|
Jerry Michael Williams (born October 16, 1969), known as Michael or Mike Williams to his friends and family, has not been seen since he left his home in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, to go duck hunting on December 16, 2000. After his failure to return, he was presumed to have drowned. In the years since then, however, investigators have come to suspect he was the victim of foul play. After Williams' boat was found abandoned on Lake Seminole, a large reservoir straddling the Florida–Georgia state line, the initial theory was that he had fallen out of it after a collision. A lengthy and exhaustive search of the lake bed in the area, however, failed to find his body, the only time that had ever occurred with a drowning death in the lake at that point in time. It was eventually concluded that his body was eaten by alligators, and after his waders were found in the lake two months later, he was declared legally dead following a court petition by his widow, who later married a mutual friend who had helped her take out a large life insurance policy on her first husband shortly before his disappearance. Some investigators felt aspects of the case were not consistent with that theory, and after pressure from Williams' mother Cheryl the case was reopened in 2004 by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). By then officers had learned that alligators do not, in fact, eat during the winter months as the water is too cold, and it was concluded that foul play might have occurred. But it did not produce any new evidence as the potential crime scene had not been secured during the search for Williams. Two later investigations, involving the state's insurance fraud agency and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in addition to FDLE, were likewise unable to uncover any significant new information. Cheryl Williams, who like some residents of the area where her son disappeared believes he is still alive, has continued to press the case, alienating many of the law enforcement officials she had previously persuaded to reopen the case. Her efforts included writing letters on a daily basis to the governor asking him to have the state reopen the investigation. The case has also been the subject of an episode of the Investigation Discovery channel series ''Disappeared''. ==Background== Williams grew up in Bradfordville〔 north of the city, the son of a Greyhound bus driver〔 and a day care provider who raised him and his older brother Nick in a double-wide trailer. Instead of building a house the family saved its money so both boys, who helped by working nights at supermarkets, could attend North Florida Christian High School. There he excelled, serving as student council president, playing football and being active in the Key Club. At the age of 15, he both began duck hunting as a hobby and came to know Denise Merrell. After North Florida Christian, he attended Florida State University. Before he had even graduated, he was hired by Ketcham Appraisal Group as a property appraiser. He distinguished himself as "the hardest-working man I ever saw", according to the company's owner. After he married Merrell in 1994, he would often go home for dinner and return to work after she (and later, his daughter) went to bed, then sometimes come in to work after going hunting in the morning.〔 According to his mother, he was making $200,000 annually by the time of his disappearance). He and Denise had bought a home in a small upscale subdivision on the east side of the city.〔 In 1999, Williams' only child, a daughter, was born. His coworkers said he was as devoted to her as his work. The following year his father died. Midway through the year the couple bought a $1 million life insurance policy on him through Brian Winchester,〔 a childhood acquaintance of Merrell who had also become best friends with her husband. Later in the the year, Williams told his mother, whom he had been consoling, that he would have liked to have $50,000 to take the next year off.〔 Two days before his disappearance, Mike and Denise told his mother and Nick that they were planning to have another child soon. Denise would later tell a court that they ultimately planned to have another besides that. In 2001, she said, they were planning to go on a cruise in Hawaii that spring; later in the year he expected to travel to Jamaica as well for work.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Disappearance of Jerry Michael Williams」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|