During the afternoon of 12/3/89, DET. SALDATE developed information that DEBRA MILKE was involved in the murder of her son CHRISTOPHER. She had gone to the City of Florence, Arizona to be with her family so DET. FRANK DiMODICA and I were sent to Florence, by DET. SGT. S. ONTIVEROS, to learn her exact location to that DET. SALDATE could interview her.
Prior to our arrival in Florence it was decided to ask the Pinal County Sheriff's Office to ask for assistance in contacting DEBRA MILKE, at the home of her father RICHARD SADEIK, to request that she come to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office because Phoenix Police Detectives were en route to Florence and needed to talk to her. The P.S.C.O. did assist and Deputy SOULES went to the SADEIK home and brought DEBRA to the Sheriff's office/jail.
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Comment: This paragraph does not mention that anyone had talked to Debra, questioned her or prepared her for an arrest.
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DET. DiMODICA and I arrived at the Pinal County Jail at approximately 1835 hours. When we arrived we spoke to Deputy SOULES who had just arrived with DEBRA. DEBRA had come to the Pinal County Jail voluntarily and came with a friend, JANET FROEBE, in JANET'S car. DEBRA was standing on the sidewalk in front of the jail.
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Comment: The police detectives arrived in Florence, while SALDATE was back on his way from the murder-scene and on his way to Florence, using a helicopter. Debra came voluntarily to the jail facility - and why shouldn't she? She's innocent and was anxious to hear news about CHRISTOPHER. Debra and JANET drove in JANET'S car. It would have still been possible for her to take refuge if the "consipracy" - as later
alleged - were true.
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I asked if there was a room or office within the jail where DEBRA could wait while final arrangements were made for DET. SALDATE to come to interview her. She was taken inside the jail to the doctor's office, where she waited.
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Comment: Again, no mention that anyone had talked to Debra about an arrest or facts pertaining to the murder of CHRISTOPHER. She was only taken into the facility, where she waited until SALDATE finally arrived at 7.53 p.m. [1 hour and 17 minutes of waiting - without any attempt to take refuge!]
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From the time that she was taken inside the jail building until the time she was first contacted by DET. SALDATE, approximately 1955 hours, DEBRA MILKE did not ask any questions or ask to leave.
The scenario that unraveled was later corroborated by the testimony of DETECTIVE HAMRICK on September 13, 1990 at the jury trial. Defense attorney KEN RAY was unfortunately not aware that the police reports were conflicting to SALDATE'S story, and he was actually close to that issue when he had HAMRICK on the stand:
BY MR. RAY :
( ... )
Ken Ray: Okay. Did you direct Debra and the friend into this office area for them to wait?
Harvey Hamrick: No, I didn't.
Ken Ray: Do you know who did?
Harvey Hamrick: All I know is I asked Deputy Soules if he would arrange for a place for her to wait, and he took care of that and she was taken to wherever she waited.
Ken Ray: Did you have occasion to go inside that facility, within that office where she waited?
Harvey Hamrick: Later, after Detective Saldate arrived, I did talk to the friend that brought her back in the jail, but I couldn't tell you how close we were to the room where she was waiting.
Ken Ray: Had you been standing outside the door to this office waiting for Detective Saldate?
Harvey Hamrick: Like I said, I don't even know where the room that she was being held was within the jail. Detective DiModica and I stood and waited inside the intake portion of the jail.
Ken Ray: And when Detective Saldate arrived, was he with any other officer or detective, to your knowledge, as he arrived?
Harvey Hamrick: To the best of my recall, he was brought down by the Phoenix Police helicopter and was met wherever the helicopter landed by personnel of Pinal County and they drove him to the jail.
Ken Ray: Did you observe Detective Saldate enter the jail facility?
Harvey Hamrick: No. We were away from the front door and he was there and then he was - he wasn't there, then he was.
Ken Ray: Were you later requested to speak with the friend that had accompanied Debra Milke?
Harvey Hamrick: I can't say that I was actually requested to. It was just something that needed to be done, so I did it.
Ken Ray: Can you tell me how you came into contact with that friend in order to accomplish the interview that you conducted?
Harvey Hamrick: I asked somebody in the jail to take me to where she was. I introduced myself to her and told her that I would like to talk to her and explain a little bit of what was going on.
Ken Ray: I see.
( ... )
C O N C L U S I O N
These documents are proof that Phoenix police intended to arrest Debbie Milke from the first moment on, based only on the disjoined ramblings of co-defendant ROGER SCOTT. That SCOTT'S incrimination of Debra was not to be believed can be seen by SCOTT'S total inability to give any remotely coherent account of Debra's alleged role when interviewed on tape by DET. MILLS that evening - but by that time, ROGER SCOTT'S story had become the basis for the entire case, and Debra had been arrested. And we know, SCOTT confessed to the killing of Christopher Milke to a co-inmate, but his initial incrimination of Debra landed her on death row, where she is innocently rotting for more than twelve years now.
