01-29-2008, 01:49 PM
Michael King’s uncle: Look for other bodies
(Last updated: January 28, 2008 5:46 PM)
Muxlow Jr. talks about the night Denise Amber Lee disappeared
By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH
North Port Editor
NORTH PORT -- Harold Muxlow Sr. says he hopes he’s wrong, but he fears nephew Michael King, who has been charged with the murder of Denise Amber Lee, may have harmed other women.
"I pray my gut instinct is wrong," he said. "But I've told police to check in Michigan and Homasassa (Florida) for missing persons."
Muxlow and his son, Harold Jr., spoke to the Sun from their dining room Sunday night. Muxlow Jr. wanted to explain why he scheduled, and then canceled, a press conference earlier in that day.
"I wanted to tell what really happened and what I saw and not what was reported by the media," Muxlow Jr. said of the exchange between him and his cousin, King, the evening Lee, 21, went missing. "A lot of what has been reported about me has been blown out of proportion. It's just not true."
On the night of Jan. 17, King arrived at Muxlow Jr.'s house at about 6 p.m. Muxlow hadn't seen his cousin in about a year. He believed King had been living in Michigan for the past year and might now be living in Homasassa with a woman.
Muxlow invited King inside. Police believe Lee was tied up in King’s car at the time. While Muxlow and King had a brief visit in the home, the hostage found King's cell phone inside the car and dialed 9-1-1 at 6:14 p.m. to alert them of whom she was and where she lived.
"He (King) was calm," Muxlow said of King's demeanor during his short visit. "He told me his lawn mower was stuck and he needed a shovel, gas can and flashlight to help get it out. Since I am a lawn maintenance contractor, I understood it, because I've gotten mowers stuck before."
The two went out to Muxlow's trailer where he retrieved the items. Muxlow said this was the first time he saw King's green Camaro. He asked him what year it was and told him that he had a similar white one. King grabbed the items and told Muxlow, "I gotta go," according to Muxlow.
"That's when he seemed like he was in a hurry," Muxlow said. "I thought it was because it was getting dark and he wanted to get the lawn mower unstuck."
As Muxlow turned his back to shut the trailer, King walked to his car. The car was parked across the street from the house in the swale near Muxlow's mailbox. The car was facing Bessimer Avenue with the driver's side facing Muxlow's home. When Muxlow turned around, he saw King loading the items into the passenger side of the green Camaro. Then he heard a woman yell, "Call the cops!"
Muxlow said he asked his cousin, "What the .... is going on?"
"He (King) said to me, 'It's nothing, don't worry about it,'" Muxlow said. "I was used to my cousin having wacky girlfriends and telling tall tales. So at the time, I thought this was a spat between the two. My mother had told me things his (King's) mom said about him and his psycho girlfriends. He was just a bad judge of women he dated.
"The last time he brought a woman over for a few minutes, she didn't speak. Mikey did all of the talking. So I thought it was him being normal in having a fight with a woman."
Muxlow said he never saw a woman tied up or screaming.
"I saw a silhouette," he said. "I saw someone's head and a shadow of a knee coming up between the front seats. I did not see anyone trying to get out of the car, tied up or fall out of the car. I heard a voice yell one thing, and that was it."
However, when he watched King climb into the car on the passenger's side, Muxlow began to think the last two minutes of his cousin's visit were odd.
"He didn't open the trunk, he put all the stuff in the back seat on the passenger's side and then crawled in the passenger side to get to the driver's seat," Muxlow said.
Questioning if there was really a mower stuck, Muxlow called his 17-year-old daughter, Sabrina, and asked her to come over to his house and look after her terminally ill grandmother, who needs around-the-clock supervision. Muxlow explained to Sabrina that King had come over and there might be a woman in his car who didn't want to be with him.
That's when Muxlow believes Sabrina called 9-1-1 at 6:23 p.m. and added more information to the story than what he told her.
"Sabrina is sensitive and sometimes emotional," Muxlow said. "I'm proud of her for calling 9-1-1."
Once Muxlow arrived at King's house and saw there was no lawn mower, he said he tried calling 9-1-1 on his cell phone.
"The call would not go through," he said. "But Sabrina called the police before I did. I think she just added more to the story than what I told her. I didn't see anyone tied up. If I did, I would have boxed with my cousin. I would have taken him. He might have tried to shoot me, but I would not have let him go with someone whom he was kidnapping. I would have never given him the items he asked for if I knew what he was doing."
Muxlow said he didn't immediately call 9-1-1 because he didn't want to start a huge family fight between himself and his mother, Janet, and her sister, Pat King, over calling the police on his cousin if he was only having a lover's quarrel.
Muxlow drove from King's house to the closest location, a 7-Eleven store, that he knew had a pay phone. He dialed 9-1-1 at about 6:35 p.m.
"I told the operator that Mike was driving a 1995 green Camaro, and I think someone has been taken against her will. I said I would call back when I know more."
Muxlow said the next time he saw his cousin was about 2:45 a.m. Friday after he was arrested for kidnapping Lee. Muxlow was aware that King was not cooperating with police.
"When I talked to Mike, he said he was kidnapped and was trying to blame someone else," Muxlow said. "I tried to ask him in several different ways where the woman was. He wouldn't answer me. He only talked about other things. He was calm -- no tears and no emotion."
Lee's body was found Jan. 19 in a shallow grave off Toledo Blade Boulevard in North Port. She had been shot in the head.
Muxlow said he's unsure if there is any connection whatsoever between King and Lee. He has done several side jobs with his cousin over the years.
"Who knows if he did any warranty work on the Lee's home," said Muxlow Sr., who is a longtime contractor in North Port. "This might explain if he knew specifically where she lived. Working for Babes (Plumbing), I know he (King) would have known the Venice, North Port and Port Charlotte area."
Muxlow Sr. said he too wanted to set the record straight that his son is not the "monster" or "accomplice" some people are calling him.
"I told my son to tell the truth," said Muxlow Sr., who said the family has not hired an attorney. "This is a horrific crime against this young woman and her family. My son would not have just allowed this to happen as people seemed to have jumped to conclusions and thought he did. Had he seen a woman tied up, he would have tackled his cousin and helped the woman get away."
Muxlow Jr. said he wishes that the last few minutes he was with his cousin he could have seen more into the Camaro.
"I have not slept. I keep going over this in my head," he said. "I'm having trouble focusing at work. It just haunts me.
"I am extremely sad for what has happened to Denise Lee and her family and for the hurt it has caused."
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Publishers of the Sun newspapers.
(Last updated: January 28, 2008 5:46 PM)
Muxlow Jr. talks about the night Denise Amber Lee disappeared
By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH
North Port Editor
NORTH PORT -- Harold Muxlow Sr. says he hopes he’s wrong, but he fears nephew Michael King, who has been charged with the murder of Denise Amber Lee, may have harmed other women.
"I pray my gut instinct is wrong," he said. "But I've told police to check in Michigan and Homasassa (Florida) for missing persons."
Muxlow and his son, Harold Jr., spoke to the Sun from their dining room Sunday night. Muxlow Jr. wanted to explain why he scheduled, and then canceled, a press conference earlier in that day.
"I wanted to tell what really happened and what I saw and not what was reported by the media," Muxlow Jr. said of the exchange between him and his cousin, King, the evening Lee, 21, went missing. "A lot of what has been reported about me has been blown out of proportion. It's just not true."
On the night of Jan. 17, King arrived at Muxlow Jr.'s house at about 6 p.m. Muxlow hadn't seen his cousin in about a year. He believed King had been living in Michigan for the past year and might now be living in Homasassa with a woman.
Muxlow invited King inside. Police believe Lee was tied up in King’s car at the time. While Muxlow and King had a brief visit in the home, the hostage found King's cell phone inside the car and dialed 9-1-1 at 6:14 p.m. to alert them of whom she was and where she lived.
"He (King) was calm," Muxlow said of King's demeanor during his short visit. "He told me his lawn mower was stuck and he needed a shovel, gas can and flashlight to help get it out. Since I am a lawn maintenance contractor, I understood it, because I've gotten mowers stuck before."
The two went out to Muxlow's trailer where he retrieved the items. Muxlow said this was the first time he saw King's green Camaro. He asked him what year it was and told him that he had a similar white one. King grabbed the items and told Muxlow, "I gotta go," according to Muxlow.
"That's when he seemed like he was in a hurry," Muxlow said. "I thought it was because it was getting dark and he wanted to get the lawn mower unstuck."
As Muxlow turned his back to shut the trailer, King walked to his car. The car was parked across the street from the house in the swale near Muxlow's mailbox. The car was facing Bessimer Avenue with the driver's side facing Muxlow's home. When Muxlow turned around, he saw King loading the items into the passenger side of the green Camaro. Then he heard a woman yell, "Call the cops!"
Muxlow said he asked his cousin, "What the .... is going on?"
"He (King) said to me, 'It's nothing, don't worry about it,'" Muxlow said. "I was used to my cousin having wacky girlfriends and telling tall tales. So at the time, I thought this was a spat between the two. My mother had told me things his (King's) mom said about him and his psycho girlfriends. He was just a bad judge of women he dated.
"The last time he brought a woman over for a few minutes, she didn't speak. Mikey did all of the talking. So I thought it was him being normal in having a fight with a woman."
Muxlow said he never saw a woman tied up or screaming.
"I saw a silhouette," he said. "I saw someone's head and a shadow of a knee coming up between the front seats. I did not see anyone trying to get out of the car, tied up or fall out of the car. I heard a voice yell one thing, and that was it."
However, when he watched King climb into the car on the passenger's side, Muxlow began to think the last two minutes of his cousin's visit were odd.
"He didn't open the trunk, he put all the stuff in the back seat on the passenger's side and then crawled in the passenger side to get to the driver's seat," Muxlow said.
Questioning if there was really a mower stuck, Muxlow called his 17-year-old daughter, Sabrina, and asked her to come over to his house and look after her terminally ill grandmother, who needs around-the-clock supervision. Muxlow explained to Sabrina that King had come over and there might be a woman in his car who didn't want to be with him.
That's when Muxlow believes Sabrina called 9-1-1 at 6:23 p.m. and added more information to the story than what he told her.
"Sabrina is sensitive and sometimes emotional," Muxlow said. "I'm proud of her for calling 9-1-1."
Once Muxlow arrived at King's house and saw there was no lawn mower, he said he tried calling 9-1-1 on his cell phone.
"The call would not go through," he said. "But Sabrina called the police before I did. I think she just added more to the story than what I told her. I didn't see anyone tied up. If I did, I would have boxed with my cousin. I would have taken him. He might have tried to shoot me, but I would not have let him go with someone whom he was kidnapping. I would have never given him the items he asked for if I knew what he was doing."
Muxlow said he didn't immediately call 9-1-1 because he didn't want to start a huge family fight between himself and his mother, Janet, and her sister, Pat King, over calling the police on his cousin if he was only having a lover's quarrel.
Muxlow drove from King's house to the closest location, a 7-Eleven store, that he knew had a pay phone. He dialed 9-1-1 at about 6:35 p.m.
"I told the operator that Mike was driving a 1995 green Camaro, and I think someone has been taken against her will. I said I would call back when I know more."
Muxlow said the next time he saw his cousin was about 2:45 a.m. Friday after he was arrested for kidnapping Lee. Muxlow was aware that King was not cooperating with police.
"When I talked to Mike, he said he was kidnapped and was trying to blame someone else," Muxlow said. "I tried to ask him in several different ways where the woman was. He wouldn't answer me. He only talked about other things. He was calm -- no tears and no emotion."
Lee's body was found Jan. 19 in a shallow grave off Toledo Blade Boulevard in North Port. She had been shot in the head.
Muxlow said he's unsure if there is any connection whatsoever between King and Lee. He has done several side jobs with his cousin over the years.
"Who knows if he did any warranty work on the Lee's home," said Muxlow Sr., who is a longtime contractor in North Port. "This might explain if he knew specifically where she lived. Working for Babes (Plumbing), I know he (King) would have known the Venice, North Port and Port Charlotte area."
Muxlow Sr. said he too wanted to set the record straight that his son is not the "monster" or "accomplice" some people are calling him.
"I told my son to tell the truth," said Muxlow Sr., who said the family has not hired an attorney. "This is a horrific crime against this young woman and her family. My son would not have just allowed this to happen as people seemed to have jumped to conclusions and thought he did. Had he seen a woman tied up, he would have tackled his cousin and helped the woman get away."
Muxlow Jr. said he wishes that the last few minutes he was with his cousin he could have seen more into the Camaro.
"I have not slept. I keep going over this in my head," he said. "I'm having trouble focusing at work. It just haunts me.
"I am extremely sad for what has happened to Denise Lee and her family and for the hurt it has caused."
Return to Top of story
© 2008 All rights reserved.
Your Local Internet Service Provider
A division of Sun Coast Media Group Inc.
Publishers of the Sun newspapers.