Casefile True Crime - Case 233: Denise Amber Lee

Episode Date: November 26, 2022

When Nathan Lee arrived at his home in North Port, Florida, on January 17 2008, he immediately knew something was wrong. His two young sons were home alone, and his wife, 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee, was missing. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon This episode's sponsors: Pseudocide – New podcast from Casefile Presents about the disappearance of Patrick McDermott SimpliSafe – Get 50% off any new security system DoorDash – Get 50% off up to $20 value and free delivery on your first order with promo code ‘CASEFILEPOD’ Smart News – Download the app for free and get the news that matter most BetterHelp – Get 10% off your first month of professional counselling with a licensed therapist For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-233-denise-amber-lee

Have you ever tried BBQ on BBQ? Picture this. Freshly prepared crispy seasoned chicken that's tossed in a smoky BBQ glaze and topped with a creamy BBQ sauce. Can't picture it? Well you can try it now at Tim's. Get our new BBQ crispy chicken loaded bowls and wraps for a limited time. Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local Crisis Centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. On Thursday, January 17, 2008, Rick Goff placed a call to his 21-year-old daughter, Denise Amber Lee. He wanted to invite Denise, her husband Nathan, and their two young sons over for dinner that night. Denise didn't answer, so Rick left her a voicemail. As at near 4pm, Rick's cell phone rang. It was his son-in-law, Nathan Lee. Rick figured Nathan was calling to accept the dinner invitation. He was shocked instead to hear Nathan say, Denise is missing. The weather on Florida's west coast was warm that day. In the city of Northport, a few miles inland from Venice Beach, 23-year-old Nathan Lee was with his son-in-law. At 11am, he called home to speak to his wife, Denise. Given they were on a tight budget, Nathan asked Denise to open the windows instead of turning on the air conditioning. Denise reassured him that she already had. As 3pm near and Nathan's shift was ending, he called Denise again. She didn't pick up. Nathan tried eight more times during the 25-minute drive home, but Denise never answered. Although unusual, Nathan assumed Denise was just busy. It wasn't until he pulled up at their house that he sensed something wasn't right.

All of the windows were closed. The front door was locked. After entering, Nathan heard his two-year-old and six-month-old sons. He found them in their bedroom, sitting up in the same crib. Denise didn't typically put the boys in bed together. She was also an attentive mother, yet both boys' diapers were soiled. Nathan searched the house for Denise, but she was nowhere to be found. While everything appeared in place, Nathan soon discovered that the windows had only been pushed closed, not latched and locked like the front door. Denise was security-conscious. She wouldn't leave the house accessible if she had to hurry out for some reason, nor would she have left her young sons alone. Nathan called 911 to report his wife is missing. He then called Denise's father, Rick Goff.

Rick was a 25-year law enforcement veteran and currently worked in a neighboring county as a sheriff's lieutenant. He knew that when someone goes missing, the first person of interest was almost always their spouse. Yet, he firmly believed Nathan Lee had nothing to do with his daughter's disappearance. The young couple had been head over heels in love since meeting at community college. Within weeks of their first date, Nathan bought Denise a silver ring with a heart on it for Valentine's Day. She never took it off, not even after receiving her engagement ring years later. Nathan and Denise were raising their boys in North Port Estates, a new housing development in a relatively rural, isolated area. Rick Goff hadn't been thrilled when his daughter and her husband moved to the property.

He thought it felt a bit like a ghost town. But the three-bedroom house was brand new and the rent was affordable. Until recently, Nathan had to juggle three jobs to support their growing family. Denise stayed home to raise the boys, putting her college ambitions temporarily on hold. Police arrived at the Lee's rental house on La Tour Avenue. There were no signs of forced entry or foul play and nothing had been stolen or displaced. Denise's purse, keys, car and cell phone were all at the house. With no indication as to where she might have gone, police officers began door knocking the Lee's neighbors for information.

Jennifer was a teenager who'd been staying with relatives one house over from the Lee's. That afternoon, she'd been in a front room watching television. At around 2pm, Jennifer's attention was drawn to a window that overlooked the quiet street. A car was slowly cruising up and down La Tour Avenue. As if its driver was looking for a specific address. When the car passed by a fourth or fifth time, Jennifer went outside to see if the driver was lost. Just as Jennifer exited the house, the car pulled into Nathan and Denise Lee's driveway. Jennifer made eye contact with the driver, who'd been in contact with the driver.

He was white with a heavy set face, light coloured eyes and a blondish hair. Jennifer returned home, assuming the man was a friend of the Lee's. The car remained parked in the Lee's driveway. Jennifer never saw anyone get in or out of the vehicle. About 10 minutes later, the car was parked in the Lee's driveway. Jennifer never saw anyone get in or out of the vehicle. About 10 to 15 minutes later, at around 2.30pm, she noticed it driving away. This encounter occurred an hour before Nathan Lee returned home from work to discover Denise had vanished.

A bulletin was issued asking all police officers in the area to be on the lookout for the car Jennifer had witnessed. A two-door 1990s model Chevrolet Camaro. It was dark green with a protective black vinyl or leather casing attached to its front, known as a cabra. Wasting little time, police informed locals and the media of the situation to bolster their chances of finding the Camaro. Entrance ramps to the Interstate 75 highway were monitored to prevent the suspect vehicle from fleeing North Port if it hadn't already. Highway patrol officers stopped traffic to conduct on-the-spot vehicle inspections. A search helicopter swept overhead while police dogs were used to scour the land below. Authorities in neighboring counties pulled their resources to help find Denise as she was the daughter of one of their own.

Even federal law enforcement assisted in the investigation. Then, at 6.14pm, a call came through to 911. A panicked woman on the other line cried out, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just want to go. The dispatcher tried to communicate with the caller, repeating the word hello several times. But the woman ignored her, instead talking to someone else nearby. It was a man. Why did you do that? he asked.

The woman continued to apologize. She begged to be released and see her family. It sounded as though she and the man were in a moving vehicle. Her radio was playing music loudly in the background, making it difficult to hear what was going on. The dispatcher continued to ask questions which went ignored. The woman repeatedly begged to be let go. The man retorted, I was gonna let you go, then you go fuck around.

He complained about having to drive a different route because she had done something, quote, in front of my cousin Harold. The dispatcher asked for an address while simultaneously putting a trace on the call. The woman asked the man where they were going. Didn't you see, the man responded. Exactly four streets, well five streets over from your house. The phone pinged off the North Port cell phone tower. The dispatcher asked for the woman's name.

Please, my name is Denise, I'm married to a beautiful husband and I just want to see my kids again, she stated. It appeared as though she could hear the dispatcher, but had made the call discreetly and didn't want the man to realize. Her responses were phrased to mislead the man into thinking she was talking to him directly. What's your last name, the dispatcher asked. The woman responded, Lee. The man then seemingly caught on to the deception. He suddenly asked, what did you do with my cell phone? The car's radio stopped.

Right before the call abruptly disconnected, the woman was heard asking the man. The call lasted almost six minutes. Given Denise Lee's case was receiving wide-scale media and police attention, the possibility the call was a hoax was considered. The recording was played to Rick Goff, who immediately asked for the man's name. The call lasted almost six minutes. Unfortunately, the call was a hoax was considered. The recording was played to Rick Goff, who immediately identified the female caller as his daughter.

While devastating to hear her in trouble, the call offered Denise's loved ones a glimmer of hope. She was still alive. Authorities tried to trace the call, but it had been made using a cheap, prepaid phone. This meant it wasn't fitted with a GPS tracking device that investigators could use to pinpoint the phone's exact location. They could only uncover which towers it had pinged. However, they were able to identify the phone's owner via its number. It belonged to a 36-year-old unemployed plumber named Michael King. King had no criminal record aside from a few traffic fines.

The name meant nothing to Denise's family. They had no idea who Michael King was and couldn't imagine why he would target Denise. Harold Muxlow lived on Carlec Street, about four miles south of the Lee's home. He was completely unaware of the investigation unfolding nearby. Sometime between 5.30 and 6.00 pm, Harold heard a knock at his front door. It was his cousin, 36-year-old Michael King. Michael explained that his lawn mower had become stuck in his yard and he needed some equipment to dig it out. He asked to borrow a shovel, a gas can and a flashlight.

Harold invited Michael inside. The two men chatted for a while before Harold handed the tools over. Michael then carried them over to his green Chevrolet Camaro and said goodbye to his cousin. As Harold turned to walk back inside, he heard a woman's voice scream, called the cops. The plea had come from inside Michael's vehicle. Harold spun around. What the fuck are you doing? He asked Michael. Nothing, his cousin replied. Don't worry about it.

Don't worry about it. Harold figured Michael was having an argument with a girlfriend. Michael had been known to have some tempestuous relationships since his marriage ended almost seven years earlier. Harold began to walk towards his house, but his curiosity got the better of him. He turned around and headed back down the driveway towards Michael's car. He could see a female silhouette with shoulder length hair in the back seat. It was too dim to see any of her other features. Michael had clambered into the car and was crawling over the console.

He pushed the woman's head down so she was out of sight. One of the woman's knees rose up as though she was struggling against Michael. Michael then climbed back into the driver's seat, started the engine and drove away. Harold Muxlow wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't certain that anything was seriously wrong, but the incident didn't sit right with him. He decided to drive over to Michael's house to see if his story checked out. If he found Michael there and the lawnmower was indeed stuck in his yard, then Harold would know his cousin had been telling the truth. Michael only lived about six miles away in another part of Northport, so it didn't take Harold long to drive over.

Michael's Camaro wasn't parked in the driveway, and when Harold rang the doorbell, no one answered. There wasn't a lawnmower in sight. Harold was reluctant to alert the authorities. Instead, he phoned his 17-year-old daughter Sabrina and informed her of what had taken place. Harold told Sabrina not to call the police, but as soon as they entered their call, Sabrina didn't hesitate. She phoned 911 at 6.23pm, just minutes after the frantic call placed by Denise Lee. Realising the significance of Sabrina's call, the dispatcher said, You are just so wonderful to call us and give us this information.

Sabrina didn't know where Michael King might have taken Denise, but investigators now knew for certain that he was behind the abduction. Based on the items he had borrowed from his cousin, they also realised that time was of the essence. By now, the sun was setting over Northport. Towards the city south, a woman named Jane Kowalski was driving south along US Highway 41. She came to a stop at a traffic light. While waiting for it to turn green, Jane suddenly heard a horrific high-pitched scream. It had come from the car in the lane next to Jane's. It was a dark-coloured Camaro.

Jane made eye contact with the Camaro's male driver and gave him a quizzical look, as though to ask what was going on. He was using one hand to push something down the road. A small hand then stretched up from the back seat and began frantically hitting the passenger window, trying to get attention. Jane believed she might have been witnessing a child abduction. As the traffic light turned green, she drove to the back seat. Jane was in the back seat of the passenger window, trying to get attention. She had been witnessing a child abduction. As the traffic light turned green, she drove forward slowly so that she would be able to see the Camaro's license plate as it passed her.

But the driver seemed to know that she was still watching, and he drove slowly too. He then changed into her lane so he was driving directly behind Jane. As the Camaro only had a license plate on the rear, Jane couldn't see it as long as it stayed back. Realising the driver wasn't going to let her see his license plate, Jane dialed 911 on her cellphone. It was exactly 6.30pm, mere minutes after they had received the calls from Denise Lee and Sabrina Moxlow. When an operator answered, Jane immediately began providing a description of the incident, along with up-to-date details about her location. She was driving just 45mph. The Camaro continued to creep along even more slowly behind her. The two vehicles were holding up their entire lane of traffic.

Even though Jane believed the victim was a child and described the Camaro as blue instead of green, the operator knew they had another eyewitness to the Denise Lee abduction. She called out the information to someone else in the centre, as Jane provided updates about the Camaro's movements. Suddenly, the Camaro swerved and pulled into a lane that was turning off the highway and left onto Toledo Blade Boulevard. Jane asked if she should follow it. By the time the operator asked if she was able to, there was too much other traffic in the way. The Camaro had turned and Jane could no longer see the vehicle. Despite numerous patrol cars circling the area where the Camaro was last seen, none of them spotted the vehicle. At 6.50pm, another tip-off was made to 911 via a payphone. Harold Moxlow had a change of heart and decided to anonymously report what had happened earlier with his cousin.

By this time, investigators were well aware of Michael King's involvement in the Denise Lee abduction. By now, she had been gone for roughly four hours. Armed with a search warrant, they arrived at King's residence on Sardinia Avenue. It was a modest single-story home with a large garage and a wide driveway. King's Camaro wasn't parked outside, but police officers could hear voices coming from inside the house. They gained access and were confronted with the barely lived-in sparsely furnished space. The voices officers heard emanated from a television that blared from the front room. In the kitchen, a roll of silver-coloured duct tape was lying on a counter.

A garbage bag in the pantry had some pieces of duct tape in it, with long, light-brown hairs stuck to the adhesive. The dining room featured several rectangular mirrors hanging side-by-side on a wall. Then, there was one empty set of hooks. It appeared one mirror had been removed. It was found in the main bedroom, where a clock radio was also switched on and blasting music. The mirror was propped against a wall. Directly across from the mirror, a Winnie the Pooh blanket lay on the floor along with some pillows. A second yellow blanket had been draped over the bedroom window.

Also on the floor was a wadded-up strip of duct tape with more light-brown hairs attached. Swabs taken from the end of the duct tape matched Michael King's DNA profile. The hairs belonged to Denise Lee. The Winnie the Pooh blanket featured semen stains that tested positive for King's DNA as well. There was blood on the blanket too. Obtaining a DNA profile for it proved difficult, but Denise couldn't be excluded from the result. Despite these key findings, neither Denise Lee or Michael King were found at the property. The search continued.

A statewide alert was issued as petrol stations were checked to see if anyone matching King's description had filled a gas tank that night. Surveillance footage was obtained, but didn't provide any leads. Police continued to comb the streets looking for King's Green Camaro. Deputy Christian Weimer and State Trooper Edward Pope were monitoring Toledo Blade Boulevard, the street that witnessed Jane Kowalski had seen the Camaro turn onto two and a half hours earlier. They were stationed near the turnoff to Interstate 75 Highway. At 9.10pm they spotted a 1995 Green Camaro that matched Michael King's, right down to the black cabra attached to the front. It was headed for the on-ramp of Interstate 75 Southbound. State Trooper Pope took off after the vehicle.

Its license plate matched King's. Turning on his car's lights and sirens, Pope forced the Camaro to pull over. Pope exited his own vehicle and got out his gun. He ordered the Camaro's driver to step out of the car. The driver ignored him. Pope repeated the order four more times, but the driver didn't budge. Pope repeated himself yet again. Finally, the driver's side door opened a few inches.

Pope threatened to shoot into the vehicle if the driver didn't exit immediately. The door opened fully and the man behind the wheel began to get out in the strangest way Pope had ever seen. He lay down across both front seats and wriggled out backwards. It was Michael King. He was wearing blue jeans, a camouflage-style t-shirt and black sneakers. He was soaking wet from his waist down. Pope ordered King down on the ground, then cuffed him and patted him down. The soles of his shoes were muddy.

In his pocket was a wallet which contained his driver's license. There was also an empty earplug container and a cell phone which had its battery and SIM card removed. Inside the Camaro, Pope found a blue flashlight, a wooden bed railing and a packet of baby wipes. The battery for the cell phone lay on the passenger side floorboard and a five-gallon gas can sat on the passenger seat. In the back seat was a yellow blanket and a muddy shovel. There was also a small silver ring with a heart on it. Denise Lee wasn't there. After being arrested, Michael King said he would be represented by legal counsel and refused to answer any further questions.

Harold Muxlow was taken to the interrogation room to see if King would speak candidly with his cousin. Their encounter was filmed. King told Harold that he'd been hijacked while driving and that both he and Denise were kidnapping victims. He'd tried to call 911 but was unable to. The kidnapper blindfolded King so he couldn't see where Denise was left. King subsequently agreed to take the police to an area near his home where he said the carjacking had taken place. A search of the area revealed nothing. Investigators didn't buy King's story for a second.

He was charged with kidnapping and held in protective custody. King's Camaro was moved to a police garage for further examination. Harold Muxlow identified the gas can, flashlight and shovel found in the car as the ones he'd lent his cousin earlier that evening. A palm print on the outside of the driver's side window matched Denise Lee as did several hairs recovered from the back seat. These appeared to have been deliberately pulled from her head. When Denise's husband Nathan was shown the silver ring found in the back seat of King's car, he broke down in tears. It was the ring he'd given Denise for their first of Valentine's Day together. It sat tied on Denise's finger and he knew that the only way it would have come off her hand was if she'd deliberately removed it.

Nathan was certain Denise had left it there along with her hairs as evidence for investigators to implicate King in her abduction. A large-scale search and rescue mission for Denise and Lee commenced. It carried on into the following day of Friday, January 18. More than 100 officers, some with police dogs, performed a grid-by-grid search expanding from the location where King was arrested. Some deputies searched on horseback. Others took to kayaks and boats to scour bodies of water. Investigators were hopeful of finding Denise alive. King's Camaro hadn't been bloody.

Northport's police captain reassured the media. There is no evidence of the death of King's car. The police found the body of King's car. King's Camaro hadn't been bloody. Northport's police captain reassured the media. There is no reason to believe Denise is not alive. That night, some canine officers were drawn to an abandoned construction site. It was just off Interstate 75 near the Toledo Blade Boulevard exit.

It was a rural area, not visible from the road. Trees and thickets of palmetto bushes dotted the landscape. Some recently disturbed soil was discovered. Nearby were two small piles of sand that didn't match the rest of the area. On closer inspection, the piles of sand were spotted with blood. An examination indicated there had been blood on the ground. The sand was then shoveled on top to absorb the blood. The next morning in the light of day, a forensics team began excavating the disturbed patch of soil.

Marks in the earth were consistent with it having been dug with a shovel. After digging three feet and one inch into the ground, the team uncovered something lying in a puddle of water. It was Denise Anberle's naked body. Two pieces of duct tape were stuck in her hair. She had been killed with a single gunshot wound near her right eyebrow. A single 9mm shell casing was found in some nearby grass a day or two later. An autopsy would reveal more than 20 internal and external bruises on Denise, consistent with being restrained. There was also evidence that she had been raped.

A couple of hundred yards away, investigators recovered a shirt belonging to Denise, a bra with a broken strap, a pair of women's underwear in Denise's size and preferred style, and a pair of boxer shorts that were Nathan Lee's. Denise was known to wear them at home as shorts on warm days. The shorts also contained Michael King's DNA. Forensic testing would find traces of Denise's blood on the hood of King's Camaro and on the blanket in the back seat. Within days of finding Denise, her family held a press conference to thank the police and the public for their help. Her father praised Denise's quick thinking from the moment she had been attacked at home, stating,

She was a strong lady who made sure that her children were safe even though she was faced with adversity. Because of her ability to think on her feet, she was able to provide information to the investigators that will help convict the perpetrator that did this to her. Denise's husband Nathan told the assembled crowd, On behalf of my sons, I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for all their efforts to bring her home. Denise was my soulmate and my best friend, and I will never ever forget about her. My sons will always remember who she was. I will miss her so much. Those who were closest to Michael King were stunned to learn what he was being accused of.

Fran's family members and former colleagues described him as a nice guy who was happy go lucky. He didn't drink or do drugs, had no history of domestic violence, and was regarded as a hard worker. But he had experienced some misfortune. Originally from Michigan, King was in a sledding accident at age six and suffered a head injury. His family said he changed after that. He suffered headaches which were exacerbated by stress. He struggled at school and had to repeat the first grade. By the time King was eight, he still couldn't write all the letters in the alphabet. A social worker recommended he enter a special education program.

King also became more impulsive after the accident. When he was 13, he decided to act out a scene from a cartoon that featured a bow and arrow. He nearly killed his brother in the process. At 17, he saw the Texas train saw massacre. Imitating the film's villain Leatherface, King acquired a chainsaw. He began chasing family members with it. His facial expression entirely blank. But King found a vocation in plumbing, got married and had two children. In March 2001, King had been almost 30 years old when he came home from work one day to discover his wife was missing.

King went to the local sheriff's department and filed a missing persons report. It soon emerged that his wife was safe and well. She had left King for another man who she'd met on the internet. The couple divorced and King received full-time custody of their son. His wife retained custody of their other child. King purchased the three-bedroom house on Sardinia Avenue and had a series of romantic relationships with different women. Not long after King moved into his house, a feud broke out between him and his next door neighbor. She accused his son of damaging her family's inflatable pool.

The neighbor installed a wooden fence between the two properties which upset King. He reportedly took revenge by keying the neighbor's car, slashing its tires, pouring battery acid on her pool cage and throwing eggs at her. The neighbor filed reports with Northport Police. King denied the allegations and there was no evidence against him. Others in the area also disliked King. He was known to deliberately screech his tires loudly as he drove. Some said he would walk around the neighborhood alone at night, peeping into people's windows. King was alleged to have exposed himself to one woman outside a hair salon.

Another woman said he had raped her. Neither of these incidents resulted in any charges. For four years, King worked at the same plumbing company until he abruptly left in June 2007. His boss would later tell police King was a habitual liar. He and his 13-year-old son travelled back to Michigan that same month. King's house in Northport sat empty and unoccupied for five years. King's house in Northport sat empty and unoccupied for months. By December 2007, his lack of steady income meant he was facing bankruptcy and foreclosure on his home.

He also broke up with a girlfriend. At the beginning of 2008, he returned to Florida in the hope of sorting out his financial problems and keeping his house. Family members said King began acting oddly around this time, as though he were dazed or even catatonic. He also seemed paranoid. On Sunday, January 13, 2008, less than a week before Denise Amberlee was abducted, other residents on Sardinia Avenue suddenly saw Michael King at his home again. He was with a blonde woman his neighbours didn't recognise. This was likely his new girlfriend, who later told investigators that King's behaviour had been growing even more extreme.

Two days before he took Denise, he told his girlfriend that he thought the neighbours were spying through his windows. He also allegedly owned a 9mm handgun. Investigators couldn't find the gun anywhere, or find any evidence of its existence. It was suspected King had disposed of it at some stage. No ammunition was ever found in his possession either. Despite the lack of a murder weapon, investigators had forensic evidence tying Michael King to Denise Lee, as well as multiple eyewitnesses and circumstantial evidence. King was charged with first degree murder and involuntary sexual battery in addition to the kidnapping charge.

Michael King's trial began in late August 2009, more than 18 months after Denise Amberlee's abduction and murder. The prosecution didn't know how or why King had targeted Denise. When a member of the public reported seeing both Denise and King at the same post office earlier on the day of the attack, it was theorised that King had followed Denise home from there. But this sighting was later debunked as mistaken. A woman who lived in the same street as Denise Lee thought she recognised King as a plumber who'd come to look at her house when it was for sale the previous summer. With no confirmed link between the two, it was posited that King had simply trawled the neighbourhood looking for a victim. For some reason he had chosen Denise and gained access to her home while she was there alone with her two young sons.

Nathan Lee noted that King's 1995 green Camaro looked very similar to the 1995 green Dodge Avenger he drove. Perhaps when Michael King pulled into their driveway, Denise had mistaken him for her husband. Upon realising she was in danger, she kept her children safe by placing them together in a cot in their bedroom. She then hurriedly closed all the windows and locked the front door. The prosecution had plenty of physical and DNA evidence to back up their case, including the silver ring and strands of hair they believed Denise had deliberately left in King's car. Numerous witnesses who could place Denise in King's car also testified for the prosecution, including King's cousin Harold Muxlow. All of the 911 calls received that night were played for the court, including the one Denise had made herself. Harold Muxlow confirmed that the male voice on Denise's call was Michael King.

The defence didn't call any witnesses, instead they tried to implicate a friend of King's named Robert Salvador. Police initially thought Robert was King's accomplice after they learnt the two were together shortly before Denise lays abduction. They had gone to a gun range that morning to practise target shooting. King brought along a 9mm handgun while Robert supplied the ammunition. They finished at 1pm, around 90 minutes before Denise was taken. Robert had alibis confirming that he wasn't with King during or after her abduction. The defence attempted to place the pair together when Denise was killed and accused Robert of executing her. Robert vehemently denied this.

The judge subsequently instructed the jury to dismiss several of these questions, stating, There is no basis in fact from the evidence for the asking of these questions. The jury deliberated for two hours before reaching a verdict. Guilty on all counts. Denise's husband, parents, her 20 year old sister and 15 year old brother all cried as it was delivered. King stared straight ahead. The jury also recommended he receive a death sentence. It was a sentence Denise's family were in favour of.

Nathan Lee told the Tampa Tribune, quote, One thing that really bothers me is he can think about Denise whenever he wants to. I don't want him to have those memories. I want him gone. A penalty phase was held to determine whether King was competent to receive a death sentence. The defence argued that the sledding accident he'd suffered as a six year old caused permanent brain damage. A psychiatrist who performed a scan on King said his frontal lobe showed indications of abnormal activity consistent with a traumatic brain injury. He explained that individuals with frontal lobe injuries can sometimes exhibit poor judgement, risk taking behaviour and poor impulse control.

King's siblings testified about some of his dangerous behaviour as an adolescent. The psychiatrist also said that a recent verbal IQ score King had taken placed him in the borderline range of having an intellectual disability. The prosecution's expert psychologist also had King take an IQ test. While his results also placed King in the borderline range, he counted that King's ability to concentrate and comprehend was stronger than the results indicated. The trial judge ruled that King was competent and sentenced him to death by lethal injection for the murder of Denise Amber Lee. King later appealed his conviction but it was upheld. As of late 2022 he remains on death row in Florida. The conviction of Michael King wasn't the end of the Denise Amber Lee case.

Many questions remained as to whether she could have been saved given the number of 911 calls received as the crime was taking place. Particularly significant was the 911 call from witness Jane Kowalski. She provided real-time updates to emergency dispatch while attempting to follow King's Camaro along US Highway 41. She also gave the dispatcher her contact information in case anything further was required. Jane didn't hear back from law enforcement after making her call. The following day she saw news footage of Michael King's arrest. She recognized him immediately as the driver of the Camaro she'd seen. At the time, Jane believed she was witnessing a child abduction.

It wasn't until then she discovered King had actually taken a grown woman. Jane told the television program Dateline of her distress upon realizing the crime had been real. She decided to call the North Port Police Department telling them, I'm the 911 caller who called in. Do you need any more information from me? The North Port Police were baffled. They had no idea what Jane was referring to and had no record of her call. Because of Jane's location when she rang, her call had been routed to neighboring Charlotte County, not Sarasota County where North Port was situated.

For some reason, Charlotte County Sheriff's Department, the same department that Denise's father worked for, had failed to pass the message along. An internal investigation revealed that the 911 operator who'd taken the call realized it was related to the Denise Amperley case and had been urgent. However, she hadn't entered the information into a computer database as per protocol. Instead, she'd called it out to police dispatchers who sat across the aisle from her and passed over a handwritten note. They heard her but hadn't sent the tip out due to the particularly chaotic circumstances of that night. One dispatcher thought she couldn't send it out due to mistakenly thinking her radio wasn't working.

Others assumed their colleagues passed it along. Jane Kowalski's crucial information had simply slipped through the cracks. At the time, multiple sheriff's deputies had been stationed along the road that Michael King was driving along while Denise was still alive in the back seat. One deputy realized he had likely been stationed at the Toledo Blade Boulevard intersection at 6.35pm, around the same time that King drove through it. Without the tip-off being passed along, he hadn't noticed King's car. The investigation led to the call operator requesting a voluntary demotion to a desk clerk position after 15 years in the job. Four call operators had to undergo remedial training. Two dispatchers were suspended for failing to send out patrol cars in response to the call.

One for 60 hours and the other for 36. While the Charlotte County Sheriff publicly announced the suspensions, he did not apologize for the errors. Denise's father, Rick Goff, has struggled with the knowledge that such a mistake was made by the same department he'd spent 25 years working for. She's beating on the window so hard and screaming trying to get help, which is the smart thing to do because by that time she knows she probably wasn't coming back, he told television program Dateline. As far as I'm concerned, we blew it. And I say we, because I'm part of that sheriff's office. Rick began to lobby for improved training for 911 call takers, which led to the Denise Amberley Act being signed into Florida law. The Act provides for voluntary training for emergency line operators. Rick and other members of Denise's family continue to advocate for mandatory training and certification for all 911 operators.

Nathan Lee told Dateline that if Janka Wolskie's information had been passed on, quote, There's not a doubt in my mind Denise would still be here. Not a doubt in my mind. In the wake of his wife's murder, Nathan found it difficult to return to his job as a meter reader. The position gave him too much time to walk and think. He found the constant rumination painful. Six months after his wife's death, Nathan established the Denise Amberley Foundation to advocate for improvements to the 911 system. The nonprofit was a way to create some good for his family's enormous loss by using their tragedy to impart valuable lessons. Nathan has traveled all over the United States to share Denise's story with call takers. Speaking on 911 reform is now his full-time career.

In 2008, Nathan told the St. Petersburg Times that he believed his wife's fierce fight for survival was due to her desire to be reunited with their sons. Quote, She had a lot of reason to get out of that car. I know the main thing on her mind was getting to see those kids again. Although he believes it is a blessing that their sons were too young to remember the circumstances surrounding their mother's death, it was painful knowing that they wouldn't remember her either. Over the years, he has taken them to visit Denise's grave and played home movies featuring her for them. Nathan has been able to take some comfort in knowing their mother will always be there in some way, telling Dateline producers, I'm not worried about them. They've got part of Denise in them, and that's the most comforting thing I can think about.