Transcript of The After Show: Her Last Call

On a quiet Saturday morning, 5 women walked into Elaine Bryant's store and never came home. The man responsible for their deaths was heard and even described by the lone survivor, but despite nearly being caught, he vanished into thin air. In the years since, new technology, new investigators, and new questions have changed what's possible, but the families are still waiting for answers. The evidence is still there, and this case isn't cold. It's unfinished. Listen to CounterClock Season 8 wherever you get your podcasts. Hi there, everybody. Welcome to 20/20: The After Show. I'm Deborah Roberts. And today we're going to continue a conversation about a story 20/20 has been following for years. It has stayed with me since I began reporting on it in Florida. And now we've got a few new developments to share. A 21-year-old mom of two vanishes from her home. In the middle of the day. Denise Amber Lee's phone, her purse, her keys, all of that still inside her house. Her husband, who was at work at the time when his wife disappeared, comes home and finds every parent's nightmare— their two little boys left at home alone, and his wife Denise is gone.

Well, as you saw on our 20/20 episode, I think what really struck so many of us is how quickly this mystery turned into something that was so much more urgent. Just hours later, Denise finds a way to call 911 herself. Now, this is a woman who has been abducted. She's in a car with her abductor at the time, and she is doing everything she can to stay calm, to stay quiet, and to leave a trail. Let's listen to this heartbreaking moment when Denise is heard pleading to get back to her family.

911, what's your emergency? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just wanna go. Hello? Look back. Why'd you do that? Hello? Please let me go. Please let me go. I just want to see my family again.

Somehow the unimaginable still happens. That's the part in this story that is so hard to sit with. 2 days later, police find Denise's body in nearby woods. Her family and her community, as you can imagine, completely devastated. Well, in my latest 20/20 episode, we retrace those critical moments— the roads, the witnesses, the calls. And now, years later, I spoke with those little boys, Denise's boys, who are now grown up.

Every milestone, there is, you know, something missing, and it was our mom. I always write her name in the clay before every at-bat, just to, like— know that she's there with me.

Some people have called your mom a hero, that she protected you too.

I always say she sacrificed herself to make sure we were safe.

Hearing the two talk about the milestones that their mom Denise missed, uh, that is something that just sticks with me. Well, today on this episode, we're going to continue our reporting with an update on where this case stands now, how Denise's family is coping after their final chapter in the fight for justice. And we're also going to share some extended moments from our time with Denise's husband and sons. Moments you didn't see in the broadcast. But first, I spoke with 2020 producers Denise Martinez Raimundo and Jeff Schneider about working on this story together. All three of us were so moved by the story, and I so enjoyed the conversation, and I hope you will too. Denise, good to see you. I think I'm going to start with you because you brought this story to me. It was something that you, I think, discovered, and, you know, obviously it had been a story that had happened in Florida. Um, as a mom— you're a mom, I am too— and oftentimes you and I have connected over these stories just because we're parents. And when it is something that involves a parent, it really kind of grabs us right away.

And tell me about, for you, when you first heard about this story— a 21-year-old mom, um, going missing, and of course, you know, tragically turns out dead.

Her name turns out to be Denise, just like my name. We actually share the same birth year. And, you know, so it kind of hit close to home, also like reaching out, you know, here is, you know, sharing the same name. And what was really interesting is that as a mom, you know, she was taken, leaving her two young sons behind, 6 months and 2 years old. I have young children. So to know that she had to be taken away from them and in her mind to maybe try to protect themselves, take the harm away from them.

She was a young stay-at-home mom, a very bright young woman, Denise Amber Lee. One of the things that we really, I thought, brought home for viewers in this case was sort of 911 calls, how it all works, why that was so urgent.

We have a series of 911 calls that really bring this kidnapping to life, that we are experiencing and listening to it unfolding in real time. So I think this is unlike any other story that we've seen, that we kind of can see that progression. And I think it was really important to bring that to the viewer. So the audio is obviously really shocking to hear, but obviously, you know, in order for that to bring home, to bring it to life, I think definitely Jeff, you know, with the video really was able to, you know, capture that.

And for folks who may not have seen the episode, and I'm telling you, you're gonna wanna go see the episode, but those of you who did, you'll remember that Denise Amber Lee placed a 911 call from her captor's car. She was actually taken from her home, and she very cleverly was able to get his phone and to place a call to the police police, just sort of not obviously signaling that she was calling the police, but giving enough information there. It's almost like something out of a TV show. And Jeff, what about you and your approach to this particular story? You knew the area.

Yeah, I mean, and I'm also a dad, so, with 2 kids. And I immediately, when I read the story, when I learned about the story, I put myself in Nathan's shoes.

And—

Her husband.

You know, I just, Yeah, her husband. And I just really wanted to capture kind of what he was going through and what he was feeling. And, you know, these locations were all so very important, like where their house was, you know, it was in the middle of nowhere. It was back on a tucked-in, you know, street where it felt safe, you know. And so that was really something that was important for me to try to get across with the visuals is just where everything took place, the relationship to each other, and stuff like that. And then, you know, also the strength of this family, how strong they were. You know, Sue, the mom, taking in the children in the middle of this nightmare, you know, like you mentioned, having to go— she had to go get formula because Denise was still breastfeeding.

Yeah, there was something about that tender idea that she's still a breastfeeding mom and had to leave her children behind because she was kidnapped. And in the story, we learn a lot about the two of them, Denise and Nathan. They were very young when they got married. They had these children pretty quickly. And Nathan was a very devoted dad working very hard. And he comes home and, you know, his wife's keys and her purse are there, but she's not to be found anywhere. He's the first person actually to call 911 in the story. So let's remind our listeners and let's take a listen.

Northport Emergency. Uh, yes, um, I'm at LaTour Avenue. Uh, I just got home from work and my wife, I can't find her. My kids were in the house and I don't know where she is. I've looked every single place and I don't know. How old are your kids, sir? Um, my oldest is 2 and my youngest is 6 months. No, I know, I don't know where mommy is. Her vehicle's in the driveway? Yes. Does she have any medical conditions? No. Her purse is here. I don't— her cell phone is here. I don't—

I don't know.

I don't know. Okay. What is her name?

Denise. That call is just so chilling because you can hear the desperation. You can also hear the panic in his voice. Jeff, you talked about being a dad, and of course, Denise, you're a parent, too. And I think for all of us, as we were going back and looking at this story and I had an opportunity to meet her, 2 now older sons. Her father's a police officer, and we'll talk about that, and her parents. This was a hard one to report, Denisse. I mean, even your face now as we're watching and talking to you about it, I mean, this was a hard one, wasn't it?

Yeah, definitely. I mean, in that 911 call, you hear even the son asking, "Where's Mommy?" You know, my little one is starting to talk, almost getting close to the 2-year-old age, and You know, they realized, and just hearing that, the panic on his voice, the little young son asking for his mom, you know, it was hard, you know, to report on it. So we had covered this story back in 2008, but we didn't have her 911 call. And even though it's heartbreaking and, you know, heart-stopping, but it really shows how brave she was. And I think it was important for us to do this story showing, making our viewers listen to that 911 call to show the impact that her case has had on the 911 system going forward.

Yeah, and that became kind of a theme for us, Jeff, in this story. We're going to examine 911 calls and operators, and we went actually to, um, a 911 office there to kind of find out how they work, because this case would eventually change a lot in Florida when it comes to, um, 911 cases. We have to dig through a lot of video file reporting. And as Denise said, this is the first time we had actually had an opportunity to broadcast this particular 911 call.

Yeah, yeah, both me and Denise, you know, go through all the case files that we can get our hands on. You know, we try to get everything, we listen to everything, we make notes on it all, you know, and we're listening to everything and we're keeping all that in mind as we go out. And I think that makes us you know, better in the field, uh, so that we can really know what to— what— how to film certain things, you know, the locations and everything like that.

Yeah, especially when it's a case like this one that happened several years back, and then we try to see what we can do to, to bring something new to it, fresh eyes. Well, there's so much more to this story to report and to tell you all about how we put it all together. Denise Amber Lee and the case of the missing mom down in Florida. We're going to talk more about it in just a moment. We're going to take a break, so Don't go anywhere.

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Do you know this guy that's with you? No. You don't know him from anywhere? No, please. Oh God, help me. What is the address that you're at? I got them all up in the mountain house. I'm literally where? Because it's blocked. Can you see that? That's the way 4 streets, 5 streets over from your house. I cleared it up. I mean, wow. Northport L9, Sarasota just had Denise A. Lee on the phone advising she was taken by an unknown subject.

Ugh, that call was just so distressing. What were your thoughts about how much of it to play and whether even to play it?

We gave it a lot of thought to that. In our previous reporting, we had her dad and ourselves describing the call. I mean, after listening to the call, I think we felt it was important for us to— for the viewer to hear how brave she was and how she handled herself in that situation. It was really important, you know, in her 911 call that she's relaying critical information about, you know, about the person who has her. You know, he's saying like, "I don't know you. Please take me back home." She says, take me back home to my house on La Tour, trying to give, you know, dispatchers information about, you know, where her home is so she could identify her. They could identify hopefully him. And that was really critical because they will eventually use that information and they will convict him later on.

Yeah, it was so amazing to me. I mean, this is a 21-year-old woman. Her father was a police officer, so she had some smarts about, I guess, the law and maybe even just about you know, trying to figure out a way to get herself out of this, but that she had the presence of mind, even in the middle of all that fear, to throw out these little breadcrumbs to police. And also, too, of course, to try to plead with this abductor. But then another call came through that actually helped identify who her actual killer was. Let's take a listen to that call.

I just got a call from my dad, and his cousin came over his house with a girl in the car. Car and she was tied up. He borrowed a shovel, a gas tank, and something else. What's the cousin driving? A green Camaro. What's the cousin's name? Mikey King. Put out a BOLO to FHP 2, please, for dark green Camaro. Who'd you say is driving that Camaro? Michael King.

Oh my gosh, I think for all of us, this, this was not only upsetting, but maybe even infuriating when you think about this young woman is missing, every second counts. This young girl calls because her father didn't call, and she gives police a little bit of information. And this is the first time we actually hear a name, Michael King. And that was critical, Jeff, right?

It was. And, you know, when we talked with the police and the detectives, they had said that Denise's call, when they got the 911 call from Denise, they started to trace it. And then they got this other call from that girl that we just heard, and that, they had a name, and then they eventually got the name back from the phone that they were tracing from Denise's 911 call, and it matched up, and both, you know, it was Michael King. So they knew they had their guy, and it was just, you know, you talk about the research that we were doing when we first started this, you know, we, tried to dig into who was this guy, who is Michael King?

Yeah. What was, sorry, what, what was his connection to Denise Amber Lee, which was nothing.

Which was nothing. And there was, you know, we couldn't find any criminal background with him. And so that randomness just made this even more chilling.

Yeah. Denise, I think that's what got me, the randomness, cuz we do so many of these stories and oftentimes we kind of see it coming, right? It's either the spouse or a relative or some disgruntled, you know, employee or worker with someone. But in this case, it's just one of those those random crimes that all of us fear.

That's what makes it— this case really, really scary because it's somebody random, somebody that had no connection whatsoever to her. And, you know, somebody who turned out to be a father. You know, he had a young son. Yeah. And, you know, his most recent girlfriend had said that she was shocked as everybody else to hear that it was him and that she would never have imagined that he would be capable to do something like this.

Yeah. As I said, the 911 calls played such a role. Denise makes a call, this young woman makes a call, and then there's another call that comes in that could have changed everything. A woman named Jane Kowalski, who you had me meet, Denise, and I drove along with her so she could point out to me where she was driving. She happened to be in town on her way to go visit a relative, and she saw a car with someone banging on the back window in the car. And she said she was on the phone with her sister and she could hear this screaming. It was almost like a kid's voice. She couldn't make it out, and she knew something was wrong. She could see that this guy was driving and this person was banging very, very frantically. Let's take a listen to this one.

They kept banging on the window and screaming, and not a happy scream, like, get me out of here scream. He just turned on Toledo Bridge. I don't know if I can catch up. There's a bunch of traffic and I can't get over.

Oh boy, you can't get more more specific than that. This woman is giving all this detail in real time. She's telling them where she is. I mean, I think all of our jaws just dropped. Denise, let's talk about how you found Jane. You brought her to Florida. I got a chance to get in the car— Jeff, you were shooting— to talk to her about how this all played out for her. And she was a very interesting woman, very strong woman who felt very strongly about trying to do the right thing. She even wanted to follow the car, but they lost her after a while. She was like trying to do her part as a citizen.

Yeah, I mean, it's always really important for us to be able to go back and find those people that are so key to the story. I mean, obviously Jane saw something that in her mind looked like a kidnapping. And I think it was really important to have you ride with her so she can really point, you know, I'm in this lane, he's crossing over. I mean, I think to be able to really capture that and understand it from herself, I mean, I mean, you saw, she even showed you how loud the banging on the window was. I mean, that was, it was quite something so that she really knew somebody was in trouble. And so, I mean, I think it's really, you know, unfortunately, you know, her call comes to the dispatch center where actually her, you know, the agency where Denise's father works for. So it was people there that obviously really care about Denise.

And of course, you know, what was so upsetting was that we learned that there was a snafu in the 911 call center, which just complicated this story all the more. We talked about Denise's sons who are now young men, almost grown men. We had a chance to meet them and to talk with them. They're very, very amazing young men. We're going to share some extended moments from my interview with them when we come back. So stay with us.

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We are back now with producers Jeff Schneider and Denise Martinez-Ramundo talking about a heartbreak heartbreaking and chilling story about a 21-year-old young mom of two who went missing and was later found dead. And we kind of take you through all the twists and turns now of this story, but also the 911 calls that played such a key role in this, in this case, and sadly led to a delay in police being able to track down Denise. We also went to those detectives who were on this case, and Chris Morales was one of them. He was the lead detective on the Denise Amberlee case. Jeff, talk to us a little bit about that because we had to not only track him down, but take him back to these locations of where this all played out. And it's a story that he hasn't forgotten either.

No. And, you know, after this case, he wanted to figure out what they could do better, how they could improve, how they could not have this happen again. And they, he spearheaded this real-time intelligence center. And when we went and talked with him and sat him down to interview him, You know, he took us into the intelligence center and we just felt like this is where we need to talk to him.

Well, let's take a listen to what he told us.

What's behind me here is our real-time intelligence center. There's over 150 pieces of intelligent equipment that's placed throughout our city. I can tell you right now, if we were able to take all of this behind me and go back in time and implement it into 2008, I strongly believe in my heart that we would have had Denise Amberlee.

I also had an opportunity, which was pretty amazing, was to talk to her sons, Adam and Noah. One of them had just graduated from high school. The other one is a chef. And they were really pretty amazing to talk to. Denise?

Yeah, I mean, one thing, when I started working on the story, I mean, I realized the 6-month-old and the 2-year-old are probably teenagers now. I want to hear from them. I want to know. How this, you know, what life has been for them, you know. Obviously, their mom was taken away from them when they were so young. And, you know, we'll talk about, again, how their dad has gone on to speak about her mom's story. But I wanted to hear from them, and I think it was very moving, and I think they were very eloquent. And they say themselves, they say, you never, you usually don't get to hear about, you know, like, the kids, you know, from like kind of the impact that it has on them. And I think that was really, really moving to hear what they have to say.

Adam and Noah were talking to us for the first time publicly about this case, and we have a bonus clip from our interview. So let's take a listen. When you think about the two of you now having grown up, you had each other. Did that create a special bond between the two of you?

Yeah, you know, even as we take our separate paths in life that keeps us bonded forever, you know. Knowing that he was going through the same thing definitely helped—

helped me. There's a monument in the park that is basically a tribute to your mom. Do you spend any time there?

I still make an effort to visit and to kind of say my piece, you know, almost like she's there. If I don't go there, I go to the cemetery.

So you feel some connection to her.

I used to wear a cross on one of my necklaces. I left it there with her.

At the cemetery.

Just a part of me with her. 'Cause I'll always have a part of her with me. And I do my best to carry her with me everywhere I go.

Do you feel on some level that you kind of know her even though you don't remember her?

All these stories and, you know, everything I hear, you know, she's still been a perfect mother despite her not being here. I always try to dedicate a part of my success to her. Without her, you know, what would I be, you know?

I have to tell you, This was very hard for me sitting across from these two young men. I mean, you could hear Noah weeping there and just, oh my, even just listening to it again now, powerful words from these two. And it was interesting to hear them talking about, you know, visiting her and the jewelry. And of course, having talked to Denise's husband, who now has been remarried, Nathan, but who still so clearly carries a lot of pain having lost Denise. Nathan, though, one of the things that I just thought was so remarkable, Denise, was that Nathan Givin' Denise a ring when they first started dating. Not a very expensive ring, but it was like a little heart. It was for Valentine's Day. She was wearing that ring when she was abducted. And smartly, she left the ring behind in the car to give police a clue. And he actually got that ring back not long before we did this interview. And Denise, that was really pretty remarkable.

Yeah, when I, you know, reached out to him about doing this story, you know, he had mentioned to me that just a few months ago he had gotten, you know, that ring back. You know, Michael Kean's appeals had all been exhausted, so he was able to get this piece of jewelry back, which again, it was so special. He says that it wasn't expensive, but it became one of her priceless possessions, and she left it in that car because she knew that Nathan would be able to identify it. So getting it back was very special for him. Yeah.

And just a remarkable man himself, Jeff. I mean, he has dedicated his life now to speaking out about 911 and how laws changed in Florida and other parts of the country where they've strengthened the protocol for 911 calls.

You know, I actually attended one of the events where Nathan was telling Denise's story to a bunch of people that work in the 911 field, and I talked with the people after, the people that were attending, And her story, him telling her story really made a difference, really impacted them. And, you know, it also impacted me. You know, I'm not going to forget this, you know, and I think that it's just really amazing. Again, I think I said the strength of this family was so important and just the way that they've turned their tragedy, you know, into action is just, it's remarkable.

This is a story that has resonated and just stayed with me for quite a while. My thanks to Denise and Jeff for such a thoughtful conversation and also some really pretty strong reporting here helping us get this story to air. Well, before we wrap today, I want to share one more update about the story because it really adds a sense of resolution for Denise's family. Michael King was convicted of killing Denise Amber Lee and sentenced to death back in 2009. And all these years later, 18 years after the crime, in March of 2026, King was actually executed by lethal injection in a Florida prison after his final appeals were denied. We recently spoke again with Denise's family about what that was like for them and how they're continuing to move forward. Here are some extended moments from our time together after Michael King's execution.

Obviously, I wish I didn't ever have to go to that execution. I wish that my mom was still here.

We had been waiting, you know, 17 years, almost 18 years for this to happen. When they opened the curtain, King is strapped on the gurney, and I could see him blinking. And I don't know if I'll ever be able to forget that, but we needed to be there for Denise.

Seeing him for the first time in person, you know, my heart drops and It's a surreal experience. Michael King did read a statement. He didn't apologize for killing my mother. He didn't admit to it either. I would have rather heard nothing, and I think I just needed to see justice being served for my mom.

You know, I'm kind of glad Noah was able to go because I think it was good for him, you know, to see that closure and see that finality. Adam didn't want to, I supported that 100%. You know, now that that chapter is closed, I'm still dedicating my life to, you know, making 911 the best it can be and keeping what happened to Denise from happening again. That was kind of like the one last dark light at the end of the tunnel that we just needed to get through, and now we're through it, and, you know, we're just gonna keep, you know, trying to make her proud.

Now that I'm 20 and my mom only lived to 21, it's kind of crazy to me that she only lived that long because I can't imagine having my life cut short. I think she'd be super proud of who I am today.

Their resilience, it is something I think most of us will remember. I'm still struck by the work that they have done in Denise's name, especially around 911 trainings and accountability. Such a big part of Denise's legacy. My thanks, of course, as always, to you for joining us. And you can stream 20/20 episodes like this one anytime on Disney+ and Hulu. Take care, everybody. You know when you're locked in, focused, and fearless. Welcome to the WNBA. Your vision narrows. You can't look away. Every assist, every stop, every logo 3.

From beyond the logo!

Every "did you see that" moment. You bet! What records are going to be broken this season? All of it, right here. Lock in. It's the WNBA on ESPN, all season long. I'm Harvey Guillén, and this is Killer Stories. Every Monday, I'm cutting the lights and telling you a bedtime story. Except these stories are all real. We're talking brazen heists, devastating cons, serial murders, and cases that defy tidy categories. So join me for new episodes of Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén every Monday.