The mother of 5-year-old missing child, Maleah Davis, made bombshell accusations against the Texas man who last saw the girl before she disappeared last Friday.
Although the alleged evidence is unconfirmed by authorities, community activist Quanell X spoke to local Houston area reporters on Friday about physical evidence against 26-year-old Darion Vence, Maleah’s stepfather, who told police three men in a blue pickup truck abducted the little girl.
“There is a video camera at the top of the stairway by one of their neighbors. And on that video camera, it captures the stepdad coming out of the apartment with a bottle of Clorox, a laundry basket, and inside the laundry basket, a garbage bag.”
Quanell said Vence left the apartment and came back with another bottle of Clorox, although according to Maleah’s mother, Brittany Bowens, there was already bleach inside the home.
Further, speaking on behalf of Bowens, Quanell said Bowens and Vence were in an argument after she discovered that Vence allegedly sent photos of his penis to another man. Bowens took her engagement ring off of her finger and accused Vence of being gay. She then left for Massachusetts and reportedly refused to speak to Vence, which according to Quannell, angered the man to the point he snapped.
“I believe that caused him to snap in anger on young Maleah,” Quanell added. “The mother also had heated words with him in the past about him physically whipping and spanking young Maleah…..This was a very small, fragile child, a very young baby, and she was a special needs child.”
Vence allegedly threatened Bowens when she tried to take Maleah to the hospital for bruising months ago. Further, Bowens reportedly accused Vence of molesting Maleah. Police have not confirmed whether they believe the accusations are true or whether they have any evidence that points to physical abuse or sexual assault.
“He would sneak that child home [from daycare] and not tell the mother,” Quanell said. “He would bathe Maleah, which was inappropriate. That’s not his daughter.”
When questioned why Bowens never came forward with the accusations previously, Quanell said Bowens “did not want to believe” that Vence had anything to do with Maleah’s disappearance. Vence is now reportedly hiding from police and avoiding Bowens’ calls and texts.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Vence told authorities he was driving the silver Nissan Altima along Greens Road and Highway 59 on Friday evening, near Humble, when he heard a “popping noise” coming from his vehicle.
Vence told police he had two children in the car, his toddler son and stepdaughter Maleah, and was on his way to the George Bush Intercontinental Airport to pick up Bowens, who was returning to Texas from Massachusetts.
Vence said he pulled over to check the tires on his vehicle and within a few minutes, three unknown Hispanic males pulled up in a blue 2010 Chevrolet crew cab pickup. Vence said two men got out of the truck, and while one made comments about Maleah, the other reportedly struck him in the head.
“On of them makes a comment and says, ‘Maleah looks very nice, very sweet,’” Sargent Mark Holbrook with the Houston Police Department said during a Sunday afternoon press conference. “The other man hits Darion in the head. Darion loses consciousness. Darion is able to wake up during a period of time and he was in the back of the blue truck.”
Vence told police that the vehicle, which belongs to Bowens, was missing.
Meanwhile, police said that Vence’s version of what happened has changed several times.
“During the initial interview, the man’s story did change several times and some of what he told us just didn’t add up,” spokesperson for Sugar Land police, Doug Adolph said.
Further, the Nissan was spotted on security footage driving around Sugar Land on Saturday, at around 3 p.m.
Maleah still has not been found.
On Thursday, authorities located the missing Nissan. According to Houston PD, a woman spotted the vehicle in a parking lot off of Highway 6 and Riverstone Boulevard, and contacted authorities immediately.
The car appeared clean and “normal” and had one car seat inside. The vehicle was towed to HPD headquarters, where a crime scene analyst began processing it.
Amber Alert Update: Houston Police say they haven’t been able to get ahold of Darion Vence since last weekend. They tried to call him in to give a sketch description of the three Hispanic men he says abducted him. Police say he’s a person of interest in Maleah’s disappearance. pic.twitter.com/HXbgCze1PA
— Ivory Hecker FOX 26 (@IvoryHecker) May 9, 2019
Detectives haven’t spoken to Vence in a few days. Authorities have been trying to contact him, but he hasn’t been responsive.
The story continues to develop. Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: Maleah Davis/Handout]
