Denise Lee Records Her Last Minutes of Life by Phone

deanmine · #1 ● 06-05-2014, 05:14 AM

Denise Amber Lee had gotten a hold of the kidnappers cell phone, after he got it back, he ended the 911 call, took her to his home, raped her and further abused her, then killed her. He was convicted and sentenced to death.

The Florida Supreme Court upheld the murder conviction and death sentence of Michael King on Thursday, calling his 2008 abduction and killing of North Port mother Denise Lee "unquestionably cold and cruel."

The ruling comes as part of a mandatory appeal, where King's attorneys argued the former plumber did not get a fair trial and the brain injuries he suffered as a child meant he should not get the death penalty.

The story of Lee's Jan. 17, 2008 abduction and murder captivated the Florida Supreme Court just as it did the Sarasota community and the nation, from the frantic search for her that night to the missed chances to save her, including a mishandled 911 call.

"As noted in the sentencing order, rarely is a court able to experience first-hand what a deceased victim encountered," the Florida Supreme Court wrote in the opinion released Thursday.

"In this case, anyone who listens to the 911 call placed by Denise Lee will hear the abject terror she was experiencing plus her panicked, frantic pleas to the 911 dispatcher (for help) and King (to be returned home)."

The Florida Supreme Court also cited the horrific details of the crime and wrote that the court is "in complete agreement" that the death penalty was appropriate in King's case.

Lee, 21, was cutting her son's hair on the lanai of her home when King abducted her. Her two children were left alone at the home. King, by all accounts a stranger to Lee, bound her with duct tape and repeatedly raped her at his home. He eventually fatally shot Lee at point-blank range and buried her in a shallow grave in an undeveloped section of North Port.

Photo of Denise Lee: