Man who allegedly took Round Rock sisters has violent past

With Round Rock police requesting help from state and federal authorities, the search for the two girls taken from a duplex has intensified. That was the promise from Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks.

"At this point our whole focus is to get these girls home safe. We do not believe they are with Terry Allen Miles willingly,” said Chief Banks.

Investigators say Lili Griffith and her younger sister Lulu were taken by Terry Allen Miles in a gray sedan. Police on Tuesday continue to classified him as a person of interest in the death of Tonya Bates. She is the mother of the two girls. The four moved into their Round Rock duplex about a month ago.

"Terry Allen Miles at this point what we know is just a roommate that all he did was live in the residence there is no relationship that we know of between him and Tanya,” said Chief Banks.

Court documents obtained by FOX 7 show that Miles hasn’t been in Texas long, but has a long criminal history dating back to when he lived in Sulphur, Louisiana. He's been arrested for theft, burglary, child porn and for multiple cases of domestic abuse. Tuesday Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso said the Round Rock case is familiar to an open case they have with Miles.

“In Round Rock it's also a beating, which is the same manner of death which we never disclosed, before this time so it certainly fits his MO, if that is true and what's going on we know that he likes to beat on women because he's got several domestic abuse and battery charges,” Sheriff Mancuso.

"He is evil, he's sadistically evil,” said Pascha Atchison.

That description from Atchison came as she shared the stories of abuse suffered by her niece, Kerrie Lynn Filipski.

"She was hung by her wrists, on the pipes inside the apartment, and he had beat her with a baseball bat,” said Atchison.

When Kerrie died in 2012, from an overdose, Attempted Murder of charges against Miles were dropped. Anger about that, has now turned into fear for Atchison.

"Oh my god, I'm afraid he is going to do what he did to my niece to them because they are so young and they can’t fight for themselves,” said Atchison.

7-year-old Lulu attended Johnson elementary school according to a spokesperson with Round Rock ISD. It’s believed 14-year-old Lili was being home-schooled. Their mother, Tonya, according to her facebook page was a former cook and wanted to be a nurse. She was working as a Patent Care Tech at St. David's Round Rock Medical Center. 

In a statement sent to FOX 7, CEO Jeremy Barclay said;
  
"Tonya spent her days caring for patients, and we will carry on her legacy by doing what she loved - caring for our community. We are keeping Tonya's daughters in our thoughts and prayers, along with the law enforcement officers who are working diligently to bring them home safely."

The gray sedan that Miles may have left in was registered to Bates and her boyfriend. It was reportedly spotted in northern New Mexico. There's concern Miles has ditched the car, altered the appearance of the girls, and may be heading now to California where he has family.

A spokesperson with the FBI told FOX 7 that they are working with Round Rock police, but could not go into detail about what type of resources are currently being used for the search. An official with the U.S. Marshal's office told FOX 7 that members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force are not part of the current manhunt.