A community activist and spokesperson speaking on behalf of the family of missing Houston girl, Maleah Davis, provided graphic details in what reportedly happened to the child, allegedly by the hands of her mother’s former fiance.
“Many people did not know that he had dismembered this beautiful baby,” community activist Quanell X told KHOU, referring to suspect, 26-year-old Derion Vence. “There was blood spatter evidence around the drainage area of the house. Why would human body tissue be in the drain system?”
Police have not confirmed whether Quanell’s statement is true or not, but Vence, who told authorities that 4-year-old Maleah was abducted by three Hispanic men on May 3, is currently behind bars on charges of suspicion of tampering with evidence, a human corpse.
Prosecutors stated that cadaver dogs hit on human decomposition inside the trunk of the car Vence was driving when Maleah supposedly disappeared, according to WRAL.
“Both of the dogs reacted to the trunk of the silver Nissan that the defendant had driven and that the blue laundry basket was recovered from, indicating that the dogs were responding to the scent of human decomposition in the vehicle,” Harris County prosecutor Pat Stayton said, according to StarTribune.
Quanell, the spokesperson for Maleah’s mother, Brittany Bowens, claimed that Bowens broke up with Vence shortly before leaving Texas for Massachusetts, where she reportedly attended a funeral. Quanell said Bowens and Vence were in an argument after she discovered that Vence allegedly sent photos of his penis to another man.
Bowens reportedly took her engagement ring off of her finger and accused Vence of being gay. She then left the state and refused to speak to Vence, which according to Quannell, angered the man to the point he snapped.
“When that happened, I believe that he psychologically snapped – already on top of being abusive to Maleah. He did this to hurt the mother in a way that she would never recover,” Quanell said.
Maleah was last seen on April 30, the day Bowens reportedly left Texas for Massachusetts. Security footage captured Vence walking with Maleah back into his apartment the same morning.
On May 3, the same security camera showed Vence leaving the apartment with his 1-year-old toddler son, a laundry basket, and a black trash bag. Maleah was not with him and was never seen with him again.
Authorities found the laundry basket and a gas can inside the trunk of a Nissan Altima that Vence reported stolen. Police found the car in the Missouri City area on Thursday.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Vence told authorities he was driving the silver Nissan Altima along Greens Road and Highway 59 on May 3, 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.
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 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.”
Update: Current booking photo of suspect Derion Vence #hounews pic.twitter.com/8WueclRVI6
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 11, 2019
Around 6 p.m. on Saturday, Vence, in and out of consciousness, woke up to find himself and his son on Highway 6 in Sugar Land with his 1-year-old son, according to what he told authorities. Maleah was not with him. Vence said he walked to Methodist Hospital in Sugar Land and arrived around 11 p.m. on Saturday.
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, police announced that security footage showed Vence being dropped off in a vehicle at the hospital, dispelling the man’s story that he walked to the hospital with his toddler son.
Meanwhile, a judge set Vence’s bond at $1 million. He is currently behind bars at the Harris County Jail and expected in court on Monday.
[Feature Photo: Maleah Davis/Handout]
