ROUND ROCK, Texas — After a medical examiner detailed how Tonya Bates died before her girls were allegedly taken from their Round Rock home to Colorado, the younger of the two children took the stand Thursday.
Terry Miles lived in their home at the time of Bates' death and the girls' disappearance. Prosecutors said evidence would be shown during the trial which would indicate that Miles had murdered Bates.
Doctor Lauren Edelman, a deputy medical examiner, testified on Wednesday that she performed the autopsy on the girls' mother. She testified the cause of death was blunt force trauma and the manner of death was homicide.
The medical examiner on Thursday also went into detail about the severity of Bates' injuries. She testified that there was severe bleeding on the brain.
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The girls who were allegedly kidnapped at the time of Bates' death are now nine and 15. The teen testified Jan. 30 that Miles regularly abused her sexually and physically. Click here to found out what she said.
After questioning of the medical examiner finished Thursday, the younger sister took the stand.
Miles waved at her as she identified him in the courtroom. He appeared to wipe tears from his eyes as she testified.
The prosecutor asked the girl how she felt about Miles before the night they left for Colorado.
"I was scared," she said.
"Terry and my mom were fighting," she said, remembering the night they went to Colorado.
She said she was "scared" because she doesn't like when people fight. The girl stated she went to sit in her closet and remembers her sister taking her to the car. She said her fear continued "because I didn't know where we were going."
The prosecutor asked her why she went. She answered, "because I had to."
She said Miles told her to go.
The girl said they slept in sleeping bags in a tent and made soup over a fire. She said she didn't remember much of what she told to doctors or said in interviews after they were found.
A few other witnesses took the stand following the girl's testimony, including two FBI agents, a Round Rock police officer, and a Las Animas County Sheriff's Department sergeant.
Sergeant Darian Dasco recalled locating Miles and the girls in Colorado. He said they received a tip from a citizen about the car in the campground.
"The information she gave me matched the description for the amber alert," he testified.
Dasco recalled seeing a car pull up near the entrance to the campground where he was parked. He said the car stopped for a bit and pulled out.
He followed them and eventually pulled them over. He said they identified Miles in the backseat of the patrol car and said the girls came out of the passenger side.
"They were crying, upset," he said.
Andrew Masters, a FBI special agent, was next. His job during this case was to get phone records and use them to help locate where a phone was during a particular period of time.
He tracked a few phones, including Bates', both daughters', their step-dad's, and another woman's named Christine P. In opening arguments, defense said Bates took money from Christine.
His testimony detailed where the phones were at or around the time Bates was murdered and at the time Miles and the girls went to Colorado.
Trial resumes Monday morning.
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KVUE reporter Molly Oak is reporting live from the courtroom. Follow her on Twitter for updates.
