Florida Executes Man Who Raped, Killed Young Mother

A Florida man was executed Tuesday evening for the 2008 rape and murder of a young mother who made a desperate 911 call from her abductor’s cellphone while restrained in his car. Michael Lee King, 54, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. after receiving a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, officials said. He had been convicted of first-degree murder, sexual battery, and kidnapping in the death of 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee.

According to court records, Denise Amber Lee was outside her North Port home with her two young sons—a toddler and an infant—when King drove by, noticed her, and later abducted her, leaving the children alone. Investigators say he took her to his home, where he bound and raped her. Later, King visited his cousin’s house to borrow a flashlight, shovel, and gas can, prosecutors reported. While still restrained in King’s car, Lee managed to reach his cellphone and dial 911, pleading for her life and asking to see her husband and children again.

King then drove Lee to a secluded area in North Port, where he fatally shot her in the face and buried her. Authorities said King was stopped shortly afterward by a state trooper because his 1994 green Chevrolet Camaro matched a description given in another 911 call. In that call, a woman reported hearing screams from the vehicle while stopped at a traffic light and feared a possible child abduction. Investigators later recovered Lee’s hair and personal items from King’s home and vehicle.

The tragedy prompted the Florida Legislature to pass the Denise Amber Lee Act months after her death, providing improved training for 911 operators. The Denise Amber Lee Foundation, established by her husband Nathan Lee, continues to raise awareness nationwide and advocate for better emergency response training. According to the foundation, at least four other 911 calls were made the day of Lee’s abduction—including from her husband and witnesses—but miscommunication and procedural errors kept help from reaching her. Dispatchers failed to relay critical information to deputies who were near the victim’s location.

Nathan Lee said his goal was to ensure his wife’s death prompted meaningful change. “I wanted Denise to matter,” he said. “She needed to be more than just the mother in North Port who was murdered. I wanted her to become the face of change because 911 wasn’t good enough, and we had to make it better.”

King’s attorneys had filed appeals claiming mismanagement of Florida’s death penalty procedures and that he was denied access to certain records, but the Florida Supreme Court rejected the appeals last week. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review his final appeals without comment on Monday. King’s execution was the fourth carried out in Florida this year.

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