No bail: Denise Williams to remain behind bars in death of husband Mike Williams

Jennifer Portman | Tallahassee Democrat

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Denise Williams will remain in jail until she stands trial in September for what prosecutors say was the calculated killing of her husband Mike and its 17-year cover-up.

The ruling by Leon Circuit Judge James Hankinson followed a two-and-a-half hour hearing that featured the recorded sworn confession of Brian Winchester – Mike’s best friend and Denise’s eventual husband – who said he shot the 31-year-old after first trying to drown him in Lake Seminole.

“I’m glad the court held her without bond. It’s the first step in holding her accountable for what she’s done,” said Assistant State Attorney Jon Fuchs.

Mike Williams' older brother Nick, who attended the hearing said afterward: "We are content."

A packed courtroom – including Denise Williams' three sisters and Winchester's father and sister – listened to Winchester’s 90-minute statement. In it, he detailed how he and Denise, with whom he’d been having an affair for three years, hatched the plan to murder her North Florida Christian High School sweetheart and make it look like a boating accident.

Denise, he said, worried if they divorced their spouses, her reputation would be ruined. And, if Mike were gone, she’d collect his $1.75 million in life insurance.

“She decided she would not get a divorce and she basically said there was one solution,” he said.

Watch it: Prosecutor's comments on Denise Williams’ bond hearing Prosecutor Jon Fuchs’ comments to reporters following Denise Williams’ bond hearing

Denise Williams, 48, who appeared in a blue Leon County jail inmate uniform, spent the hearing looking directly ahead. Her defense team tried to shield her face from news cameras.

Her criminal defense lawyer, Ethan Way, tried to convince the judge that prosecutors lacked enough evidence to prove she is guilty of conspiracy, murder and accessory after-the-fact – all charges that individually could carry a life prison sentence. He argued she was not a danger to the community or a flight risk, but Hankinson rejected his request she be closely monitored and released before trial on $100,000 bail.

"We are looking forward to our trial in September," Way said after the hearing. "Denise will be exonerated after the jury sees the evidence or the lack of evidence against her. We feel supremely confident."

Ever since her arrest on May 8, Way has maintained Denise Williams is innocent and had nothing whatsoever to do with the killing of her husband, Mike, who went missing after a purported solo-duck hunting trip on Dec. 16, 2000.

It would take three years before Mike’s mother, Cheryl Williams, convinced law enforcement to begin investigating his disappearance as the result of foul play.

The nearly 20-year-old mystery was shattered last fall when Winchester, 47, confessed he murdered Mike and led investigators to his body. The revelation followed a deal with prosecutors granting him full immunity from prosecution. Winchester is serving a 20-year prison sentence for the 2016 armed kidnapping of Denise Williams, who at the time was his estranged wife.

Fuchs said the immunity deal was not struck to implicate Denise Williams

“We knew (Cheryl) Williams had been working very diligently to get this investigation done to find out what happened to her son. That was the absolute goal in this... to bring that closure to her," Fuchs said after the hearing.

“Secondary was to hold Brian Winchester accountable for what he did as it related to Denise Williams and hold him accountable and make sure he went to prison, and he did, in fact, go to prison for 20 years.”

During the hearing, Fuchs pointed to threats Cheryl Williams said Denise twice made that if she sought a criminal investigation she would be forbidden from seeing her granddaughter.

“Cheryl Williams was right for 17 years that it was not a disappearance, that Mike Williams was not eaten by an alligator, that he was in fact murdered,” Fuchs argued. “And Denise Williams tried, by holding her granddaughter hostage, to keep that from happening. And in doing so that’s a consciousness of guilt.”

Denise Williams' trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 24. When asked if he will be ready, Fuchs said: “Of course, we’ll be ready. We’ve been waiting for this for 17 years.”

A COLD CASE HEATS UP: