Remains Found in Arkansas Identified as Maleah Davis

Remains Found in Arkansas Identified as Maleah Davis
Derion Vence (L) and Maleah Davis. (Houston Police Department)

HOUSTON—The remains of a child found in Arkansas last week are those of a missing 4-year-old Texas girl, Maleah Davis, a medical examiner said on Monday.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences said it had positively identified the remains found in a garbage bag near a freeway outside the town of Hope, Arkansas, which is located about 30 miles northeast of the Texas-Arkansas border.

Derion Vence, the man who had been arrested in connection with Maleah’s disappearance, told a community activist he had disposed of her body there.

maleah-davis-exlarge-169
Maleah Davis was hospitalized multiple times and was once removed from her home. (CNN)

The institute of forensic sciences says the cause and manner of her death are not yet determined.

Vence, the ex-fiance of Maleah’s mother, remains jailed on a charge of tampering with evidence, specifically a human corpse. He’s being held on a $45,000 bond.

Vence, 27, had claimed he, Maleah, and his 2-year-old son were abducted on May 4 by a group of men in a truck. He said he and his son were freed the next day but the kidnappers kept Maleah and his silver Nissan Altima. Police said Vence’s story kept changing and didn’t add up.

NTD Photo
Houston police detectives along with a search and rescue team headed to Arkansas on Friday to look for missing 4-year-old Maleah Davis after the man who had been watching her allegedly confessed to dumping her body. (Houston Police Department)

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said in a statement Monday that his agency would work with prosecutors to “ensure the person(s) responsible for her death, and the attempted cover-up of her death, are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

In a statement, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said on Monday that “additional charges would be filed as the evidence supports doing so.”

“We remain focused on finding the truth and delivering justice for Maleah,” the district attorney’s office said.

Authorities were directed to Arkansas after Quanell X, a local civil rights activist, visited Vence in jail in Houston on Friday. Quanell X said that Vence told him he dumped her body near Hope.

Quanell X declined to comment on what Vence told him regarding how Maleah died but that Vence insisted what happened to her was “an accident.”

Dorian Cotlar, Vence’s attorney, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on Monday.

Brittany Bowens, Maleah’s mother, had previously accused Vence of abusing the girl.

NTD Photo
Brittany Bowens, facing camera, the mother of the missing 4-year-old Maleah Davis is hugged by Taneshia Brown in Houston, on May 13, 2019. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Child Protective Services removed Maleah and her brothers from the apartment Vence and Bowens shared in August after the girl suffered a head wound, but the children were returned in February, according to an agency spokeswoman.

After a canceled court appearance by Vence on May 13, Bowens was heckled outside the courtroom by people who questioned if she had done enough to protect her daughter before her disappearance.

Quanell Disputed

Meanwhile, Vence’s attorney, Dorian Cotlar, on May 31 filed a motion prohibiting Quanell from visiting his client.

He said the activist’s claims are not accurate. “Quanell X completely misled my client,” Cotlar told the Houston Chronicle. “I don’t know how he was able to get into the jail.”

“My client did not confess to Quanell. He did not use the word accident with Quanell,” the lawyer continued. “I’m not sure why the DA’s Office and Texas Equusearch are giving validity to anything [Quanell] says.”

Quanell, he alleged, “makes his living off of reward money,” which is why he is involved in the case.

Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips contributed to this article.

ntd newsletter icon
Sign up for NTD Daily
What you need to know, summarized in one email.
Stay informed with accurate news you can trust.
By registering for the newsletter, you agree to the Privacy Policy.
Comments