The murder case became notorious because Lee and several others had attempted to call for help through the 9-1-1 system but there was a lack of communication and the police and other emergency services arrived too late.

Five 9-1-1 calls were made that day, including one by Lee herself from her abductor's phone and one from a witness, Jane Kowalski, who gave a detailed account of events as they unfolded before her.

In 2009, King was found guilty of the kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of Denise Amber Lee.

Lee's family continue to lobby for a new law to be passed nationwide that would institute mandatory training and certification for all 9-1-1 dispatchers.

The Denise Amber Lee Foundation was established in June 2008 to promote such training as well as to raise public awareness of the issues involved.

Denise Amber Lee (née Goff; August 6, 1986 – January 17, 2008) was born in Englewood, Florida.

Not long after their first date, Lee's future husband, Nathan, bought her a $40 heart-shaped ring which she had never removed.

[4][6] Michael Lee King (born May 4, 1971)[7] trained as a plumber[8] but had been unemployed for several months before the crime and was facing foreclosure on his home in North Port, Florida.

[9] He has a low IQ, and family members described to the court how King had an accident while sledding as a child; an expert witness described the subsequent injury as a "divot" in his brain.

King was found guilty of kidnapping, sexual battery, and first-degree murder; he was sentenced to death and is presently detained awaiting execution.

Lee was bound and taken to King's home in North Port, Florida, where he set up what the prosecution in the trial referred to as a "rape room."

The prosecution presented DNA, and other forensic evidence, including hair and personal articles of Lee's found around and within the Camaro, King's home, and the grave site.

The defense attempted to provide reasonable doubt by bringing evidence of tampering and contamination to the jury and suggesting that one of King's friends had committed the crime.

On August 28, 2009, after deliberating for two hours and five minutes, the jury found King guilty of kidnapping with intent to commit a felony, sexual battery, and first-degree murder.

[15] As of July 2020, King is incarcerated in Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Florida, awaiting imposition of the death sentence.

Due to Jane Kowalski's mishandled 9-1-1 call, more research revealed several issues countrywide in the 9-1-1 system, so a non-profit organization with the mission to "promote and support public safety through uniform training, standardized protocols, defined measurable outcomes, and technological advances in the 9-1-1 system."

[20] On April 24, 2008, the Senate Bill, CS/SB 1694, concerning the Denise Amber Lee Act, which provides for voluntary training for 9-1-1 operators, was passed unanimously by the Florida Legislature.

A separate bill, also in 2010 and sponsored by Representative Robert C. Schenck, would have placed significant limitations on 9-1-1 calls when played in public.