The Mesa Tribune
December 5, 1989

In the neighborhood where 4-year-old CHRIS MILKE used to play, Monday was just another day. His friends ran in the courtyard while their parents looked on.

In the window of apartment No. 5 where MILKE lived, a small yellow yield sign read 'Teddy Bear on Board'.

But CHRIS, a blond, blue-eyed 'angel', was not with his friends. His body was found Sunday in the desert northwest of Phoenix. He had been shot to death. MILKE'S mother, her roommate and another man were in jail accused of planning and executing the boy's murder.

Comment : As in many examples the story told by police was uncritically reproduced by this newspaper and therefore instrumental in portraying the unbelievable theory of a conspiracy of Debra Milke, STYERS and ROGER SCOTT.

In the word of one neighbor, "The teddy bear had fangs."

"I believe them innocent until proven guilty," said SUZANNE MURPHY, a friend of MILKE'S mother, DEBORAH [sic]. "Still, it's scary. You think you know people, but I guess you never know."

Comment : MRS. MURPHY was obviously troubled and confused by the conflicting story of a 'solved case' as reported by the authorities, opposing to what she had perceived when she saw the boy's mother affectionately interact with her son CHRISTOPHER.

DEBORAH [sic] MILKE, 25, her roommate, JIM STAYERS [sic], 42, and STAYERS' [sic] high-school friend, ROGER SCOTT, 40, were being held Monday in Maricopa County Jail without bond. They each face charges of conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder. The trio's arraignment has been set for Dec. 13 in Peoria Justice Court.

Comment : Another interesting detail unravels here. The arraignment was in fact already accomplished on December 8th, 1989 at Maricopa County, the central district of Phoenix where the indictment of all three suspects was granted by the Grand Jury.

Phoenix police found the boy's body about 6 p.m. Sunday in a desert area near 99th Avenue and Happy Valley Road. The boy apparently had been shot to death at the scene, said police spokesman SGT. ANDY ANDERSON.

Little information has been released on what led police to arrest the trio. ANDERSON has said there is evidence pointing to a definite motive but declined to reveal the motive.

Comment : Sure, it was obviously not yet invented at the time. And incredibly, the representative did not disclose the information that a purported confession of Debra Milke existed. This is a major conflict with the documents available in this case and increase the likeliness that this so-called 'confession' was in fact merely a fabrication. According to SALDATE'S report, typed only one day after this article was published, SCOTT accused Debra Milke that "she wasn't cut out to be a mother." After the supplemental report including the alleged confession of Debra was written, it was Milke's statement that she "didn't want her son to grow up and be like his father" which served as an additional motive. Two months later Debra's boyfriend ERNIE SWEAT became an additional motive to want to have 4-year-old CHRISTOPHER murdered. The little boy allegedly conflicted with Debra's social life [but in fact, the two young people had already terminated dating]. And last, but not least, to cash in on insurance money was another purported motive, notwithstanding the fact that every child knows that no insurance company would ever pay in case of a felony like murder (the insurance conditions exclude payment in such cases explicitly). The scam is : none of these motives applied to Debra Milke's true life situation at the time when the murder of her son took place.

A KTSP-TV (Channel 10) report said DEBORAH [sic] MILKE had taken out a $5,000 life-insurance policy on her son in October, but police would not comment on any possible connections.

MILKE told Channel 10 she was not involved in the murder.

"They charged me with first degree murder and I told them I'm not guilty of that," she said.

Comment : It was PAUL HUEBL who kept a hidden tape-recorded and talked to Debra Milke on the corridor of the Phoenix Police Department and confronted her with the accusations of the police. He inquired of her that he heard insurance money was her motivation to have her son killed, and Debra replied "Who told you that ? I heard that too. That's off the wall." That was her statement no longer than one and a half hours after allegedly confessing to the purported conspiracy to have her son shot. Debra vehemently denied any confession to PAUL HUEBL [an affidavit exists].

CHRIS was reported missing by STAYERS [sic] on Saturday afternoon. STAYERS [sic], a Vietnam veteran who told reporters he suffered from emotional problems that affect his memory, told police the boy slipped away from him at Metro Center mall. After an exhaustive search of the area, police turned their attention to STAYERS [sic], MILKE and SCOTT.

Comment : The truth is that police focussed on SCOTT alone, but allowed STYERS to go back home at this point. Only after SCOTT had incriminated both, STYERS and Milke, SALDATE'S strategy to claim a conspiracy existed developed.

Friends of MILKE and STAYERS [sic] were stunned by the murder.

"It was a big, big surprise," said neighbor JOHN CIULLA, a father of two boys. "(STAYERS [sic]) would take my kids to the mall. To think they'd do this, my God !"

Comment : ... which is hardly the description of a man who allegedly couldn't "stand him any more" (according to SCOTT'S accusation) and who "never liked the kid and (he) said that he didn't think that JIM would go through with it". Just the opposite, it shows that STYERS displayed care and concern for children in general, and that he took care of his own daughter WENDY and Debra Milke's son CHRISTOPHER.

STAYERS [sic] also was known to discipline MILKE CIULLA said, adding that STAYERS had a large paddle that was labeled 'CHRISTOPHER'S board of education.'

EILEEN PICKETT said there was no reason to suspect either STAYERS or MILKE.

Comment : This is a statement which is consistent with MARK MILKE'S initial judgment made on December 3rd, 1989 that "he knows JAMES and does not think he would be involved in any foul play."

"I talked to them all the time," she said. "He (STAYERS [sic]) used to say hi. He played with NICKI (PICKETT'S granddaughter) all the time. I felt really bad for them. I said a prayer for them last night."

MURPHY, who stayed with MILKE Saturday night, said the woman was 'hysterical'.

Comment : The natural reaction of a shocked mother waiting to hear about her missing boy. MURPHY'S statement also match with the recollection of Debra's mother RENATE (who resides in Switzerland) and her sister SANDY. We are also given further evidence that Debra was cooperative with the detectives of the missing person detail and how her concern was real while the investigations were pending.

"She kept asking the detective if there were people who would take a little boy and kill him," MURPHY said. "If she had anything to do with (the murder), she's the best actress in the word."

MURPHY'S husband, PAT, said STAYERS [sic] did not seem worried during the search of the mall. He said STAYERS kept talking about 'off the wall' things 'like buying a new car or something.'

Comment : Clearly, STYERS knew that CHRISTOPHER was murdered at that time, but tried to cover his knowledge in fear of being charged with the murder. This fearful and sneaky reaction made him even more suspicious and eventually helped to orchestrate the allegation that there was 'somehow' a conspiracy.

While the adults tried to figure out the murder, the children continued playing. but they also felt the loss.

MARK MURPHY, SUZANNE and PAT MURPHY'S son, asked his mother why doctor's couldn't bring CHRIS back to life.

"They were really good friends," SUZANNE MURPHY said. "He's having a hard time understanding. How do you explain to a 4-year-old boy he's never going to see his best friend ever again?"

CIULLA'S youngest son, CHRISTOPHER, also was hurt by his friend's death.

"CHRISTOPHER just cried and cried and cried," he said. "You think you know somebody. How can you sit here and shoot a kid?

CHRIS MILKE'S murder, which came on the heels of a child kidnapping last week in the same apartment complex, will probably break up what was a nice, tight little group," CIULLA said.

"I just want to get the hell out of there," he said.

Comment : Why did no one consider the feelings about the loss of CHRISTOPHER'S mother Debra when all hell broke loose, the media simply reproduced the story told by police and one ruthless detective chose to impose a double tragedy on the young woman?