MCLENNAN COUNTY, TX - A woman has been sentenced to decades in prison for abusing her middle-school-age stepdaughter by chaining her to a locked bedroom and forcing her to "rummage through garbage cans for food."
The woman, identified as 46-year-old Marianna Miles, was sentenced on Friday, February 27, to up to 70 years in prison after a jury of her peers convicted her of injury to child causing serious mental injury, Law & Crime reported.
Miles took custody of the girl and her four brothers after their father and biological mother were sentenced to prison for unrelated charges. Police began investigating in 2022 when Miles enrolled the girl in Connally Junior High School in Elm Mott, just outside of Waco.
The stepmother had a meeting with school officials where she told them the girl had "severe behavior problems" and needed to be "watched closely at all times." Miles said the girl was not allowed to eat anything without her "express approval," prosecutors said.
School officials said they were more troubled by Miles' behavior toward the child, especially after they found the girl to be "well-behaved and polite" although she was "unkempt with inadequate clothing."
"Educators also noticed that the child was thin and always hungry, even going so far as to rummage through garbage cans for food," prosecutors said. In October 2022 a teacher noticed an injury to the child's face. At first, the girl was hesitant to say what happened but then she pointed the finger at Miles, saying her stepmom beat her with a belt buckle.
The teacher, being a mandated reporter, alerted Child Protective Services and the Lacy Lakeview Police Department. Authorities then visited Miles' home and discovered the girl was forced to stay in a "sparse" bedroom with no mattress and an alarm on the door that would go off if she tried to leave the room.
According to a courtroom report, the girl testified that Miles would force her to stay in her room for up to 20 hours during the pandemic. Not only would Miles beat her, but the stepmother would also force the victim's brothers to beat her. "Miles also bound the child in both duct tape and, ultimately, heavy chains," prosecutors said.
The suspect initially denied using chains on the girl but Child Protective Services investigators found them inside the home. A child psychologist testified at trial that the girl suffers from PTSD.
Miles reportedly testified that she restrained the girl because she would often run away, attempted suicide three times and was a threat to the younger siblings.
"Our greatest privilege as prosecutors is to hold accountable those who perpetrate evil against those who are most vulnerable," Tara Avants and Will Hix, assistant district attorneys, said in a statement.
"This case exemplifies that. If convicted criminals were treated in the manner that Marianna Miles treated this child, prison authorities would be subject to prosecution. We are grateful to the real-life superheroes at Connally Junior High School, CPS and the Lacy Lakeview Police Department who made it possible to bring justice to an offender who earned every minute of her 70-year sentence."
By law, Miles will be eligible for parole after serving 15 years of her sentence. Prosecutors said they plan to object to her parole when she is eligible. The victim, who is now 16 years old, is living with her mother and siblings in Killeen.
The woman, identified as 46-year-old Marianna Miles, was sentenced on Friday, February 27, to up to 70 years in prison after a jury of her peers convicted her of injury to child causing serious mental injury, Law & Crime reported.
Miles took custody of the girl and her four brothers after their father and biological mother were sentenced to prison for unrelated charges. Police began investigating in 2022 when Miles enrolled the girl in Connally Junior High School in Elm Mott, just outside of Waco.
The stepmother had a meeting with school officials where she told them the girl had "severe behavior problems" and needed to be "watched closely at all times." Miles said the girl was not allowed to eat anything without her "express approval," prosecutors said.
School officials said they were more troubled by Miles' behavior toward the child, especially after they found the girl to be "well-behaved and polite" although she was "unkempt with inadequate clothing."
"Educators also noticed that the child was thin and always hungry, even going so far as to rummage through garbage cans for food," prosecutors said. In October 2022 a teacher noticed an injury to the child's face. At first, the girl was hesitant to say what happened but then she pointed the finger at Miles, saying her stepmom beat her with a belt buckle.
The teacher, being a mandated reporter, alerted Child Protective Services and the Lacy Lakeview Police Department. Authorities then visited Miles' home and discovered the girl was forced to stay in a "sparse" bedroom with no mattress and an alarm on the door that would go off if she tried to leave the room.
According to a courtroom report, the girl testified that Miles would force her to stay in her room for up to 20 hours during the pandemic. Not only would Miles beat her, but the stepmother would also force the victim's brothers to beat her. "Miles also bound the child in both duct tape and, ultimately, heavy chains," prosecutors said.
The suspect initially denied using chains on the girl but Child Protective Services investigators found them inside the home. A child psychologist testified at trial that the girl suffers from PTSD.
Miles reportedly testified that she restrained the girl because she would often run away, attempted suicide three times and was a threat to the younger siblings.
"Our greatest privilege as prosecutors is to hold accountable those who perpetrate evil against those who are most vulnerable," Tara Avants and Will Hix, assistant district attorneys, said in a statement.
"This case exemplifies that. If convicted criminals were treated in the manner that Marianna Miles treated this child, prison authorities would be subject to prosecution. We are grateful to the real-life superheroes at Connally Junior High School, CPS and the Lacy Lakeview Police Department who made it possible to bring justice to an offender who earned every minute of her 70-year sentence."
By law, Miles will be eligible for parole after serving 15 years of her sentence. Prosecutors said they plan to object to her parole when she is eligible. The victim, who is now 16 years old, is living with her mother and siblings in Killeen.
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