PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona woman who spent 22 years on death row in her son's killing before her conviction was thrown out said Tuesday she doesn't know why the 4-year-old was murdered and had nothing to do with his death, despite allegations from prosecutors. But Christopher’s spirit is with me always, which is a comfort to the remaining pieces of my broken heart.” 
 
 Milke appeared at the press conference with her lawyers, Michael Kimerer and Lori Voepel, who commended their client for her buoyant spirit throughout the years. Her case was dismissed earlier this week.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Debra Milke spoke at a news conference a day after her case was dismissed in the 1989 killing of her son Christopher, who thought he was going to see Santa Claus when he was taken to the desert and shot by two men who are now in prison for his death. Asked if she agreed the right men were convicted in her son’s killing, Milke hesitated and deflected the question to her lawyer. After her son was found dead, the now-discredited Phoenix police detective Armando Saldate claimed Milke confessed to arranging her son’s murder, even though there was no witness or recording. He said numerous other witnesses would have testified about incriminating comments made by Milke at the time. Authorities say Milke's motive was that she didn't want the child anymore and didn't want him to live with his father. Milke said Tuesday she doesn't know the reason for her son's killing "because there wasn't a proper investigation." The two men who led the boy to his death were convicted of murder but refused to testify against Milke. No one can ever desecrate them and no one can ever take them away from me,” she said. She expressed relief that it was dismissed but said she doesn't feel happiness. "The victory is bittersweet," said Milke, whose mother died from cancer last year. Then, breaking down into tears, she added: “I live with an abiding sense loss and a chunk of my heart is gone.
– An Arizona woman's "living nightmare" is over, her lawyers say. But for Debra Milke, her freedom "is bittersweet," she says. "This is not happiness." After 22 years on death row, Milke was cleared of murder charges earlier this week related to the death of her 4-year-old son, who was shot by Milke's roommate and another man in 1989. She was originally convicted of conspiring to murder her son based on the testimony of detective Armando Saldate, who had a history of lying under oath. "I had absolutely nothing to do with the brutal murder of my son, Christopher, and I did not give a confession to Mr. Saldate," an emotional Milke, 51, said in her first comments yesterday, per the Guardian. "I always believed this day would come. I just didn't think it would have to take 25 years, three months, and 14 days to rectify such a blatant miscarriage of justice." "I live with an abiding sense of loss and a chunk of my heart is gone," she continued. "But Christopher's spirit is with me always, which is a comfort to the remaining pieces of my broken heart." Milke's lawyer says there is still a question of motive for Christopher's killers, James Styers and Roger Scott, now on death row. One theory, however, is that Styers killed Milke's son because he wanted a romantic relationship with Milke, who was about to move out. Though the Guardian notes Milke will not be retried, a prosecutor says he could secure another conviction with new witnesses who could testify to incriminating comments Milke made, the AP reports. When asked why bullets in her purse matched the caliber used to kill her son, Milke said she put them there when she found them in Styers' laundry. "Clearly, I forgot they were in my purse," she said. Milke is now pressing for a law forcing police to record all interrogations.