242: Don't Mess With Moms!

Mike Williams was an avid outdoorsman. So it was no surprise when he headed out early one morning to go duck hunting on Lake Seminole. But it was definitely surprising when Mike wasn’t home by noon. So his wife Denise asked her father and a friend to check on him. They spotted Mike’s vehicle at a remote boat dock, but couldn’t find Mike or his boat anywhere. Searchers eventually discovered Mike’s boat, but couldn’t find his body. As the search continued, investigators discovered – and ignored – clues that Mike had been the victim of foul play.

Then Brandi tells us the story of Jema Donahue. Jema had a protective order against her husband, Javon Donahue, but when she came home one day, she says she found him in her basement brandishing a gun. He attacked her, but Jema fought back. She shot Javon four times. Afterward, Jema called 911. Before she said anything, she hung up.

And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.

In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
“The voice in the lake” episode of Cold Case Files
“Mystery in the swamp,” episode of People Magazine Investigates
“Wife who plotted husband’s murder with his best friend, then married him, gets life in prison,” by Steve Helling for People.com
“Threesome twist revealed during testimony in Denise Williams’ murder trial,” by Jackie Salo for the New York Post
“‘Snowballed’ into murder,” by Karl Etters and Jeff Burlew for the Tallahassee Democrat
“Denise Williams, wife convicted in Mike Williams murder, resentenced to 30 years,” by Karl Etters for the Tallahassee Democrat
“Florida Supreme Court declines review of Denise Williams Case,” by Christopher Cann for the Tallahassee Democrat
“Crusade to conviction,” by Karl Etters and Jennifer Portman for the Tallahassee Democrat
“Brian Winchester grilled as Mike Williams’ family testifies,” by Karl Etters and Jennifer Portman for the Tallahassee Democrat
“Williams murder trial: Denise’s fate will be in jury’s hands today,” by Karl Etters and Jennifer Portman for the Tallahassee Democrat
“Man with ties to cold case in jail on unrelated charges,” by Jennifer Portman for the Tallahassee Democrat

In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“A Mother’s Love” episode I Am A Killer
“Buried body found on rural farm in Warrensburg leads to wife's arrest” by Melissa Greenstein, KSHB 41 News
“Two more people charged, additional charges announced against woman who allegedly killed husband” KMBC 9 News
“Knob Noster woman who alleged abuse sentenced in husband’s death” by Associated Press, Fox 4 News
“MARRIAGE ENDS IN MAYHEM Who is Jema Donahue and where is she now?” By Kevin Quinitchett, The Sun
“Donahue receives 10-year sentence on manslaughter charge” by Sue Sterling, johnpicerno.com

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