 call cost Denise her life.

Speaker 113 It is the sheriff's responsibility to provide the best public safety that they possibly can to their citizens.

Speaker 63 And

Speaker 113 Denise wasn't given the best public safety to their citizens.

Speaker 81 The two sides reach a settlement.

Speaker 48 The sheriff's office admits no fault, but agrees to pay $1.2 million to the family.

Speaker 92 I just thought

Speaker 13 the boys needed

Speaker 34 something.

Speaker 13 They had to grow up without a mother.

Speaker 57 Today, those two little boys Denise fought so hard to get home to are all grown up and speaking out publicly for the very first time.

Speaker 7 It's been 16 years since a jury recommended Michael King be put to death.

Speaker 48 Today, he remains on death row, his appeals exhausted.

Speaker 25 Denise isn't here, so why should he be?

Speaker 44 The pain and the suffering, the horror he put her through,

Speaker 25 he should not be here.

Speaker 43 But that's not how the system works. It's not a quick process.

Speaker 45 Are you prepared for execution?

Speaker 62 Can't wait.

Speaker 14 I'll be the first ones on the bus going there and first in line.

Speaker 47 Is there anything you want to say to him?

Speaker 13 I would just like to know why.

Speaker 13 You know, why her.

Speaker 48 In the years following Denise's death, her younger sister Amanda decides to join the very system many say failed Denise.

Speaker 62 And then you became a 911 dispatcher yourself.

Speaker 31 Why?

Speaker 59 You're on the phone with people on the worst days of their lives going through tragedies and I think it helped give me the passion to be there for those people and help them.

Speaker 62 Is it a tribute in some way to your sister?

Speaker 17 Yeah.

Speaker 59 I wanted to help make a difference in people's lives.

Speaker 40 All right, good morning, everyone.

Speaker 49 Denise's husband, Nathan, is carrying his late wife's legacy in his own way, telling her story to 911 employees all over the country as a powerful reminder of their life-saving work.

Speaker 27 I started the foundation back in June of 2008 after this happened to my beautiful wife, Denise. And since then, I've made it my life's mission to travel all over the country to help you.

Speaker 25 I want to see Denise continue to matter.

Speaker 27 Don't forget why you do this, okay?

Speaker 81 And joining Nathan in this mission is Jane Kowalski, that woman who did everything she could to try to help a stranger.

Speaker 33 You eventually met Nathan.

Speaker 17 Yes.

Speaker 3 What did you say to him? What did you want him to know?

Speaker 17 Well, I mean, there's how sorry I am that my call did not get help to Denise. I mean, it's just a total letdown.

Speaker 72 While Nathan has moved forward, having a daughter and finding love again, he recently got back a piece of his past, that heart-shaped ring.

Speaker 32 Now that all of King's appeals are done and everything is over, we don't need this evidence anymore. And I was very happy to be able to release that to him.

Speaker 72 There it is.

Speaker 57 This is the ring that she had.

Speaker 42 Yeah, it's special.

Speaker 27 I'm really glad I got this back and you know I was really excited to show it to the boys and that was the first thing they said was like wow she had really small fingers.

Speaker 68 Those boys Noah and Adam now 19 and 18.

Speaker 27 Every milestone there is you know something missing and it was our mom.

Speaker 104 Our first day of school, our last day of school, first football game, baseball game, our mom was always missing. That was always felt like a rock in my chest.

Speaker 114 I always write her name in the clay before every epit, just to like

Speaker 114 know that she's there with me.

Speaker 47 Some people have called your mom a hero, that she protected you too.

Speaker 104 I always say she sacrificed herself to make sure we were safe. We came first.

Speaker 10 Your dad spoke with us 2008 after everything had happened. Here's what he said.

Speaker 39 I want to make sure that my kids know that their mom is the most amazing person in the world and have her in them and so they're destined to be good kids.

Speaker 62 What is that like? I can see you get emotional just seeing that. What do you feel?

Speaker 104 Proud. I feel proud of him.

Speaker 114 All the time I have people tell me that I was raised right and

Speaker 114 I mean it's all a credit to him.

Speaker 62 Why'd you want to speak out finally?

Speaker 114 I'm doing it for her and for my dad because we're a part of her and I feel like people

Speaker 114 hearing from us can kind of

Speaker 114 see how important she was, how amazing she was.

Speaker 114 Kind of big of a hole that is left because she's not here.

Speaker 61 Denise's family channeling their grief into purpose, helping to pass the Denise Amber Lee Act, which sets new standards in Florida to improve 911 response systems.

Speaker 101 As for Michael King, he remains on Florida's death row. And as of now, no execution date has been set.
That is our program for tonight. Thanks for watching.
I'm David Muir.

Speaker 23 And I'm Deborah Roberts from All of Us here at 2020 and ABC News.

Speaker 33 Good night.

Speaker 115 I'm John Quinonez. Vanessa Guillen, a 20-year-old soldier, vanishes while on duty at an Army base in Texas.
Her family demands answers.

Speaker 83 How can she go missing on a military base?

Speaker 82 That's ridiculous.

Speaker 116 The search goes on for months.

Speaker 116 And a dark story starts to unfold.

Speaker 92 She told her family that she was being sexually harassed and wasn't reporting it out of fear of retribution and retaliation.

Speaker 78 What investigators finally uncover is horrifying. Find out how one soldier, a beloved sister and daughter, ignited a movement and sparked a reckoning in the U.S.

Speaker 115 military. Listen to Vanished: What happened to Vanessa, a new series from ABC Audio in 2020.

Speaker 116 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.