WKRN(NASHVILLE) — The woman charged in connection with a Tennessee police officer’s death was forced to participate in his slaying last month after the accused shooter assaulted her and threatened to kill her children, she said in a jailhouse interview.
Erika Castro-Miles said Steven Wiggins shot Dickson County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Daniel Baker May 30 when the officer approached their vehicle and Wiggins threatened her if she disobeyed him.
“All of a sudden, I saw Steven’s arm came across and his elbow hit my throat and he said to me, ‘If you say anything or you scream, it will be you next.’ So, I kept my mouth shut, and he threatened my kids as well, so I kept my mouth shut,” Castro-Miles told ABC Nashville affiliate WKRN-TV Monday. “All I heard was gunshots. As I looked in the side mirror I saw the deputy run to the back of the vehicle and Steven got out of the vehicle and hearing more gunshots.
“I heard it, but I didn’t see it. I didn’t know he was going to do this. I didn’t know he had a gun. He told me and swore up and down that he got rid of it,” she added.
Police captured Wiggins last Friday after offering as much as $46,000 for information about his whereabouts. Once in custody, he told authorities that he shot Baker after the deputy discovered he was using a stolen car, according to federal investigators.
Wiggins and Castro-Miles were both charged with first-degree murder in the officer’s death, but she said she never wanted to participate. It’s unclear whether they have entered pleas.
Castro-Miles called Wiggins a “monster” who would often become abusive when he was intoxicated.
“He’s very violent when he’s on drugs. The whole day before was non-stop screaming, yelling and trying to get out,” Castro-Miles said. “Every time I tried to get out of the car, he’d speed up. He punched me in the chest and slapped me in the head.”
Baker, 32, was later found dead inside his patrol car about two or three miles away from the initial scene, according to police. He leaves behind a wife and young daughter.
“This is one of our best deputies,” Dickson County Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe told reporters after the shooting. “He’s a supervisor. He’s worked his way up to sergeant on patrol, and he’s one of the ones who put it all on the line every day to keep our community safe. He was doing that again today with a call about a suspicious vehicle.”
Castro-Miles said it hurts to know that the slain officer would be leaving behind a family.
“I am so sorry,” she told WKRN. “I would undo it 10,000 times over … I would undo it every single day of my life if I had to.
“I don’t know what else to say. It just hurts. I’m so sorry to know that this little girl won’t have her dad around. I’m so sorry this is happening.”
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