According to Miley, Bonin and Miranda engaged in consensual intercourse in the rear of the van as he drove, before Bonin privily stammered to him, "Kid's going to die. Kid's going to – this kid's going to die." Miley replied, stating, "Why don't you just let the kid go?" Bonin rejected this proposition, stating, "No, because he'll know us and know the van." Miranda was then overpowered by Bonin, who asked Miranda how much money he had. Miranda said he had about six dollars, after which Bonin told Miley to take Miranda's wallet; then Bonin beat, bound, and gagged Miranda. He then informed Miranda of his being robbed earlier that day, and that though it "wasn't fair," the youth was to be killed. Initially doubting Bonin, Miranda began crying and begging for his life. Bonin then began sexually assaulting Miranda; Miley also attempted to rape Miranda, but was unable to sustain an erection. In frustration, Miley assaulted the youth with various sharp objects before assisting Bonin in beating him. Bonin then strangled Miranda to death with a T-shirt and a tire iron as Miley repeatedly jumped on Miranda's chest. His nude corpse was dumped shortly thereafter, in an alleyway alongside East Second Street in Los Angeles. Five minutes after the pair had discarded Miranda's body, Bonin suggested to Miley: "I'm horny again, let's go and do another one." Miley initially protested and stated he wanted to go home, but eventually complied with Bonin's insistence. A few hours later, in Huntington Beach, the pair encountered 12-year-old James Macabe standing at a bus stop on the corner of Beach Boulevard and Slater Avenue. Temporarily left alone, Macabe had been dropped off there by his older brother, who had given Macabe money and with whom he stayed for the weekend. Macabe was lured into Bonin's van on the promise he would be driven to his intended destination of Disneyland with the additional incentive of marijuana. According to Miley, Macabe entered the rear of the van voluntarily, after which Bonin drove to a grocery store parking lot, parking the van and entering the rear of the vehicle, where he began hugging and kissing the child. He then bound Macabe, telling him he was being kidnapped for ransom. To subdue the child, Bonin began repeatedly punching him in the stomach, mouth, and leg. Miley then drove in an aimless manner for what he later described