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Thread: Bryan Patrick Miller - Arizona Death Row

  1. #11
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    Man's trial in killings along Arizona canal delayed due to pandemic

    By Fox 10 Phoenix

    PHOENIX - The murder trial of a 48-year-old Phoenix man arrested five years ago in the separate killings of a woman and a girl along the same canal in the early 1990s has been postponed again, this time because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Aug. 23 had been the latest of more than a half-dozen dates for Bryan Miller's trial to start in Maricopa County Superior Court. But Judge Patricia Ann Starr on Monday reset it for Feb. 23.

    Miller sought the latest delay, which prosecutors opposed.

    Starr granted the request, saying “the current public health situation" means lawyers can't conduct in-person interviews with witnesses, travel of some witnesses may be restricted and that it is uncertain when the court will resume starting jury trials, especially lengthy ones involving death-penalty cases.

    Miller's case stems from the 1992 killing of 22-year-old Angela Brosso and the 1993 killing of 17-year-old Melanie Bernas.

    After Miller was arrested in 2015, police said DNA evidence linked him to the killings.

    Miller has pleaded not guilty. He faces two counts each of first-degree premeditated murder and of kidnapping resulting in death and one count each of sexual assault and attempt to commit sexual assault.

    https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/ma...ue-to-pandemic
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #12
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    Bid to toss DNA evidence in Phoenix canal killings rejected

    By Jacques Billeaud
    Associated Press

    PHOENIX (AP) — A judge has rejected a bid to throw out DNA evidence against a man charged with sexually attacking and fatally stabbing two young women in separate attacks in the early 1990s while they were riding bikes near a canal system that winds through metro Phoenix.

    Lawyers for Bryan Patrick Miller argued police violated his rights because they didn’t have a warrant when collecting his DNA from a mug at a restaurant where he met with an undercover officer.

    Authorities say DNA collected from the 2015 dinner linked Miller to the deaths of 22-year-old Angela Brosso in November 1992 and 17-year-old Melanie Bernas in September 1993.

    In a ruling two weeks ago, Judge Suzanne Cohen explained Miller had no reasonable expectation of privacy for DNA left on a mug after he left the Chili’s Grill & Bar location. “Customers who walk to a restaurant’s exit, having left such items behind, implicitly communicate their intent to abandon them,” Cohen wrote.

    Brosso and Bernas disappeared in north Phoenix near the Arizona Canal. Brosso was found nude and decapitated in a field near a bike path that’s adjacent to the canal.

    Ten months later, Bernas’ body was discovered floating in the canal. Authorities said semen evidence collected in the aftermath of both crimes showed the attacks were linked to the same suspect.

    The killings faded from public attention after police were unable to link the DNA profile collected from the scenes to a specific suspect. The Phoenix Police Department’s cold-case unit was on the cases again in 2011, according to court records.

    In 2014, a genealogist who uses ancestry databases in her research was given access to the DNA gathered in the investigations and eventually came up with the last name Miller. Bryan Miller had been on the police department’s list of investigative leads in the case, according to court records.

    That led police to contact Miller to set up the dinner at the restaurant. The undercover officer posed as a security company employee trying to enlist Miller’s help in conducting surveillance at a business located near Miller’s employer.

    Police said Miller denied any involvement in the killings but acknowledged living in the vicinity of the killings at the time and said he rode his bike on bike paths in the area. They said he was unable to explain how his DNA matched the evidence found at the crime scenes.

    A phone message left for his attorney, Richard J. Parker, wasn’t immediately returned.

    Miller has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping, sexual assault and attempted sexual assault. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    His trial is scheduled for Sept. 21.

    Authorities have said Miller was charged with but ultimately acquitted in the 2002 stabbing of a woman in Everett, Washington, after saying the woman tried to rob him.

    The Washington state case didn’t require him to submit a DNA sample because he was acquitted. He later moved back to Arizona.

    https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/no...9a4d9b613.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  3. #13
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    Man Accused in Phoenix Canal Killings Plans Insanity Defense

    A man charged with sexually attacking and killing two young women in the early 1990s near a canal system in Phoenix plans to mount an insanity defense at his upcoming trial

    By Jacques Billeaud
    Associated Press

    PHOENIX (AP) — A man charged with sexually attacking and fatally stabbing two young women in the early 1990s as they road bikes near a canal system in Phoenix plans to mount an insanity defense at his upcoming trial.

    An attorney for Bryan Patrick Miller said in court records last week that he believes his client isn’t psychologically fit to assist in his defense and is seeking a postponement of his Sept. 21 trial.

    Prosecutor Vince Imbordino said defense attorneys haven't disclosed to him Miller’s basis for requesting a mental evaluation and instead filed paperwork over the issue with the court, where it remains under seal.

    “This defendant has been in custody for 6 years. He has been seen by multiple defense experts who have never even raised the possibility of insanity,” the prosecutor wrote. “This is just yet another in a long line of delaying tactics."

    R.J. Parker, one of Miller’s attorneys, declined to comment on the bid for an insanity defense.

    Authorities said DNA evidence links Miller to the deaths of 22-year-old Angela Brosso in November 1992 and 17-year-old Melanie Bernas in September 1993.

    Miller has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping and attempted sexual assault.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    https://www.usnews.com/news/best-sta...sanity-defense
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  4. #14
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    Judge: Man charged in canal killings mentally fit for trial

    By Jacques Billeaud
    Associated Press

    PHOENIX (AP) — A judge has found that a man charged with sexually attacking and fatally stabbing two young women in separate killings nearly 30 years ago near a canal system in metro Phoenix is mentally fit to stand trial.

    In a ruling Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Suzanne Cohen agreed with two court-appointed mental health experts that Bryan Patrick Miller is psychologically competent to be tried on charges in the deaths of 22-year-old Angela Brosso in November 1992 and 17-year-old Melanie Bernas in September 1993.

    Another expert who was working with Miller’s defense team couldn’t rule out the possibility that he was faking a mental disorder, the judge wrote.

    Even though Cohen resolved the question of whether Miller is now competent for trial, she hasn’t yet ruled on a request by prosecutors to prohibit Miller from claiming at trial that he was insane at the time the crimes were committed.

    A prosecutor has characterized Miller’s insanity defense bid as a delay tactic, saying Miller’s lawyers didn’t bring up such a defense until six years after the case was filed.

    In a court filing in September, Miller’s attorneys denied trying to delay their client’s trial and said another expert working with the defense team will offer an opinion that Miller has dissociative amnesia, a mental disorder in which a person can’t remember traumatic events.

    In ruling on Miller’s current mental fitness, Cohen wrote, “other than the claimed inability to remember the charged offenses, defendant presently has a rational understanding of the charges against him and the nature of the proceedings.”

    In an evaluation conducted by a defense expert, Miller denied having amnesia and appeared annoyed by the suggestion that he may have dissociative amnesia. The expert conceded Miller might be been faking amnesia, the judge wrote.

    R.J. Parker, one of Miller’s attorneys, didn’t return phone messages seeking comment on the mental fitness ruling.

    Authorities said DNA evidence links Miller to the deaths Brosso and Bernas.

    Police said Miller denied any involvement in the killings but acknowledged living in the vicinity at the time and said he rode his bike on bike paths in the area.

    Miller has maintained he is innocent and pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping and attempted sexual assault. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    Brosso and Bernas disappeared in north Phoenix near the Arizona Canal. Brosso was found nude and decapitated in a field near a bike path that’s adjacent to the canal.

    Ten months later, Bernas’ body was discovered floating in the canal. Authorities said semen evidence collected in the aftermath of both crimes showed the attacks were linked to the same suspect.

    The killings faded from public attention after police were unable to link the DNA profile collected from the scenes to a specific suspect. The Phoenix Police Department’s cold-case unit was on the cases again in 2011, according to court records.

    In 2014, a genealogist who uses ancestry databases in her research was given access to the DNA gathered in the investigations and eventually came up with the last name Miller. Bryan Miller had been on the police department’s list of investigative leads in the case, according to court records.

    Authorities have said Miller was charged with but ultimately acquitted in the 2002 stabbing of a woman in Everett, Washington, after saying the woman tried to rob him.

    The Washington state case didn’t require him to submit a DNA sample because he was acquitted. He later moved back to Arizona.

    https://apnews.com/article/crime-pho...22e18338a3528f
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  5. #15
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    Maricopa County Attorney responds to questions about Zombie Hunter case

    Will not rule out possibility of another delay

    By Morgan Loew
    azfamily.com

    PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- It’s been 30 years since Angela Brasso was murdered in brutal fashion along the Arizona canal. That was the first of two so-called “canal murders.” Then, it took 22 years for police to arrest a suspect. Now it’s closing in on eight years since that arrest, and the trial has not taken place.

    The suspect, Bryan Patrick Miller, remains in custody of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. Miller is charged in the gruesome murders of Brasso, who was 22, and Melanie Bernas, who was 17 at the time of her death. When Miller was a teenager, he was convicted of stabbing a woman near Paradise Valley Mall. He is also suspected in at least one additional murder and at least one additional attack.

    The trial delays result from a combination of factors: COVID, suspect mental evaluations, dozens of witness interviews and a slow-moving justice system. “That’s got to be incredibly frustrating for family members, and I’ve talked to them myself over the years.

    The wait for justice, but the reality is that every case is different,” said Rachel Mitchell, Maricopa County Attorney.

    The trial is set to begin on October 3, and there will be no jury. Instead, it is set to be a bench trial, where the judge will decide guilt or innocence. But legal wrangling is still taking place. During the last pre-trial hearing, defense attorneys stated they will argue that Miller is not guilty by reason of insanity.

    When asked if she would oppose any additional delay, Mitchell said it was not her decision to make. “It’s not up to me to decide whether a delay or continuance is accepted or not. It’s up to the judge. My attorneys are extremely experienced. This is a very important case. This is a death penalty. And if they feel like the continuance is warranted, then they may go along with it. If they feel like it is not warranted, then they will oppose,” said Mitchell.

    https://www.azfamily.com/2022/09/08/...e-hunter-case/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  6. #16
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    Phoenix canal murders: Bryan Patrick Miller accused of killing 2 women; trial begins Oct. 3

    By Nicole Garcia
    Fox 10 News

    Three decades have passed since two young women were murdered by the so-called "Canal Killer" in Phoenix. The trial of their accused murderer, Bryan Patrick Miller, is scheduled to begin next week.

    The victims were killed in two separate incidents in the early 1990s. Their bodies were found in the Arizona canal near the Metro Center mall.

    Angela Brasso was 22 years old, and Melanie Bernas was 17 when they were killed. Both were riding their bicycles along the canal when they disappeared. Both cases went unsolved for more than 20 years until a DNA match led to Miller's arrest. He waived his right to a jury trial, so the judge alone will decide Miller's fate.

    Bernas' murder in 1993 is connected to Brasso's death the year before. Phoenix Police believe the women were sexually assaulted and brutally killed by the same man. His identity would remain unknown for 23 years until a genealogist became involved in the case.

    "I got around to the Phoenix Police Department in 2014, and I proposed.. if you give me your Y DNA profile, your Y DNA results that have been generated by your crime lab.. then I will compare your unknown to all these people that know who they are," explained Colleen Fitzpatrick of Identifiers.

    Fitzpatrick matched the unknown DNA to the last name Miller. Phoenix Police then went undercover and tricked the newly identified suspect into leaving his DNA sample. Detectives posed as security guards, ultimately meeting Miller at a restaurant under the guise of offering him a new job. Detectives obtained his saliva from a mug that he drank from, which was left on the table.

    "That's very typical, collecting surreptitious samples. You know discarded DNA is discarded DNA. If I discard my DNA, I have no say over it anymore," said Fitzpatrick.

    In 2015, Miller was arrested for the murders.

    Investigators removed several hundred pieces of evidence from Miller's north Phoenix home, including bicycles. Both women went missing while riding their bikes.

    Six and a half years after his arrest, Miller will finally stand trial. He has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys plan to use the insanity defense. A judge found Miller mentally fit to stand trial in January 2022.

    "I don't believe in closure. I believe in release," said Fitzpatrick.

    The trial begins Monday, October 3. Miller plans to call several relatives and friends to testify regarding his mental status. He's facing the death penalty if he's found guilty.

    https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/ph...l-begins-oct-3
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  7. #17
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    Man accused of high-profile Valley canal killings stands trial, defense pleads not guilty by reason of insanity

    Bryan Patrick Miller is on trial for the murders of two young women in the early 90s. Now, his defense is arguing not guilty by reason of insanity

    By 12news.com

    PHOENIX — The Canal Murders were a series of killings dating back to the early 1990s. Two young women were found dismembered in Phoenix canals, and it wasn't until 2015 that an arrest was made.

    Now, seven years later, the alleged killer is standing trial. Bryan Patrick Miller, 49, is being charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, and two counts of attempted sexual assault.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, but Bryan's defense is arguing that he be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

    While the prosecution laid out the grisly details of the murders, Bryan's attorney argued that "the Mr. Miller that sits in front of you today, Bryan, is not the Bryan that committed these horrible offenses."

    According to their arguments, Miller had developed complex dissociative disorder in response to early childhood trauma.

    The Mayo Clinic describes symptoms of this condition as being like amnesia or a sense of detachment from one's own actions. According to their website, people with these disorders could go into a "dissociative fugue."

    The defense argued that Miller committed the murders while in one of those fugue states and as such could not be held fully accountable for the crime.

    Miller was found mentally fit to stand trial earlier this year.

    https://www.12news.com/article/news/...b-1151b0aad5fa
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  8. #18
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    'I wasn't as cautious as I am today': Victim's boyfriend testifies in Phoenix canal murders trial

    The boyfriend of Angela Brosso testified about what happened the night she was murdered in 1992

    By William Pitts
    12news.com

    PHOENIX — It was only a few hours until Angela Brosso's birthday. She would never see it.

    On November 8, 1992, Angela Brosso was in her apartment with her boyfriend, Joe Krakowiecki. They'd watched television, and Angela decided she wanted to go for a bike ride instead. Joe stayed behind to bake her a birthday cake.

    Hours later, Angela was still gone. She would never come back to the apartment near 1-17 and Cactus Road.

    “I saw it on the footage from the news," Krakowiecki said in court Tuesday. "The helicopter actually showed the body."

    Brasso's body was found near her apartment complex, down by the Arizona Canal. She had been stabbed in the back, her stomach had been slit almost all the way around. Detectives said she had almost been cut in half. And she was decapitated.

    “At the time, I really wasn't as cautious as I am today, so I really didn't even think about it, to be honest. It was just go for your bike ride," Krakowiecki said.

    Krakowiecki was the first witness on the second day of Bryan Patrick Miller's murder trial.

    Miller, known around the Valley as the Zombie Hunter for the costumes he would wear at conventions, is accused of murdering Brasso, 22, and Melanie Bernas, 17. Both bodies were found in roughly the same place, near Metrocenter Mall. Both were stabbed in roughly the same way, and police said both were sexually assaulted.

    In court Tuesday, Krakowiecki testified about his search for Brasso that night. He said he went looking for her on the trails near the canal but never found anything.

    Miller's attorneys have already admitted he killed Brosso and Bernas. But they maintain he should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

    Miller's lawyers claim he suffers from a multitude of mental illnesses stemming from the abuse he suffered as a child. They also blame violent movies for causing that trauma. According to Miller's attorneys, he doesn't remember anything about the murders.

    Phoenix police arrested Miller in 2015 after successfully matching his DNA to DNA found on both bodies.

    Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

    https://www.12news.com/article/news/...1-63c156d1ec62
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  9. #19
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    'I ended up riding through a puddle of blood': Witness recalls canal murder crime scene

    A witness recalled finding one of the canal murder crime scenes in 1992

    By William Pitts

    12news.com

    PHOENIX — On Wednesday, prosecutors called a witness that described finding the scene where Angela Brosso was murdered in 1992.

    Charlotte Pottle told the court she was riding her bike along the Arizona Canal in November of 1992 when she discovered the crime scene.

    "[I] ended up riding through a puddle of blood," she said. "But I wasn't sure what it was at the time."

    Prosecutors have charged Bryan Patrick Miller with killing Brosso and Melanie Bernas in roughly the same area in 1992 and 1993.

    Brosso was decapitated, with many stab wounds and cuts on her body. Bernas was also stabbed to death, but with a cross and initials carved into her chest.

    Pottle described stopping on her back that day and inspecting the paved path. When she discovered the puddle she rode through was blood, she said she also noticed a blood trail that looked like something had been dragged a distance.

    Pottle said she followed the blood trail through the gravel and down into the canal. She said she did not see a body.

    Pottle said she called police when she got home.

    Prosecutors also called Arlene Bernas, Melanie Bernas's mother, as a witness Wednesday. Arlene Bernas described discovering that her daughter was missing.

    "Melanie's bike was missing," she said, "and I was very, very concerned at that point."

    Bernas said she called friends and family before checking with hospitals to see if Melanie had been taken there.

    Miller was tied to both murders 30 years later when police matched his DNA to DNA found on the two bodies.

    https://www.12news.com/article/news/...ef=exit-recirc
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  10. #20
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    Violent images, knives found in accused Phoenix 'Canal Killer's' home

    By Lane Sainty
    Arizona Republic

    Detectives say they found violent pornography and "dozens" of knives among the towering piles of belongings filling the Sunnyslope home of accused "Canal Killer" Bryan Miller.

    Miller, 49, is on trial in a death penalty double-murder case in Maricopa County Superior Court. He's charged with murdering Angela Brosso, found beheaded and stabbed near a bicycle trail in November 1992, and Melanie Bernas, found dead in the Arizona Canal with a stab wound to her back and carvings on her chest in September 1993.

    Both young women are believed to have been out riding their bicycles along Phoenix canal trails when they were attacked. Miller, who was arrested on Jan. 13, 2015, after a DNA breakthrough, has pleaded not guilty, citing reasons of insanity.

    In court on Monday, Phoenix police detective Dominick Roestenberg testified he found "violent, bloody" printed pictures, many involving knives, when he searched Miller's home after the arrest.

    "Women bleeding. Women being mutilated. Cut. Stabbed," he said, describing the images.

    Former Phoenix police detective Clark Schwartzkopf said Miller's residence was a "hoarding house" and only accessible via small trails running through the voluminous piles of stuff.

    “I don’t even think we could get through the front door," Schwartzkopf said.

    Dozens of knives — including hunting and steak knives — were recovered from all over the house, found in the kitchen, laundry and bedroom, the retired detective testified.

    On cross-examination, Schwartzkopf agreed there were a lot of belongings found all over Miller's house, not just knives.

    He identified photographs from the search showing numerous keychains, keys, Hot Wheels cars, cassette tapes and other items.

    As he opened the state case last week, prosecutor Vince Imbordino said Miller killed Brosso and Bernas in accordance with "The Plan," a document he wrote as a teenager.

    The document detailed kidnapping, sexually assaulting, mutilating and killing a 17-year-old woman, Imbordino said. Miller's mother was so disturbed when she found it in 1990, that she took it to Phoenix police.

    The Plan was "characterized by some as fantasy," Imbordino said, but "unfortunately that fantasy became a very harsh reality."

    Defense attorney Denise Dees said that at the time of the murders, Miller had complex dissociative disorders caused by childhood trauma, as well as autism spectrum disorder.

    He was physically and emotionally abused by his mother, Dees said. As an adolescent, he was exposed to violent pornography in the form of "mondo-documentaries," designed to disgust and terrify grown adults.

    A VHS tape labeled "Shocking Asia," one of the mondo-documentaries Miller says his mother screened, was also found in his house, according to a photograph shown to Schwartzkopf.

    To cope, Dees said, Miller dissociated from reality from a very young age. He says he cannot recall what happened the nights Brosso and Bernas were killed.

    Detectives focused on Miller as a suspect in late 2014 after a forensic genealogist ran the DNA sample found on Brosso and Bernas's bodies against public ancestry databases and came up with the surname "Miller."

    Schwartzkopf surveilled Miller for a couple of days before devising a ruse to get him to a north Phoenix Chili's restaurant. There, police seize his dishes and utensils in the hope of obtaining a DNA sample.

    A DNA sample Miller left on a clear plastic mug was matched to the sample found on both bodies, Imbordino said.

    Defense attorney Richard J. Parker objected on Monday to the mug being entered into evidence, arguing Miller had a reasonable expectation of privacy over his genetic information and police ought to have obtained a warrant before the Chili's sting.

    But the objection was dismissed by Judge Suzanne Cohen, who is presiding over the bench trial, which is expected to run through the end of the year.

    Day five of the trial continues Tuesday with more police witnesses expected.

    https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...me/8200789001/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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