A Florida man was executed Tuesday (March 17, 2026) evening for the rape and murder of a young mother who frantically called 911 on her attacker's cellphone while she was tied up in his car.
Michael Lee King, 54, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, authorities said. He had been convicted of first-degree murder, sexual battery and kidnapping in the January 2008 killing of 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee.
Court records show the woman was outside her North Port home with her two sons — a toddler and an infant — when King drove by, spotted her, and later abducted her while leaving the children home alone.
King took Lee to his home, where he bound and raped her, investigators said. Later that day, King drove to his cousin's house to borrow a flashlight, shovel and gas can, according to prosecutors. While Lee was bound in King's car, she managed to get King's cellphone and call 911, records showed. She can be heard on a recording of the call begging for her life so that she could see her husband and children again.
King eventually drove Lee to a remote area of North Port, where he shot her in the face and buried her, authorities said. A state trooper pulled King over a short time later because his 1994 green Chevrolet Camaro matched the description of another 911 call. A woman had heard screams coming from the vehicle while stopped at a traffic light and called police to report a possible child abduction.
