Milo Stanley

Case overview

Milo Stanley was convicted in Yavapai County of fatally shooting his wife, Susan, and his 5-year-old daughter, Seleste, in 1986. He was sentenced to death on September 25, 1987 for killing Seleste and received a life sentence for killing Susan.

In 2013, the Department of Corrections stated that Stanley died in an apparent suicide. He was found hanging in his cell at a unit of the Eyman prison complex in Florence, and his death was to be investigated by the department and medical examiners.

Timeline

• June 19, 1986 — Stanley and his wife, Susan, argued about his drinking problem; he drove Susan, their 5-year-old daughter Seleste, and their 1-year-old son to a remote area outside Cottonwood; he shot Susan three times in the head and then shot Seleste once in the top of the head, pressing the muzzle of the gun into her skin; he did not shoot the boy because the boy was too young to tell what he had seen; he dumped Susan’s and Seleste’s bodies off the side of the road, went home, put the boy to bed, and several hours later called police stating that Susan and Seleste were missing.
• June 1986 (late following day) — Police search ended late the following day when Stanley confessed.
• June 24, 1987 — Trial began.
• July 10, 1987 — Verdict was reached.
• September 25, 1987 — Sentencing occurred; Stanley was sentenced to death for killing Seleste and to life in prison for killing Susan.
• May 10, 2013 — An Arizona death row inmate who murdered his wife and young daughter nearly 27 years earlier died Friday in what the Department of Corrections called an apparent suicide; Milo Stanley was found hanging in his cell at a unit of the Eyman prison complex in Florence.

The offence

On the evening of June 19, 1986, Stanley and his wife, Susan, were arguing about his drinking problem. Stanley drove Susan, his 5-year-old daughter, Seleste, and his 1-year-old son to a remote area outside Cottonwood. Stanley and Susan continued to argue as they sat in the car. Stanley ended the argument by shooting Susan three times in the head. He then shot Seleste once in the top of the head, pressing the muzzle of the gun into the skin.

Stanley did not shoot his son because the boy was too young to tell what he had seen. After dumping Susan’s and Seleste’s bodies off the side of the road, Stanley went home and put the boy to bed. Several hours later, he called the police and told them that Susan and Seleste were missing.

Investigation and confession

The police began a wideranging search that ended late the following day when Stanley confessed. A Corrections Department description of Stanley’s criminal history stated that he shot both victims in the head during an argument with his wife over his drinking, dumped the victims’ bodies on the side of a road in a remote area, returned to his Clarkdale home and put his 1-year-old son to bed, called police to report his wife and daughter missing, and confessed the next day.

Trial

The case proceeded in Yavapai County. The trial began on June 24, 1987. The verdict was reached on July 10, 1987.

• Presiding Judge: James Sult
• Prosecutor: Charles Hastings

The trial resulted in convictions for both murders: the death penalty for the murder of Seleste and a life sentence for the murder of Susan. The Corrections Department description stated that after a 2 1/2-week trial in 1987, Stanley was convicted and then sentenced 2 1/2 months later to death for killing his daughter and to life in prison for killing his wife.

Sentencing

Sentencing occurred on September 25, 1987. The aggravating circumstances were:

• Especially heinous/cruel/depraved
• Multiple homicides
• Victim under 15 years of age

The mitigating circumstances were:

• None sufficient to call for leniency

He received the death penalty for the murder of Seleste and a life sentence for the murder of Susan.

Appeals and federal proceedings

A federal court docket indicated that Stanley had an appeal pending with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals regarding whether he received effective legal representation during sentencing. Paula Harms, an assistant federal public defender listed as representing Stanley in the appeal, did not immediately return a call for comment.

In a separate matter, Stanley was among six Arizona death row inmates who were plaintiffs in federal litigation challenging Arizona’s execution protocol as unconstitutional. In that now-ended case, federal courts upheld the protocol, but the state made some procedural changes sought by the inmates’ attorneys.

Outcome and death in custody

Milo Stanley, 50, was found hanging in his cell at a unit of the Eyman prison complex in Florence. The Department of Corrections called the death an apparent suicide and stated that it would be investigated by the department and medical examiners.

Published opinions

State v. Stanley, 167 Ariz. 519, 809 P.2d 944 (1991).

Other details

• Stanley was an Arizona death row inmate.
• The last suicide of an Arizona death row inmate mentioned in connection with this report occurred on March 14, 2010, when James Adams, 46, was found hanging in his cell.
• A report mentioning Stanley’s death was published by Paul Davenport of the Associated Press, on Azfamily.com, May 10, 2013.