Mum wrongly convicted of killing son, 4

24
IRISH DAILY MIRROR WEDNESDAY 25.03.2015
WACKY
WORLD
For more weird stories
from around the globe
visit irishmirror.ie
Moth be the
time for love
A MOTH got frisky and laid
two eggs in a reporter’s ear
as he was presenting a
programme on the species.
Fox 5 DC’s Bob Barnard
was filming the giant African
moon moth at the time.
Afterwards he tweeted
a picture alongside the
caption “yuck” on his social
media page.
Man sues for
penis botch
A ROMANIAN man is suing
a hospital after he went in
for a kidney operation and
had his penis amputated.
Costica Maroleanu had
kidney failure and after a
catheter was wrongly fitted
his penis started to swell.
When he moved hospitals
doctors thought it was
necrotic and amputated.
DMEEIR
Cleared of murder after
22 years on Death Row
Mum wrongly convicted of killing son, 4
By christopher bucktin
US Editor
A mother broke down in tears as
she was cleared of murdering her
four-year-old son – after she had
faced execution for 22 years.
Debra Milke, 51, endured years on
Death Row purely on the evidence of
a detective who was a proven liar.
As lawyers and supporters hugged
tearful Milke, she said: “I feel good right
now, I do, and a little overwhelmed.”
Christopher was killed after Milke
sent him to visit Santa in December
1989 with her flatmate James Styers.
He and pal Roger Scott drove the boy
into the Arizona desert and shot him
in the head three times.
After his arrest, Scott claimed Milke
had discussed splitting a £3,500 insurance policy but later said he had lied.
In court both Styers and Scott refused
to testify against her but all three were
found guilty and sentenced to death.
The men remain on Death Row, maintaining they acted alone.
Detective Armando Saldate claimed
Milke had confessed to plotting to kill
Christopher but there was no record
of any such admission.
Milke was freed from jail and her
conviction overturned two years ago
but she still faced a possible retrial.
Christopher’s dad and Milke’s ex
husband Arizona, said at the time: “She
shouldn’t walk free, she’s guilty.”
Saldate, who has since retired, said
he would not testify at a retrial.
A judge in Phoenix agreed there
was insufficient evidence and
ordered the case dismissed with
prejudice, meaning no retrial.
■■Utah is now allowing firing
squads for executions when no lethal
injection drugs are available.
chris.bucktin@mirror.co.uk
end of
ordeal
Debra Milke
is cleared of
son’s killing
victim Christopher
Snacks are
devilish-ous
A CATHOLIC website has
attacked a crisp brand for
promoting the occult after
featuring demons, skeletons
and vampires on packets.
Cheetos Demonic “dabbles
in a dangerous world” was
posted on Fronda.pl.
The author warns parents
their children are being
“nourished by demons”.
Muddy hell –
it’s Jesus..
A LANDSLIDE in South
America has settled depicting
an image of Jesus.
Worshippers are now
flocking to see the “face
of Christ” in Putumayo,
Colombia.
The number of visitors
has grown so large police
have been called to manage
the crowds.
Four
pages of
puzzles
inside
Im-press-ive work
clinches top prize
write stuff Ciara McArdle, Credit
Union League president Martin Sisk,
NNI chairman Vincent Crowley and
Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan at
the NNI Press Pass Awards
AN article on the march of technology won a
transition year student top prize in a nationwide
schools journalism competition.
Ciara McArdle, from Pobalscoil na Trinoide in
Youghal, Co Cork, clinched the Press Pass Award, run
by the National Newspapers of Ireland.
Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan, who gave Ciara
her award, said: “The entries demonstrate a love of
writing and appreciation of the power of language.”