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Senate OKs 911 Bill Inspired By Slaying Of North Port Mom

Sarasota Herald-Tribune photo by JENNA ISAACSON

Jane Kowalski says the 911 call she placed the night of Denise Amber Lee's murder was the first time in her life she'd ever had to dial it. The call and how it was handled is now a pivotal point in the call for legislation to train call center workers statewide.

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By CAROL E. LEE

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: April 25, 2008

TALLAHASSEE — The Denise Amber Lee Act, named after the slain North Port mother, passed unanimously in the state Senate on Thursday.

Lee's husband, Nathan, and father, Charlotte County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Rick Goff, sat in the front row of the Senate gallery wearing "Remember Denise Fix 911" buttons bearing a picture of the slain 21-year-old mother of two.

The legislation would create statewide standards for the training and certification of 911 operators.

"It's the first step," Nathan Lee said.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Dave Aronberg, a Democrat who represents part of Charlotte County, retold the story of the 911 call Lee's family thinks could have saved her life.

"It's something good that's come from this whole thing," Nathan Lee said after the bill passed. "So, hopefully, people will feel comfortable about calling 911, and this mistake, hopefully, will never happen again.

"It's a real honor to have it named after Denise."

Lee was abducted from her North Port home on the afternoon of Jan. 17 while tending to her 6-month-old and 2-year-old sons.

Screaming and banging on the back window of her abductor's Camaro, Lee got the attention of a woman at a stoplight, authorities say. The woman called Charlotte County's 911. The information was not conveyed to police, who were blocks away from where the car was sighted, searching for Lee.

Within hours, Lee was dead. Her body was found two days later less than three miles from where the 911 caller saw her screaming for help.

"We just want to try to instill confidence back in the 911 system," Goff said after the Senate passed the bill. "My daughter could still be alive."

Michael King, a 36-year-old unemployed plumber from North Port, pleaded not guilty in March to charges that he kidnapped, raped and murdered Lee.

Nathan Lee and Rick Goff would like the 911 training standards to be mandatory, but lawmakers have said the state does not have the money to do that this year.

The House version, which is sponsored by Rep. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter, will be introduced on the floor during the next week, the Legislature's last, and is expected to pass.

The Goff and Lee families said they will return to Tallahassee to see the bill all the way through.

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