Denise Amber Lee’s killer Michael King executed in Florida; names Lee’s family in final words

Michael Lee King, convicted for the 2008 kidnapping and murder of Denise Amber Lee, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday evening, March 17 in Florida. The Florida Department of Corrections confirmed that the sentence was carried out at 6:13 p.m. without incident, winknews reported. King, 54, had been on death row for the abduction, sexual battery, and killing of Lee, a 21-year-old mother of two from North Port.

Lee was abducted from her home in broad daylight on January 17, 2008. During the ordeal, she managed to make a distraught 911 call using her attacker’s phone while tied up in his car, but dispatchers were unable to locate and save her in time.

Within hours of the call, King took Lee to a wooded area, where he fatally shot her in the face and left her body in a shallow grave. More than 18 years after the crime, King was pronounced dead in the state’s execution chamber.


According to media witnesses from The Associated Press, King did not apologize or ask for forgiveness in his final moments. Instead, he delivered a brief statement referencing his faith.

“Since finding Jesus in prison, I have tried to live as his disciple obeying the two great commandments: To love God with all my heart, my mind and all my being, and to love my neighbor − to include everyone − my family, Denise Lee’s family, everyone in the gallery,” and the execution team, he said in what the AP said were nearly inaudible words relayed by Ron DeSantis’s office.

What happened to Denise amber lee?

On January 17, 2008, Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old mother of two, was abducted from her home in North Port while caring for her children.

According to the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, Lee was targeted by a man driving through her neighborhood “searching for a victim.” During the ordeal, she managed to call 911 using her captor’s phone while tied up in his car. Multiple other emergency calls were also made by her husband and witnesses, including one caller who followed the suspect’s vehicle and provided detailed location updates.

However, despite the proximity of law enforcement, “inefficiencies and communication failures within the 9-1-1 system prevented help from ever being sent,” the foundation states. Two days later, on January 19, 2008, Lee’s body was found.