Whitney Downard / The Meridian StarMichael Portis, accused in the murder of his girlfriend, Miranda Allen, walks into the Muncipal Court Room in Meridian on Thursday. 

 “I did not murder my girl,” were the words of 42-year-old Michael D. Portis of Butler, Ala., at his preliminary hearing in Meridian on Thursday.

Portis is charged with murder after police named him as a suspect in the beating death of his girlfriend, Miranda K. Allen, who died at Rush Foundation Hospital on Dec. 5.

His bond is set at $500,000.

“He beat and stomped and kicked this woman to death,” city prosecutor Pam Bittick told the judge at the hearing. Although medical tests have not confirmed it, Allen was believed to be pregnant when she was killed.

According to initial reports, Portis drove Allen to the emergency department after an incident at Western Motel, on US 80, in Meridian. Officers received a call from the hospital around 1 a.m., reporting the suspicious activity, Meridian Police Sgt. Dareall Thompson said.

Allen, 37, died around 12:09 a.m. from her wounds, Lauderdale County Coroner Clayton Cobler said. Initial reports from an autopsy on Thursday revealed that Allen’s injuries were much worse than the blunt head trauma previously reported.

The prosecutor asked the judge for a higher bond, as Portis is believed to be a flight risk and a danger to the public.

City Court Judge Robbie Jones did not adjust the bond amount, and the case was sent to the grand jury.

According to Meridian Police Detective Thomas Abate, in Portis’ interview with investigators, Portis said he received a call on his cell phone from Allen asking for help.

He then drove to the Eastern Gardens area where he found her walking around, “naked” and beaten. Portis said he then loaded her in a van and took her back to their hotel room, then eventually took her to the hospital. At some point, Portis said he “dropped her” because she was too heavy to carry.

Abate said Allen was dead on arrival at the hospital.

Abate said cell phone records show that the alleged call for help was made from inside the van, and not from the Eastern Gardens area. Furthermore, doctors said Allen’s injuries “were so severe there was no way she could have been walking.”

Abate said both the van and the hotel room were processed, and blood was found inside the van and in the hotel room. Abate said the room was “in disarray,” with blood on the bed and carpet near the bathroom.

There was also a recording on Allen’s phone from earlier that evening that investigators believe was made because the victim was afraid for her life.

A man who had been with the couple earlier that day told investigators that Portis was intoxicated and was trying to get the man to have sex with Allen.

Portis, who cried during Thursday’s hearing, told a different story.

Portis, whose arms showed no signs of a recent struggle, said photos taken at the jail showed no defensive wounds on his body. This proves his innocence, he said, as “she would have fought back.”

“You need to find out what happened for real before you point the finger at me,” Portis said.