Denise Williams, 49, was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday in Tallahassee, Florida

A Florida woman convicted of helping mastermind the killing of her husband nearly two decades ago has been sentenced to life in prison.

Denise Williams, 49, was sentenced on Wednesday morning in Tallahassee for her role in the December 2000 murder of her husband Mike Williams.

Denise Williams was convicted in December of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for her role in a case that recalled the plot of the Hollywood classic 'Double Indemnity.'

Prosecutors argued that she plotted the killing of her husband in a scheme to get a $1.75 million life insurance payout.

Brian Winchester testified he had an affair with Denise Williams and shot her husband in December 2000.

Mike Williams, 31, was pushed from his boat, then shot point blank in the face by Winchester, his best friend, during a hunting trip on Lake Seminole 18 years ago.

Denise Williams, center, sits with her defense attorney Ethan Way, right, before Williams' sentencing in Tallahassee on Wednesday

Mike and Denise Williams were high school sweethearts who married in 1994.

Denise convinced her husband's best friend Brian Winchester (above), who she was having an affair with, to murder her husband and hide the body, according to prosecutors

It was speculated at the time that he drowned and his body was devoured by alligators.

Winchester eventually married Denise Williams but the relationship later soured.

Winchester helped authorities find Mike Williams' buried body in 2017.

Attorneys for Denise Williams maintained Winchester lied to get revenge.

At the sentencing, Mike Williams' mom, Cheryl Williams, gave a poignant victim impact statement during the hearing, her voice frequently breaking with tears, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.

'We are in this courtroom because of God not Cheryl Williams. I did what God told me to do,' she said, reading her letter aloud from a wheelchair.

'On the morning of December 16, 2000, the world as I know it changed forever.

'I am asking you to lock Denise Merrell Williams Winchester up for the rest of her life with no chance of parole,' Cheryl Williams told the judge. 'She has already lived 18 years longer than my son.'

The victim's mother Cheryl Williams (seen in December) welled up with emotion as she delivered her victim impact statement in court on Wednesday

A flood of emotions poured out into the courtroom as the verdicts were read in December. Mike Williams' family friends white-knuckle gripped each other

Denise Williams stands expressionless and handcuffed in front of Judge James C. Hankinson in Tallahassee as he gives Williams her sentencing of life without parole

The gallery was filled with crying as Cheryl Williams wrapped up her emotional statement. No one else offered a statement at the sentencing.

Leon Circuit Judge James Hankinson had little discretion in sentencing as the murder conviction carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison.

He added an additional 30 years to the sentence for the conspiracy conviction.

The judge acknowledged the 'strong emotions' in the case.

Denise Williams has claimed all along that she is innocent and that Winchester acted alone.

She accused Winchester of implicating her only after he was sent to prison for kidnapping her at gunpoint in 2016.

She plans to appeal.

Love Triangle Murder Plot Unravels

Chilling testimony during the trial revealed how the murder plot unfolded - and later unraveled.

Mike and Denise were high school sweethearts and married in 1994, before welcoming a daughter five years later. The child was 18 months old when her father vanished and is now aged 18.

He disappeared on what would have been the couple's six wedding anniversary.

Florida prosecutors have said Denise planned the 2000 slaying of her husband Mike (pictured together on their wedding day) so she could get a $1.75million insurance payout

Mike married his high school sweetheart Denise in 1994 and welcomed a daughter with her five years later. The child was 18 months old when her father vanished and is now aged 18

Winchester told the court that his friend Mike confided that his wife Denise had stopped having sex with him, and that he was growing suspicious about her activities.

He said the growing suspicion and the fact that one of Mike's insurance policies was about to lapse led him and Denise to kill him.

'We knew our window of opportunity was closing,' Winchester testified.

Winchester then tearfully described the plot to kill Williams.

On December 16, 2000, Brian Winchester and Mike Williams went duck hunting at Lake Seminole.

He had invited Mike duck hunting on a cold December morning and Winchester said he had intended to drown him by pushing him from his canoe.

But he said he panicked when he saw Williams struggling in the water to get out of his jacket and duck waders, and shot him point blank in the face with a shotgun.

'He started to yell and I didn't know how to get out of that situation. I had my gun in the boat, and so I loaded my gun and I just made one or two circles around and I ended up circling closer towards him and he was in the water, and as I passed by, I shot him,' he said.

'When I shot him, it was dark and there was a bright flash,' Winchester testified, adding later, 'I had to make it happen, I had no choice.'

Denise, 48, (left) conspired to kill her husband Mike Williams with the help of her married lover Brian Winchester (right) nearly two decades ago in Florida

He then stuck his best friend's body into a dog crate and quickly traveled to Tallahassee to bury the body at a familiar hunting spot.

Winchester tried to make it appear as if Williams went missing in a boating mishap - and the plan appeared to work.

Authorities launches an exhaustive 44 day search for Mike's body after he vanished in 2000.

Mike (pictured) disappeared in December 2000 while duck hunting near Tallahassee

Six months after his disappearance, waders believed to belong to Mike were found floating in perfect condition in the search area. They reportedly showed no signs of an alligator attack.

Without a body, Denise petitioned to have her husband declared dead due to accidental drowning and she collected his death benefits.

Almost three weeks after he went missing, Denise Williams filed a $1.75 million insurance claim, which Winchester helped her fill out.

'That's a cold individual. That's a person who is involved in a homicide,' Assistant State Attorney Jon Fuchs said of Denise Williams.

Kathy Thomas, who was married to Brian Winchester, testified that she began to suspect her husband was having an affair with Denise.

She revealed in court how she suspected an affair between her husband and Denise, after Winchester suggested that they have a threesome together.

The two couples had been close because they all attended North Florida Christian School together, but Thomas, also a longtime friend of Mike, testified on Thursday that Denise and Winchester's 'friendship' had begun to make her uncomfortable.

Mike, Denise, Winchester and Winchester's ex-wife, Kathy Thomas, were all close friends and attended North Florida Christian School together. Mike, Denise, Winchester are seen in their yearbook photos

Thomas confirmed that she went on a spring break trip to Panama City Beach with Denise and Winchester in 2001 after Mike's death.

The court had earlier heard that photos were taken during the trip of the two women kissing at a strip club.

'Whenever it was just me with Brian and Denise it was uncomfortable,' Thomas said, speaking about her suspicions of an affair.

'I felt like the third wheel, I felt like I was on a date with the two of them.'

Thomas said that in 2003, three years after Mike Williams' disappearance, her husband, Brian Winchester, told her what really happened.

Thomas eventually split from Winchester, and he then later married Denise in 2005. Their relationship soured and they later divorced in 2015.

The murder plot unraveled after Winchester kidnapped Denise at gunpoint and made her promise not to reveal their secret.

While he was being sentenced to 20 years in prison for kidnapping, Winchester was offered immunity in the murder case if he led authorities to the body.

After Mike's body was discovered, Winchester's ex-wife Thomas said she began working as an informant to record phone conversations with Denise.

During one call, Thomas read from a script given to her by police where she asked Denise about the murder plot.

'Brian told me that ya'll planned it,' Thomas told Denise.

Denise responded: 'Planned what? Oh my God.'

Thomas later said: 'I know that you know something Denise'.

Thomas and Winchester's cooperation led to Denise's arrest in May of 2018. She was found guilty in December.

Denise Williams was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.

Video courtesy of WCTV