Chase Ainsworth is charged with murder and child stealing in the killing of his ex-wife and the kidnapping of their son, authorities said.
The 8-year-old daughter of Chase Ainsworth testified before a hushed Oklahoma courtroom Thursday about the day, she said, "my dad killed my mom."
The child was sworn in via a video call from another courtroom, and did not have to face her father, local outlets reported.
Ainsworth, 35, has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of his ex-wife, Samantha Ainsworth, who had a protection order against him, authorities said. He is also charged with child stealing for allegedly kidnapping his son, then 5, after the killing, police said.
Earlier in the case, a judge had entered not guilty pleas on the defendant's behalf.
On Thursday, his daughter told the court her father came to their house in July 2023, and “looked scary” and had a “mean face.” The adults went into the girl's bedroom and closed the door, the little girl testified.
The girl locked herself and her little brother in their mother's bedroom, she said.
Then she heard her mother calling her name, the child said. When she opened the door, she could see blood on her mother's neck, the girl told the court. She got down on her knees and held her mother's hands, the child testified.
When she ran into the living room and grabbed her mother's cellphone to call 911, her dad knocked the phone away from her, she testified.
Her father took her and her 5-year-old brother outside, she said. That's when she ran to a neighbor's house and told a woman, "My dad killed my mom," the child testified.
Ainsworth drove off with his son, and an Amber Alert was issued, police said. The pair was found later that day.
Some in the courtroom cried as the little girl testified, according to local reports.
After the girl's testimony, at her father's preliminary hearing Thursday, the judge ruled there was probable cause to try Ainsworth for murder and child stealing. His formal arraignment on those charges is scheduled for April 8.
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