Denise Amber Lee was 21 and a mother of two when she was abducted and murdered on January 17, 2008, in North Port, Florida. Michael Lee King, 36, reportedly cruised the neighborhood, forced entry into Denise’s home while she was cutting her son’s hair, and abducted her. Denise managed to call 9-1-1 from her abductor’s phone and gave information about her location; witnesses also made 9-1-1 calls, but failures in the emergency system prevented officers from finding her in time. She was driven for hours, raped and killed, and her body was found two days later in a shallow grave.

King was pulled over by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper on the night of January 17, 2008, and found wet from the waist down with a shovel and other items in his car. He was charged with kidnapping, sexual battery and first-degree murder; in 2009 he was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death. The case led to passage of the Denise Amber Lee Act in 2008 and inspired the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, as her family pushed for mandatory 9-1-1 dispatcher training and certification.