Maleah Davis update: Derion Vence pleads guilty, sentenced to 40 years in prison, officials say
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Derion Vence, who initially reported 4-year-old Maleah Davis missing, was arrested and booked into the Harris County jail in May on suspicion of tampering with a human corpse, according to police. (Houston Police Department)
HOUSTON – Derion Vence pleaded guilty Thursday to tampering with a corpse and injury to a child -- 4-year-old Maleah Davis -- and was sentenced to 40 years in prison, officials say.
Vence, 28, dated Maleah’s mother, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg’s Office said in a news release with an update about the case. Vence, Maleah and her little brother were all reported missing the morning of May 4, 2019. When Vence and Maleah’s brother showed up at a hospital late that night, Maleah was not with them. Her remains were found by the side of a road in Arkansas a month after she disappeared.