Derion Vence indicted for tampering with corpse in Maleah Davis case
A Harris County grand jury indicted Derion Vence for tampering with the body of four-year-old Maleah.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced the indictment on Thursday.
TIMELINE: A look at the timeline of events in Maleah Davis case
Vence was charged with Tampering with Evidence in May.
“Our work continues to seek justice for Maleah,” Ogg said.
The DA's office says when prosecutors receive a final autopsy report from the medical examiner’s office, that evidence will be considered as part of any decision regarding possible additional charges.
MORE: Derion Vence confesses Maleah Davis is dead, tells Quanell her body is in Arkansas
Maleah's remains were discovered on May 31 off an Arkansas roadside in a black garbage bag.
Once all evidence was collected, the remains, confirmed to belong to a human child, were then gathered and transported to Houston for testing.
Authorities were able to find the remains just hours after Vence, confessed to Quanell X that Maleah is dead. He said it was an accident and that he dumped her body in Arkansas.
The confession came almost a month after Maleah was first reported missing from Houston.
MORE: Why there is no murder charge in Maleah Davis case, according to police
Vence showed up to Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital on the night of May 4 with his one-year-old son seeking treatment for a head injury. He claimed to have been attacked the night before on his way to pick up Maleah’s mother, Brittany Bowens, from George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
He told police that Maleah and his infant son were in the car with him, when he pulled over to check his tire around Greens Road and Highway 59. Vence then claimed that three Hispanic men pulled up in a blue Chevy pickup truck and beat him up until he passed out. He reported that the next day he regained consciousness near First Colony Mall. Maleah and his car were nowhere to be found, but his son was still with him.