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Florida executed a man Tuesday evening for the brutal 2008 rape and murder of a married mother of two young sons who called 911 and begged for help while tied up in her car after she was abducted.
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 was sentenced to death for first-degree murder, sexual battery and kidnapping for the January 2008 killing of 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied King’s appeal on Monday.
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Clouds hover over the entrance of the Florida State Prison in Starke, where Michael Lee King was executed Tuesday for the 2008 killing of Denise Amber Lee. (AP; Florida Department of Corrections)
Lee was abducted by King while leaving her North Port home, where her children were inside. King spotted Lee while driving earlier outside the house with her two sons, a toddler and an infant at the time.
“As she trimmed her 2-year-old son Noah’s hair on the back porch, she had no way of knowing that a predator was driving through her neighborhood, searching for a victim,” the Denise Amber Foundation, which was created by Lee’s husband, Nathan Lee, states on its website.
King took Lee to his home where he raped her, prosecutors said. Later that day, he drove to a relative’s house to borrow a flashlight, shovel and gas can while Lee was tied up in his vehicle, according to prosecutors.
Despite being tied up, Lee managed to get King’s cellphone and call 911 where she begged for her life, saying she wanted to see her children and husband again.
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Michael Lee King, 54, was executed Tuesday for the murder of Denise Amber Lee. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)
King eventually shot her in the face and buried her. He was pulled over a short time later by a state trooper because his green 1994 Chevrolet Camaro matched the description of another 911 call.
A caller said she heard screams coming from the vehicle at a traffic light. Lee’s hair and belongings were later found in King’s vehicle and home.
The Denise Amber Lee Act, a law passed months after her death, provides better training for 911 operators.
At least four other 911 calls, not including Lee’s call, were made the day of her abduction. One came from her husband, as well as others who saw parts of the crime unfolding.
Clouds hover over the entrance of the Florida State Prison in Starke, where Michael King was executed Tuesday for the 2008 killing of Denise Amber Lee. (AP Photo/Curt Anderson, file)
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However, communication failures and other issues prevented help from being sent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.