CRIME NEWS
Update: Remains found in trash bag during search for Maleah Davis after
her stepdad confessed to 'killing her by accident’
Authorities in
Houston believe the remains of a child found in southwest Arkansas on Friday
may belong to 4-year-old Maleah Davis who went missing one month ago.
"Do we believe
that it's possibly her? Yes. But can we confirm it right now? No," Houston
Police Executive Assistant Chief Troy Finner told reporters. "If
it's not Maleah, it's somebody's child," he said.
The discovery comes
after her stepfather, Derion Vence, 26, confessed to accidentally
killing her and dumping her where they found the remains of a child.
Earlier on Friday,
suspect Derion Vence confessed to Quanell X, a community activist who
was representing the victim's mother, Brittany Bowens. He said he killed
Maleah before dumping her body in Arkansas.
"One thing he
wanted to make clear to me was (that) what happened to Maleah was an accident,
he says it was an accident. And he confessed to me where he dumped the
body," Houston community activist Quanell X told CNN affiliate KTRK.
"He said he
pulled over in Arkansas, got out of the car, walked to the side of the road,
and dumped the body off the road," said Quanell, who used to represent the
girl's mother.
After Houston
police detectives along with a search and rescue team headed to Arkansas to
began searching near Hope, a town about 30 miles northeast of the
Texas-Arkansas border. They spotted a garbage bag emitting a foul odor along
Interstate 30 near Hope. The remains of a child were inside the bag, Hempstead
County Sheriff James Singleton told CNN affiliate KTAL.
"It might be
Maleah but we can't be certain," Houston Police Cmdr. Michael Skillern
told reporters.
The remains have
been flown to Texas where it will undergo forensic testing to determine the
identity.
Vence, 26, has been charged with tampering with evidence in connection with the case. He was engaged to Brittany Bowens, Maleah's mother, and was taking care of Maleah and his son when she went missing on May 4. Vence is currently in custody.
If convicted of
tampering, he faces between two and 20 years in prison.
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