A Texas man behind bars in connection with the disappearance of 4-year-old Maleah Davis claims he is innocent, and apparently his brother, who visited him at the Houston jail, completely believes him.
“He wants the world to know he’s innocent,” Joe Vence, brother of 26-year-old Derion Vence, told Click 2 Houston on Tuesday. “We had conversations about our family. He’s very strong, he’s a good man.”
Derion Vence is behind bars at the Harris County Jail on charges of tampering with evidence, a human corpse. Joe visited him for around 20 minutes before stopping to answer questions about his brother. Although Joe declined to discuss the details surrounding Vence’s case, he claimed he loved Maleah and that his brother had God on his side.
“Once God is with you, the whole world, the whole city, everybody can be against you,” Joe Vence said. “We’re a strong, praying family. God is on our side. God is with my brother.“
Update: Current booking photo of suspect Derion Vence #hounews pic.twitter.com/8WueclRVI6
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 11, 2019
Maleah was last seen alive on April 30 via security footage at a Houston apartment complex. The suspect later claimed that three Hispanic men abducted Maleah on May 3 after knocking him out while he was checking the tires on his car.
Derion Vence said the men fled in a blue Chevrolet pickup truck with Maleah, but dropped him and his son off on the side of the road. The man claimed he was too dazed and confused by the men’s assault to stop them. It’s a story police found holes in from the beginning.
Earlier this week, authorities also found blood evidence linked to Maleah inside the apartment she lived in with Derion Vence and her mother, Brittany Bowens.
“Maleah, I love her and hopefully they get all this stuff straightened out,” Joe Vence said.
Bowens reportedly admitted that she thinks her daughter is likely deceased. According to FOX 15, a spokesperson for Bowens said that although the mother doesn’t think Maleah is alive, she desperately wants to locate her.
Meanwhile, Maleah remains missing. A search team has scoured numerous areas in and around Houston looking for her, and ended up at a haunted house in Rosharon on Tuesday morning, after a tip was sent in to police. According to the Click 2 Houston, Derion Vence was once a mail carrier in the Rosharon area.
Anyone with any information is urged to contact the Houston Police Department at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
Click here to see all of CrimeOnline’s coverage on Maleah Davis.
[Feature Photo: Maleah Davis/Handout]
