it was her daughter anslee's 19th birthday.nise had conspired with brian winchester to kill his best friend mike. she pleaded not guilty. but denise was the only one charged. what about brian? they told us that they had had to make a deal with the devil. dennis murphy: some called it the deal of the century. really what they wanted was information of what happened to mike, where the body was. dennis murphy: his attorney tim jansen said prosecutors had but one priority, to find mike's body. tim jansen: they never said to him you have to give any evidence against denise. dennis murphy: but he would. in exchange for his testimony against denise, brian got 20 years for the kidnapping and would not face murder charges. bailiff: the state of florida versus denise williams-- dennis murphy: almost 18 years after mike williams disappeared, denise went on trial. she faced a mandatory life sentence if convicted. prosecutors had a lineup of witnesses-- fdle agents, fish and wildlife officers, and mike's mother with her head barely showing

struggle to find out what happened to her son is now a struggle to return her estranged granddaughter anslee back to the family, that child who lost so much one blustery day long ago, a father and now in slow motion justice a mother, too. lust and greed setting a banquet of sorrow for all. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm andrea canning. thank you for watching. [music playing] hello, i'm andrea canning, and tshe was brave.ne." she was incredibly brave. why didn't i know that she needed me and that she was alone and that she was hurt? nothing was the same after that, nothing. andrea canning (voiceover): they found her in the soccer field, the straight arrow student killed by a single bullet. and i just hit the floor. i remember the pain. every time i talk about it, the pain comes, like, rushing back. that someone would shoot my child. like, why? this was a small town whodunit. oh, yeah. we were afraid. andrea canning (voiceover): what had happened that night? was the answer somewhere in her circle of friends? we're trying to find out why. i would never hurt halee. they came and