AUSTIN, Texas — Several days into the trial for Terry Miles, the man accused of kidnapping two Round Rock girls in 2018, an FBI agent who interviewed Miles after they were found in Colorado took the stand.
Miles allegedly took the girls, who were seven and 14 at the time, from their home in January 2018. Police found their mother, Tonya Bates, dead at the home.
On Thursday, the jury proceeded to watch the interview that was conducted with the teenage daughter after they were found.
During the interview, the teen was asked why she was just now coming forward about the sexual relationship between her and Miles. She said in the video it was "probably just easier to talk about it now," explaining she didn't want to talk about it before.
Once the jury was finished watching the video, the prosecution called David Donati, a special agent for the FBI, to the stand. He was the agent who interviewed Miles after he and the girls were found in Colorado.
During video of the January 3, 2018, interview, Miles told the agents that Bates would meet men on Craigslist. He said she would routinely ask Miles and the girls to go wait in the garage for a couple of hours while she was with the men.
Miles told agents Bates asked them to leave the house for a couple hours and when they returned, they found her dead.
Miles told agents, "The thought never crossed [his] mind about leaving state lines." He later said he wanted to leave the state "because we knew you guys would get involved...we wanted some federal protection…and so, we got our wish."
He continually told the FBI agents that the girls loved him, and he loved the girls. Miles said the girls thought of him as a "best friend."
He denied ever having sex with the teenager and denied killing Bates.
In a videotaped forensic interview from January 22, 2019, the teenager claims Miles killed her mom.
The teen told the interviewer that Miles told her to "stick to the story" and lie to investigators about what happened.
In previous forensic interviews shown to the jury, the teen said they found their mom dead after they returned home.
She also told the interviewer Miles would physically abuse her, along with sexually abusing her.
FBI Special Agent Sean Mullen returned to the stand.
Defense asked Agent Mullen about the girls sitting in the car while Miles went inside the Walmart. Mullen said, "After months of abuse, I'm not sure they had much of a choice."
Prosecutors rested their case at the end of day on Thursday.
Defense will begin their arguments when trial resumes on Monday.
Follow reporter Molly Oak on Twitter for updates from the courtroom.
