A man vanished during a hunting trip and was never seen again, with his wife claiming he’d be eaten by alligators.
Mike Williams’ wife Denise reported him missing when he failed to return, sparking a massive search operation back in 2000. The couple, who resided in Tallahassee, Florida, were due to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary that very evening.
However, Mike’s parked truck was discovered by volunteers near Lake Seminole, and his best mate Brian Winchester found his empty boat with his shotgun still inside – but there was no trace of Mike.
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The search team meticulously combed the murky waters for a body, exercising caution due to the known presence of alligators in the area. However, after 44 days, the search was abandoned.
(Image: Internet Unknown)
Mike was officially listed as “missing” and it was speculated that his boat might have capsized and, with no body recovered, it was suggested he had been devoured by alligators.
Denise, left to raise the couple’s daughter alone, applied for his $1.75million insurance policy, which Brian had helped him set up months before the trip to ensure his family would be financially secure if anything happened to him.
But without a body, the insurance companies refused to pay out. Six months post Mike’s disappearance, a local fisherman discovered his waders in Lake Seminole, followed by his fishing jacket, hunting licence and torch, reports the Daily Star.
(Image: SIPA USA/PA)
However, the waders didn’t appear to have been in the water for months, and the torch was still functional – there were also no signs of an alligator attack in the area.
Mike’s mum did not believe he had been eaten by alligators and that he had been murdered – wildlife experts also told her that alligators do not feed in the cold winter months.
Yet the judge declared he had died from a hunting accident and his wife Denise received the insurance pay-out.
Cheryl tried to keep Mike’s disappearance in the spotlight and made missing posters and wrote to the governor nearly every day for almost a decade. In the meantime Mike’s best friend Brian divorced his wife and he began dating Denise – in 2005 the pair married.
(Image: Internet Unknown)
In 2012 Denise and Brian divorced and in a shock twist four years later in 2016 Denise got into a car – with no idea Brian was hiding in the back with a gun.
Brian was later arrested and charged with kidnapping and aggravated assault. In 2017 Brian pleaded guilty to kidnapping and assaulting Denise. The day after Brian was sentenced the police announced in a press conference that Mike had been murdered and they had found his body.
Brian then pleaded guilty to killing his best friend to escape murder charges. He was recorded saying: “I met Mike at a gas station. I followed him to the lake.
(Image: SIPA USA/PA Images)
“We launched the boat. It was just like a hunting trip was supposed to be – I got him to stand up and I pushed him into the water. He was in a panic, obviously. I was in a panic… I didn’t know what to do and I ended up shooting him.”
But Brian said the murder had been Denise’s idea because she wanted to be a widow, not a divorcee, as well as the life insurance. He explained: “She would not get divorced, so she basically said there’s only one solution.
“We’d end up together, we’d live happily ever after, oh, and as a side note, we’ve got all this money to enjoy a wonderful life together.”
In May 2018, almost 18 years since Mike had been killed, Denise was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and accessory after the fact. She would later claim alligators ate her husband.
Speaking at her trial in December 2018, Mike’s mum Cheryl made an emotional plea for the judge to be locked away for life.
She told the judge: “She’s already lived 18 years longer than my son. When I try to sleep at night, I will see my son clinging to a tree stump in Lake Seminole in the dark, knowing his best friend is trying to kill him.
“I hear his voice screaming for help – I wasn’t there to help him, it will haunt me forever.”
Denise was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Brian will be eligible for parole in 2033 when he’ll be 63 years old.
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