Guilty Creatures: Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee, Florida
“Murder, a love triangle, and small-town secrets in Tallahassee, Florida...an unputdownable read.” —The New York Times
“A compelling psychological double portrait of what happens when two people are forever bound by a life-altering secret.” —Becky Cooper, bestselling author of We Keep the Dead Close
From the critically acclaimed author dubbed “one of today’s finest practitioners of nonfiction” (The New York Times Book Review), a breathless true crime tale of sex, religion, and murder in the deep South.
Mike and Denise Williams had a tight knit, seemingly unbreakable bond with childhood friends, Brian and Kathy Winchester. The two couples were devout, hardworking Baptists who lived perfect, quintessentially Southern lives. Their friendship seemed ironclad. That is, until December 16, 2000, when Denise’s husband Mike disappeared while duck hunting on Lake Seminole.
After no body was found, everyone assumed that Mike had drowned in a tragic accident, his body eaten by alligators. But things took an unexpected turn when, within five years of Mike’s disappearance, Brian Winchester divorced his wife and married Denise. Their surprising romance set tongues talking. People began wondering how long they had been a couple, and whether they had anything to do with Mike’s death. It took another twelve years for the truth to come out—and when it did, it was unimaginable.
Now, the full, shocking story is revealed by Mikita Brottman, acclaimed true crime writer of the “enthralling” (San Francisco Book Review) An Unexplained Death. Through tenacious research and clear-eyed prose, she probes the psychology of a couple who killed and explores how it feels to live for eighteen years with murder on the soul.
A fascinating page-turner of modern noir, Guilty Creatures is destined to become an instant true crime classic.
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Community Reviews
This true crime book follows the plotted murder of Jerry “Mike” Williams. Mike, Denise, Brian Winchester and Kathy Thomas were all high school friends when they attended North Florida Christian School. Mike and Denise married after college, and Brian and Kathy married as well.
In 1997 Mike’s best friend Brian, and Mike’s wife, Denise began an affair. They knew that they wanted to be together, but since having a daughter, Denise did not want to be a single mother that shared custody with Mike. She also did not want to divorce as she was a women of faith. Brian sold insurance, and began to sell Mike more life insurance, so that Denise could collect on that as they plotted Mikes murder.
On December 16, 2000 Brian invited Mike out to go duck hunting in the early morning hours. They drove in Mikes Bronco and boat to Lake Seminole. There Brian told Mike to put on his waders and they proceeded to go out on the boat. Brian knew that he was going to push Mike into the cold water with the intent to have his waders and jacket on to fill with water and drowned him. Mike began to panic as the started to go under water, but he was able to grab onto a snag (fallen tree in the water) and started to pull himself up. Brian knew that he had to make sure Mike would never survive, so he circled the boat around and shot Mike. Brian then knew that he could not leave Mike in the water with a bullet wound, so he pulled him out of the water and placed him in the back of Brians car.
There he went home and established his alibi with his wife Kathy (who was completely unaware of his doings). Brian then drove to a very rural road and buried Mike.
Denise pleaded to get a death certificate for her then, missing husband Mike so that she could collect the life insurance money of over a million dollars.
Brian and Denise married in 2005, but I think that the horrific actions of Brian weighted to heavy on him. The guilt of Mikes murder and the hurt he caused his son and ex-wife was to much.
In 2016 Brian was arrested on charges stemming from an incident where he allegedly kidnapped Denise after he filed for divorce. He received immunity for the murder of Mike, as Brian told the authorities everything. He also took them to where Mike was buried. Brian served 20 years in prison for the kidnapping charge.
In 2018 Denise Williams was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and accessory after the fact. She was is now serving life in prison.
In 1997 Mike’s best friend Brian, and Mike’s wife, Denise began an affair. They knew that they wanted to be together, but since having a daughter, Denise did not want to be a single mother that shared custody with Mike. She also did not want to divorce as she was a women of faith. Brian sold insurance, and began to sell Mike more life insurance, so that Denise could collect on that as they plotted Mikes murder.
On December 16, 2000 Brian invited Mike out to go duck hunting in the early morning hours. They drove in Mikes Bronco and boat to Lake Seminole. There Brian told Mike to put on his waders and they proceeded to go out on the boat. Brian knew that he was going to push Mike into the cold water with the intent to have his waders and jacket on to fill with water and drowned him. Mike began to panic as the started to go under water, but he was able to grab onto a snag (fallen tree in the water) and started to pull himself up. Brian knew that he had to make sure Mike would never survive, so he circled the boat around and shot Mike. Brian then knew that he could not leave Mike in the water with a bullet wound, so he pulled him out of the water and placed him in the back of Brians car.
There he went home and established his alibi with his wife Kathy (who was completely unaware of his doings). Brian then drove to a very rural road and buried Mike.
Denise pleaded to get a death certificate for her then, missing husband Mike so that she could collect the life insurance money of over a million dollars.
Brian and Denise married in 2005, but I think that the horrific actions of Brian weighted to heavy on him. The guilt of Mikes murder and the hurt he caused his son and ex-wife was to much.
In 2016 Brian was arrested on charges stemming from an incident where he allegedly kidnapped Denise after he filed for divorce. He received immunity for the murder of Mike, as Brian told the authorities everything. He also took them to where Mike was buried. Brian served 20 years in prison for the kidnapping charge.
In 2018 Denise Williams was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and accessory after the fact. She was is now serving life in prison.
