Straus' Place

Click for the radio interview with Debbie

To make it easier for everybody to understand the content of this interview, we have a text version of it below. At this point "debbiemilke.com" also wishes to thank Straus' Place for their objective coverage and the opportunity to clarify some of the allegations, question marks and doubts in The Debra Jean Milke Case.

Debbie : Hello.
SP : Hello Debbie.
Debbie : Hi.
SP : I got the letter that you sent to Kirk Fowler and we won't have any problem at all. I got a lot of questions, though. Ah, how are you doing?
Debra : Well, I'm okay.
SP : Well, what's interesting to me is, this is not a case where I picked up the banner for Debbie Milke from early on. From early on, I - like so many other people - and I think it's safe to say - I read papers, I followed the story - the horrible crime, the murder of your son, and I followed the proceedings in court and I always had the feeling Debbie Milke's involved, Debbie Milke's guilty. I never questioned that until I talked to Kirk Fowler. In the intervening eight months (note : first coverage in 1998) I have done - ah, not a lot of research, but enough to raise a lot of questions in my mind, and now, looking back on the whole thing, I get the biggest question I have is ... why were so many of us let to believe that this was open and shut and I'm referring specifically to your guilt and complicity in the whole thing ... when now it appears so differently to me?
Debra : Well, I - I think, ahm, the, the county attorney thought this, you know how they are. They get on their soap box and I think they wanted you to believe all that. And then the media, they pulled things out of proportion. They sensationalized a lot. So, those are the only two things I can think of.
SP : I know you testified on the stand during your trial but just for the benefit of our listeners who don't remember, ah, did you at any time in court admit to be involved in the murder of your son?
Debra : Oh, absolutely not. No, not at all.
SP : Did you ever sign a confession?
Debbie : No.
SP : Did - well, I'm going through these rapid fires and we'll maybe have a few minutes to elaborate on ... did you ever confess to Detective Saldate and that, and he is certainly one of the, MY biggest question mark in the whole thing, did you ever confess to him privately?
Debra : No ...  
SP : ... that you're involved?
Debra : NO, not at all.
SP : Do you have any idea, why ... did he make it up?
Debra : Well, obviously he did, because I didn't, I didn't make any kind of confession to him at all.
SP : Do you have any idea why he would do that?
Debra : Well, I don't know WHY, I mean I can't read his mind but I believe that he saw this case as an opportunity because he retired shortly thereafter. And I, I personally believe that he saw this as an opportunity ... because he handled me totally different than he did, uhm, ah, the other two.
SP : Jim and Roger?
Debbie : Right.
SP : In what way?
Debra : Well, with them he went by the book and with me he didn't. And, uhm, I, before he even laid eyes on me I believe that he knew what he was going to do.
SP : As this whole thing unfolded, where you aware of how you are being painted to the public?
Debra : No, not at all.
SP : Were you able to read newspapers, listen to the radio, anything ?
Debra : Oh, you mean at the, at the jail?
SP : Yup.
Debra : Um ... I can't remember. I believe we had a TV there.
SP : Did then ... I think this is a very relevant point, something Kirk Fowler brought up to me ... were you given tranquilizers during the trial?
Debra : No, I wasn't given tranquilizers, uhm, I was taking, uhm, antidepressant medication.
SP : Uhu.
Debra : I - because during my time at Durango I was in shock for a long time ...
SP : Sure.
Debra : ... and, uhm, I was going through a lot of grief. I was just going through a lot I couldn't deal with. You know, do you know what I mean?
SP : Oh absolutely.
Debra : It was, it was just shock and, uhm, so they gave me antidepressant medication.
SP : Now ... I ... do you think that that's one reason maybe you were unaware what the public's intake from that trial was?
Debra : Well, it could be ... it could be.
SP : Uhu. Ah, let's go back to before the murder. Ah, why were you and your son living with ... with Jim Styers?
Debra : Um, well, it was only supposed to be on a temporary basis. Um, prior, prior to Chris and I moving in there, my ex-husband ... I ... there was an incident with him and ... where ... he had Chris for the day, for a visit, and ... this is really hard to talk about ...
SP : I understand ...
Debra : Um ...
SP : ... but I think it's important. I really do think it's important for people to hear from you.
Debra : I know, that's why I wanted to ... that's why I wanted to do this interview ...
SP : Okay.
Debra : Anyhow, I went to pick up Chris from the visit, and Mark was ... he was very high and he ... he became extremely violent. He behaved in a way that I'd never seen before and it scares me. And it was very frightening at that moment. And I finally got Chris out of there and ... and we took off running ... and we were both terrified and we hid in an alley, and I was very scared because Mark threatened to kill me and take Chris away and my son was very scared and ... and then we stayed in the alley for about 15 minutes and while we were in the alley I was thinking of what I could do 'cause we were stranded and we were very far from home and the only person that I knew that I could call was Jim.
SP : Go ahead, though.
Debra : ... and he was the only person who was close by and he was also the only person who pretty much knew about my troubles with Mark, and so we, Chris and I walked to the gas station and called him and he came and picked us up ... and when I told him what did happen then I ... you know, earlier in the evening he ... he knew how scared I was and he had a spare bedroom and he offered his spare bedroom to Chris and me.
SP : Did you ever at any time fear Jim?
Debra : No, not at all. I've known, I've known him for three years and he was my sister's best friend. Not at all. He never gave me any reason to fear him.
SP : Uhu. When they arrested you - why did you think they're arresting you?
Debra : Well, Detective Saldate never told me WHY I was being arrested. He never said "you're under arrest for first degree murder", he never said anything like that, but he kept telling me that I had to go to jail which I didn't understand why, because I kept telling him that I didn't commit a crime so why are you taking me to jail? And he said "because of the seriousness of the crime". So I thought that I was being arrested and going to jail because my son was in the care of someone else and something happened.
SP : Uhu.
Debra : That's why I thought I was going to jail, I had no idea that it was ... that he arrested me for murder.
SP : And you never really, uhm ... you never heard from Jim what happened directly ... did you ... I mean ...?
Debra : Oh, I, no, not directly, no.
SP : As ... as I remember, you were told all along that Chris had just disappeared, he was just missing ...
Debbie : Right.
SP : ... from Jim.
Debbie : Right.
SP : Ah, getting ... and I realize that this is something you've answered many times but I think it's critical to the case. One of the things the media really hyped on was you did this to cash in on a relatively, ah ... low ... low-value life insurance policy. I learned differently from my dealings with Kirk, but ... would you address it for our listeners?
Debra : Yes. First of all I never purchased a life insurance policy. I never went to an insurance company and bought a policy. Three months before this happened I started a new job and like every new job that someone starts a full-time job ... um ... you fill an employee benefit form which is what I did and ever since I've worked full time and ever since Chris was born we've both been covered fully through my employee benefits.
SP : Uhu.
Debra : And, so when I started my new job ... uhm ... in late August and ... and I filled out the forms, I just did what I always did. You know, filled out the forms for health insurance, life insurance, dental ... that kind of stuff.
SP : So it was strictly routine.
Debra : It was strictly routine and both Chris and I were covered. It's not like I went out and BOUGHT a policy. I never did. But I think the prosecution tried to make it appear like that and the media blew it out of proportion.
SP : It was a huge thing. We've got about three and a half minutes left, they're giving us fifteen minutes with you. I wanted to ask you ... ah ... did you ever take a lie detector test?
Debra : Yes I did, at Durango jail.
SP : And what were the results?
Debra : Well, they ... the guy who administered the test, he told me that I passed it but from what I learned it was inconclusive because of the environment.
SP : Would you have an opportunity to take another test with an independent ... ah ... recognized creditable lie detector, would you be willing?
Debra : Yeah, ABSOLUTELY.
SP : You've never fought that?
Debra : Excuse me ...?
SP : You never fought taking a polygraph test?
Debra : NO, no.
SP : Well, rather than me ask you a question in our remaining couple of minutes, what would you like to be able to tell people giving you a form, because I really do think that there are too many unanswered questions in your case to just close the book. In my mind they can't close the book, in fact the book opened wider everytime I check into it more.
Debra : Well, the only thing ... I mean there's so much I could ... I could say but we don't have the time. I did not participate in this crime at all. I've nothing to do with this and Detective Saldate ... he lied - he lied from the very beginning , he lied all the way through court and he dragged me through this, accused me of something I didn't do, something I didn't participate in. You can't believe everything you read in the paper. You know this has been very painful for me for ten years and it still is as if it happened yesterday and it's been very difficult, it's been very hard ... ah ... fighting this system.
SP : Well, but you're not fighting it alone. Kirk Fowler is a champion on your behalf and, quite honestly, I'm continously amazed, I got a fax this morning, from a Richard von Weizenäcker, does that name ring a bell?
Debra : I believe, yes ... yes, it does.
SP : Former German president ... and apparently your cause is a ... it's a much major ... a much bigger news story than it is here in Arizona.
Debra : I know. I know. I mean on one hand I appericiate all that support but on the other hand I wished it was OVER HERE. No, but it seems that people here just don't care. It's altough it's somebody else's problem, "it doesn't have anything to do with me, so why should I care?" That's the feeling I get.
SP : Well, Debbie ...
Debra : ... but what happened to me IS EVERYBODY'S problem because what can happen to me can happen to anybody. IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU! I'm talking about the intricate legal system.
SP : Sure. Well, all we can do is present the inaccuracies, the question marks, the doubts to people and hope that they follow them up to come to their own conclusions.
Debra : I hope so too.
SP : Debbie, I appericiate spending the time with us and I will make sure you get a tape of the program we do this afternoon.
Debra : Alright, well, thank you for having me ...
SP : Thank you.
Debra : Okay, bye bye.
SP : Bye bye.