The Story of Debra & Christopher Milke:

Debra Milke was a cute 24-year-old single mother in 1989.  She and her 4-year-old son, Christopher, were living with a friend while Debra prepared to move into her own apartment and start a new job.  She was excited for what she saw as a fresh start, saving up new clothing and household items for her and Christopher’s new life.  But, on December 2nd, Christopher disappeared.

Join us at the quiet end for Dead Woman Walking. When Debra’s son went missing on a trip to see Santa Claus, she was frantic.  Trying to do everything possible to find her son and bring him home safely, Debra readily spoke to the police. But when one detective finished interviewing Debra, he claimed to have a confession.  Debra, he said, had had her son murdered to collect on a small life insurance policy. Put on trial for murder and abandoned by most of her family and friends, Debra found herself living a 20-year nightmare which was likely to end with her execution by lethal injection.

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A family photo of Debra & Christopher

Sources

Brain-Damaged Roger Scott May Be Only One Executed in Debra Milke Case, Elizabeth Stuart, 9/30/2015, ret. 8/29/2022

Debra Milke: A Mother’s Story, Folks Documentary, YouTube Video, 9/6/2016

Debra Milke, The National Registry of Exonerations, ret. 8/29/2022

Former Death Row Inmate Debra Milke and Her Lawyers Speak to Press, Fox 10 Phoenix, 3/24/2015

Requiring Interrogations to be Taped, OLR Research report, Kevin E. McCarthy, 12/4/2017

A Stolen Life: The Debra Milke Story by Jana Bommersbach

State of Arizona v. Debra Jean Milke, Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County, 1989-2015