Denise Williams murder trial: Complete coverage of Day 2 of testimony
Karl Etters
3:40 p.m. update: Nick Williams takes the stand
Mike Williams’ brother Nick Williams is testifying before the jury in the murder trial of his former daughter-in-law for plotting to kill his brother and covering up the crime as an accident.
His testimony follows that of the medical examiner who said Mike was shot in the face, a determination she made by the large number of skull fragments found with his skeleton. She noted the bones and shotgun pellets stayed together because his shirt was over his head when he buried.
Hands were still in his gloves.
12:10 p.m. update: Friends discuss Brian Winchester and Denise Williams affair
Several witnesses testified about the 1997 concert where Denise Williams and Brian Winchester supposedly started the affair that, investigators say, would lead to the murder of her husband.
It was at the Sister Hazel concert at Floyd’s Music Store on West Tennessee Street, where two people say they saw Denise Williams and Winchester acting like a couple while Mike Williams was there.
Lindsay Lockhart, whose father Clay Ketcham owned the property appraisal firm where Mike Williams worked, said she noticed something unusual about the way Denise Williams and Winchester acted at the concert.
Brian Winchester testifies affair 'snowballed' into plot to kill
“I looked over and saw Brian and Denise together and he was behind her with his arms around her,” Lockhart told jurors. "If I didn’t know any better I would have thought Brian was married to Denise and not Mike. It seemed like a new love like a boyfriend, girlfriend type position they were in.”
Mike Williams drank that night, Lockhart and another witness, Angela Stafford, told jurors.
Watch Live: Murder trial of Denise Williams
Stafford, who would later have an intimate relationship with Winchester after Mike Williams’ murder, noticed the close relationship with Denise Winchester.
“They were very friendly with each other,” Stafford said. “Very close, very touchy, very hands on each other, arms around each other.”
Stafford also recounted how one night when she and Brian were having sex at his house, Denise barged in. Stafford said she got a clear look at her before she turned and fled with Brian pulling on his pants and running after her.
Stafford said Denise left her young daughter alone at her house across town for the thwarted rendezvous.
Jurors also heard from Howard Drew, the man who taught Mike Williams how to duck hunt. He said after the first hunt at Lake Iamonia, Williams was crazy for the sport.
Drew said he was concerned when Williams told him he’d purchased a pair of waders.
“I rushed right over,” Drew told jurors. “A many of good man and women went to the bottom in waders. If you fall in in the old ones, once you went over and the water started getting in, people panic and pretty soon you go to the bottom and that’s it.”
Drew told jurors how he and Williams practiced getting out of a pair of waders filling with water in a swimming pool. Williams continued to practice.
“With waders, there’s a couple things you’ve got to remember. If your boat turns over or you fall over from the recoil of your shotgun, you can’t panic. Worry about staying calm and getting a breath of air before you go down. Flip your wader straps and get them off.”
10:07 a.m. update: Winchester says Denise Williams was in on the plot to murder her husband
Brian Winchester made it very clear that he and Denise Williams were both involved in the plot to kill Mike Williams.
During cross-examination by Denise Williams’ defense attorney Ethan Way, Winchester detailed again the killing of his best friend on a duck hunting trip at Lake Seminole in December 2000.
Way also focused on an agreement Winchester made with investigators last year for immunity against prosecution for shooting Williams in exchange for explicit details about the crime.
That confession led to Denise Williams’ arrest in May on murder charges.
Winchester used the word “we” when describing the plot and the murder. He said he was obsessed with Denise Williams.
“When you shot Mike Williams at Lake Seminole was Denise Williams there with you?” Way asked.
“No, she was in my head with me,” Winchester replied. “We were best friends; Bonnie and Clyde. We were partners in crime. Were we obsessed with each other? You could say that. I won't argue with you on that.”
The plot did not go as planned, Winchester testified. Williams was supposed to drown after being pushed out of a duck hunting boat at the lake, his waders filling with water and dragging him under.
Instead, Williams got free and held on to a stump, yelling for help.
Winchester said he circled Williams several times in the boat before shooting him from 3 feet away with a 12-gauge shotgun.
Under sharp questioning by Way, Winchester winched as he gave details on exactly how he transported his friend's body back to Tallahassee.
“I put the top half of his body into the dog crate because I knew he would be bleeding and I didn’t want to get blood all over the place if possible,” he explained.
He said he tried to tell Denise the killing of Mike hadn’t gone as planned but she did not want to know the details. He said she assumed since his body was never found it was clear his demise happened differently.
They tried to justify what happened, he said.
“It was OK, we were forgiven," he explained, "we were like David and Bathsheba because God was going to forgive us."
Winchester said he believed he could still be prosecuted for the murder, but as part of the agreement, had told the truth about it and the plot.
After being arrested for kidnapping Denise in 2016, facing decades of prison time, Winchester admitted he tampered with witnesses - including his sister and cousin - and tried to get a jailmate to fabricate evidence against Denise.
“I was desperate to do anything I could to avoid going to prison," he said.
The jailmate, Wade Wilson, went so far as to offer to kill Denise, he added.
“Wade brought up he was a hitman, I didn’t believe him," he said. "He did offer to make Denise go away and make other witnesses go away and I told him don’t speak to me about that again.”
Winchester told the jury “lying was making things worse for me," and ultimately agreed to tell investigators what he know about Mike William's disappearance in exchange for immunity.
“You have confessed to this sin, killing Mike Williams?” Way asked.
“I have. We haven’t,” Winchester replied, looking at Denise Williams.
Way ended his cross-examination by directly calling him out.
"You are a murderer?" Way said.
“Yes, sir,” Winchester replied.
“Mr. Winchester, you’re a liar isn’t that true?” Way continued.
“Yes, sir,” Winchester replied.
Overruling objections from Way, Judge Hankinson — who Winchester earlier called "Hangman Hankinson" — allowed the jury to see sexually graphic photos taken by Winchester of Denise Williams and his wife Kathy together during a trip to Panama City either in spring 2000 or 2001, either before or immediately after Mike was killed. The photos backed up testimony give by Winchester.
Fuchs ended Winchester's turn in the witness seat by having him read a letter to him from Denise written likely in late 2003 when Brian was giving his marriage with Kathy one last chance. She asked him to "pray for her" on Dec. 16 and 17 - the anniversary of Mike's disappearance and their wedding anniversary, and wrote, "I love you more than ever."
Winchester said the main reason for killing Mike was so they could be together.
"We said the money was the icing on the cake," he said.
Fuchs, however, left jurors with the suggestion the insurance money was what Denise was after, and she used Winchester to get it.
Day 2 of Denise Williams trial: Brian Winchester's cross-examination
The second day of testimony in the murder trial of Denise Williams will start with the cross examination of the man who confessed to shooting her first husband in what prosecutors say was a long-devised murder plot.
Williams’ defense attorneys will have a chance to pick apart the emotional testimony of Brian Winchester, who told jurors Tuesday he shot Mike Williams on a duck hunting trip in Dec. 2000 that was actually a plot to get rid of the 31-year-old property appraiser to perpetuate an affair he was having with his wife.
Winchester said he and Denise Williams started seeing each other romantically while she and Mike Williams were still married. The two wanted to be together but couldn’t bring themselves to divorce their spouses, all of which had been friends since their high school days at North Florida Christian.
He said they began their relationship in 1997, while Mike Williams was still alive, and their affair “snowballed” into a murder plot.
Gavel to gavel coverage:
- Complete coverage of Day 1 of Denise Williams trial
- Mike Williams murder: Brian Winchester testifies affair 'snowballed' into plot to kill
Winchester shot Mike Williams while he struggled in the cold waters of Lake Seminole in Jackson County after the initial plot to push him overboard so he would drown unraveled. He said he panicked, shot Williams then loaded his body in the back of his Suburban before bringing him back to Leon County to bury him along the shores of Carr Lake.
His confession to law enforcement last year as he was facing 20 years in prison for armed kidnapping of Denise Williams led to her arrest on May 8.
She faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and accessory after the fact.
Assistant State Attorney Jon Fuchs said jurors will never hear a flat-out admission from Denise Williams that she masterminded his killing with her lover Winchester so they could be together and she could collect $1.75 million in life insurance.
Her attorneys have contended that Williams is innocent and knew nothing of the crime.
In their opening argument, they told jurors that Winchester’s confession couldn’t be trusted and there is little evidence actually linking Williams to the murder.
“There is no tangible evidence or physical evidence tying Denise Williams to this crime,” said defense attorney Philip Padovano, a retired judge. “The issue you’re going to have to decide is whether to believe him. All you’re going to have to go on is the word of the man who actually committed the murder.”
Check back with Tallahassee.com for updates throughout the day
Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.