Tallahassee Democrat from Tallahassee, Florida • A5

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See sales rep for details. Expires December 31st, 2020. FL-CRC1331959 CALL TODAY OFFER ENDS SOON 850-739-6296 TD-GCI0543376-01 stand up for Cheryl Williams. what we do. On Dec.

16, 2000, the youngest of her two sons, Mike Williams, left the sec- where he worked so hard, crossed that parking lot, and drove in his Ford Bronco to his heart- less death by people he loved. Seventeen years passed before the mystery of the 31-year-old real estate disappearance was solved, his body found, and his murder proved. It never would have happened with- out Cheryl, whose tenacity, courage and grit kept the investigation alive when others gave up. She refused to believe the her son drowned in a duck hunting accident and was eaten by alli- gators without leaving a trace. just did what any mother would she said Wednesday.

I had known he was dead, I have been able to do what I Many of us invited to the solemn 20- year remembrance played a profession- al role in revealing the truth of what happened to Mike, a man we never met. I surprised to see key mem- bers of the prosecution team, including Jon Fuchs and Andy Rogers, who led the 2018 murder and conspiracy case against former wife, along with investigator Jason Newlin, and their boss, State Attorney Jack Campbell. Leon County Public Works guys were there, too, men who operated hulking earth-digging equipment with the pre- cision of surgeons, and on the last day of a secret week-long search in October 2017, found body buried deep in the muck at the edge of Carr Lake. And, of course, there was me. The newspaper reporter, who began search- ing for answers nearly 15 years ago, dis- covering and documenting what others had not, staying with the story, making sure no one could forget Mike Williams.

It was a long time to justice. But jus- tice in the legal system is complicated. The 2018 conviction of Denise Mer- rell Williams by a unanimous jury on charges of murder, conspir- acy to commit murder and accessory af- ter the fact was a staggering rebuke to nearly two decades of lies and denial. During the trial, best friend, Brian Winchester, who was having an with Denise for years, detailed on the witness stand their plot to kill Mike so they could be together and spare De- nise the public shame of a divorce. Brian described in detail how he pushed Mike from his boat before dawn on Lake Seminole in Jackson County, hoping he would sink in his waders.

When Mike, a skilled outdoors- man, got free and surfaced, Brian shot him in the face with a shotgun. He said he buried his body later that morning back in Leon County. Brian gave up where the body was and agreed to turn on Denise after he kidnapped her amid his growing para- noia she was plotting to pin the deed on him alone. He is serving a 20-year prison sentence for his crime against her but in exchange for his testimony was granted immunity for murder. Denise was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her North Florida High School sweetheart.

She maintains her innocence and appealed the verdict. A day before Thanksgiving, a three- judge appeal panel agreed with her law- yers and overturned her murder convic- tion, the prosecution failed to show she was a to the crime. The panel found a request by her attor- ney to drop the charge should have been granted by the trial judge. is working with the state Attorney General on a response. In any case, Denise, 50, will remain in prison for a long time.

The 30-year sen- tence she received for conspiring to kill Mike was not overturned it stands. She will have to serve 85 percent of that time before she is eligible for parole. By then Denise will be an old woman, and her daughter, only child, just 19 months old when he was killed, will be close to the age he would be now. Anslee talk to her grand- mamma Cheryl anymore. for a long time.

It was the terrible price Che- ryl was forced to pay to out what happened to her son. With that knowledge came no joy. She told us Wednesday night, when Campbell brought her the news body had been found and been killed, of me died that day, all taken a physical toll. She has a hard time walking and needs help get- ting around. The reversal of murder charge and the life sentence lost with it was another blow.

sad thing is he died loving Cheryl said at the remembrance. Still, she is grateful. She has her rock, her son Nick, his wife and their beautiful daughter. The posse of powerful young women she helped raise at her home daycare. The longtime friends, the real ones, who never called her crazy.

She has us, a motley crew who will show up, pandemic be damned. What she have is Mike. Standing before her with cold feet in the damp darkness, Cheryl Williams said something not heard before. she said, he would be like if he were alive Jennifer Portman is a national enter- prise editor at USA TODAY. A former Democrat News Director and reporter, she has chronicled the Mike Williams case since 2006.

Contact her at jport- Remembrance Continued from Page 1A Denise Williams, shown in 2018 during her day on trial on charges of murdering her husband, Mike Williams, will remain in prison for many years even though her murder conviction was overturned. FILE PHOTOS BY ALICIA Cheryl Williams, the mother of Mike Williams, who was shot and killed by his best friend 18 years ago, cries tears of joy for the guilty verdicts in the trial against Denise Williams, former wife, in December 2018. Cheryl Williams says that when she learned of her death, of me died that day,.