Denise Amber Lee

DENISE AMBER LEE SLAYING

Denise Amber Lee, 21, was taken from her North Port home on the afternoon of Jan. 17, 2008. The disappearance of the homemaker, whose young sons were found inside her North Port home, touched off a frantic manhunt, made more intense by the fact that she was the daughter of Sgt. Rick Goff, of the sheriff's office in nearby Charlotte County.

Three hours into the search, Lee called 911 from the cell phone of Michael King, a 38-year-old plumber who lived two miles from the Lee home. He was arrested at 9:16 p.m. that night while trying to enter Interstate 75 from Toledo Blade Boulevard in North Port, but Lee was not in his car. King refused to speak to investigators, and a search for Lee involving hundreds of volunteers from across the state unfolded.

Lee's body was discovered two days later in a shallow grave in woods near an unfinished road about half a mile from where King was arrested.

King was found guilty of murder in a trial in September and his jury recommended the death penalty.

Controversy erupted when it became clear that a witness, Jane Kowalski of Tampa, had called the Charlotte County 911 center on the night of the murder, reporting a child fighting in the back seat of a dark-colored Camaro. The dispatch center never relayed this information to deputies on the street, who were looking for King and his green Camaro at the time.

King's cousin, Harold Muxlow, came under fire for giving King a gas can and shovel on the night of the abduction. He saw King struggling with a woman who was begging someone to call police. But Muxlow did not immediately call the police. Instead he called his daughter, Sabrina, who called 911 with the information.

Muxlow called 911 himself, almost an hour after meeting with King, and by that time he was unable to help police find his cousin.

The dropped 911 call in Charlotte County led Lee's husband, Nathan, and Goff to pursue statewide standards and training for 911 dispatchers. In 2008, a law named for Denise Lee that set voluntary standards for emergency call centers was passed by the Florida Legislature, but the family continues to push for more changes and improvements to 911 systems in Florida and nationally. The family formed the Denise Amber Lee Foundation last year.

Recent Articles About Denise Amber Lee

• Nathan Lee's letter: 'Please do not pass this bill'

  Published March 10, 2010
  Dear Representative Schenck, I am writing to you about PCB GAP 10-03 that has been suggested by your committee. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend your meeting this morning. But I would appreciate you reading this email to the committee. Thank...
  
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  Ernst: All Nathan Lee wants is for 911 to get it right

  Published March 10, 2010
  In an ironic twist, Nathan Lee of North Port will travel to Washington on Tuesday to receive a national citizen advocacy award from the E9-1-1 Institute. Lee's wife, Denise, was murdered in North Port in January 2008 after a Charlotte County 911...
  

• More training for North Port 911 center

  Published February 17, 2010
  City police dispatchers will receive more training and be more closely monitored and graded in this city, under changes to the emergency call center prompted by a mishandled call late last year. The call was about man lying beside a rural road; he...
  

• Stage is set for Manatee murder trial

  Published January 7, 2010
  Trial details and last-minute motions were debated at a lengthy hearing Wednesday for Clifford Davis, who is accused of killing his mother and grandfather in December 2005. Davis, 23, faces the death penalty if convicted. Jury selection will begin...
  
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  10 people to watch in 2010

  Published January 1, 2010
  
  
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  Top local stories of the decade

  Published December 31, 2009
  
  
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  Operator fired in North Port 911 case

  Published December 30, 2009
  North Port officials say operator Nadia Kashitskaya fielded a call but failed to send help to a man injured in a Dec. 11 vehicle crash in rural North Port.
  

• Operator fired over 911 case

  Published December 30, 2009
  Emergency operator Nadia Kashitskaya lost her job Tuesday after failing to send help to a man who was lying beside the road in a rural section of North Port. An internal investigation into the Dec. 11 mishap reveals that Kashitskaya thought the...
  
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  Top 10 Stories of 2009: Manatee Edition

  Published December 30, 2009
  
  
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  Top 10 Stories of 2009: Sarasota Edition

  Published December 30, 2009
  
  
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  Top 10 Stories of 2009: South Edition

  Published December 30, 2009
  
  

• Published December 28, 2009
  
  

• Charlotte sheriff's law arguments flawed, Nathan Lee says

  Published December 23, 2009
  The Charlotte County sheriff's arguments against a wrongful death lawsuit in the Denise Lee case are legally flawed and should be denied, Lee's widower, Nathan Lee, contends. Attorneys for Nathan Lee filed a 23-page memo in Charlotte County Circuit...
  

• 911 'system' needs an overhaul

  Published December 17, 2009
  A police operator's failure to dispatch an officer to a roadside in North Port -- where the body of a dead man lay for more than 18 hours -- has prompted more questions about the shortcomings of Florida's 911 "system." Here is another question to...
  

• Body lay by road overnight after 911 call

  Published December 15, 2009
  Caller didn't have road name, so dispatcher sent no officer
  

More Denise Amber Lee articles from our archives

BLOG: Michael King murder trial

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  10 people to watch in 2010

  Published January 1, 2010
  
  

• Counsel for the jurors

  Published December 10, 2009
  After 12 jurors found Michael King guilty of abducting, raping and murdering Denise Amber Lee, the judge thanked them for their service and politely dismissed them. They deserved more. After spending two intense weeks viewing the gruesome evidence...
  
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  It's death for the man who killed Denise Lee

  Published December 5, 2009
  In imposing capital punishment for Michael King, judge returns to victim's harrowing 911 call
  
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  Michael King gets death penalty

  Published December 4, 2009
  Michael King is sentenced to death for the murder of Denise Amber Lee.
  
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  Their duty done, jurors can't leave Denise Lee behind

  Published December 4, 2009
  "I can't just turn it off," said juror Marcia Burns. "We lived Denise's last few hours."
  
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  King mum at court hearing

  Published October 29, 2009
  Michael King passed on his final chance Wednesday to address the judge who will ultimately decide if he receives a death sentence. King appeared in court Wednesday for the first time since a jury unanimously recommended the death penalty for...
  
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  Hearing is final plea for King

  Published October 27, 2009
  Convicted murderer Michael King will have one last chance Wednesday to ask a judge to spare him from a death sentence, in a half-day "Spencer" hearing
  

• Denise Lee's killer has next court date in October

  Published September 15, 2009
  The next hearing for a man convicted of killing 21-year-old Denise Lee is scheduled for Oct. 28, when he will have a chance to present more evidence for why he should not be put to death for the crime. A jury voted 12-0 this month that Michael King,...
  
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  A look at what death row holds for King

  Published September 6, 2009
  When Judge Deno Economou decides if convicted killer Michael King should be sentenced to life in prison or death by lethal injection, he will also be ruling on every detail, every day, and every meal of the rest of King's life. Men serving life in...
  
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  Jury recommends death sentence

  Published September 5, 2009
  Michael King shows no emotion as decision elicits hugs in courtroom,
  

• What the jurors said about the death penalty

  Published September 4, 2009
  Attorneys in the Michael King trial asked prospective jurors about their views on the death penalty. Here is what the five men and seven women who were selected said. They are identified by juror number and sex only. No. 5, a female The death...
  
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  One final King plea – for mercy

  Published September 4, 2009
  Jury to hear closing statements, then recommend life or death.
  

• What do experts look for?

  Published September 3, 2009
  In order to be found competent to stand trial, a defendant basically has to be able to show he understands the basics of the legal system. Being competent to stand trial is a low standard, and psychologists ask the most basic questions: What are the...
  
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  King trial halts for mental test

  Published September 3, 2009
  Judge will hear arguments based on competency exams today.
  
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  Defense's challenge: humanizing a killer

  Published September 2, 2009
  As jurors weigh penalties, lawyers try to illuminate other facets of their client, Michael King.
  

More Denise Amber Lee articles from our archives