The man described by police as the stepfather of Maleah Davis, the 4-year-old Texas girl whose remains were found on the side of the road in Arkansas, said that he did not kill the girl.
Derion Vence, the ex-fiance of Maleah’s mother Brittany Bowens and the girl’s primary caretaker, was seen carrying a laundry basket with a black trash bag inside shortly before she was reported missing. Maleah’s remains were found inside a plastic bag after Vence told community activist Quanell X where he’d dumped them.
But Vence insisted in a new interview that he did not kill the girl.
“I ain’t no killer, bro. I loved Maleah so much. I did for her more than her own parents. I never had a biological daughter. I would never do anything to hurt her. That’s not me,” he told KTRK.
“Ask anyone who knows me, and they’ll tell you I’m not that type of dude and I was good with the kids.”
Vence has not been charged with murder as of yet, though prosecutors indicated last month that he likely would be. He’s in jail on a tampering with evidence charge.
Vence said he should not be in prison.
“I should be home with my family. With Maleah, the kids and Brittany, cooking dinner and watching Netflix,” Vence said.
Vence spoke on the same day that Bowens recalled being told that the remains were confirmed to be of her daughter.
“I think at that moment that’s when reality hit, that it was her, in that bag, sitting along that street,” a distraught Bowens told KTRK. “It’s not fair. It’s not fair at all. I just, I just don’t understand this. It’s not fair, because she didn’t deserve that.”
Vence originally told law enforcement that he, Maleah, and his 1-year-old son were in Houston on May 4 driving to pick up Bowens when he had to pull over. When he did, they were accosted by three Hispanic men, who knocked him out. When he came to, he was in Sugar Land with his son. Maleah had vanished.
Police said there were discrepancies with the tale, which was changed multiple times over the coming days, and he was arrested about a week later on the tampering charge.
Quanell X, the activist, was representing Bowens but dropped her days before the remains were found, saying her story also had inconsistencies.
He said on June 3 that he believes Bowens was not directly involved in the death but was aware of what happened and where the remains were.
He said that one of Vence’s family members assisted the suspect in covering up the death and that he’d passed that information along to the police.
“I believe that there is one family member of Derion … that he knew where the body was placed, and that he helped hide Derion out from authorities so they couldn’t speak to him. And I believe he knew about the whereabouts of where Maleah was,” Quanell X told Fox 26. He said that Bowens should also be arrested and charged.
“I believe that Derion has to be charged with murder,” he said. “He has to be charged with taking the life of young Maleah and held absolutely accountable for that. This man had no remorse. None whatsoever when I sat down and talked to him. I believe that Brittany has to be held accountable also. Brittany helped cover up abuse and I think she has to look at the bigger picture. Your child lost her life because as a mother you failed to protect that baby.”
