HOUSTON (CNN) – The remains found in Arkansas during a search for 4-year-old Maleah Davis have arrived in Houston, where they will be tested to determine the identity and cause of death, police said.
Community activist Quanell X, who used to represent the young girl’s mother, told reporters that she is home.
Earlier Friday, Houston police had said child remains found in a bag in southwest Arkansas may belong to Maleah.
Maleah was reported missing in early May by her mother’s former fiance, Derion Vence. He initially told police that Maleah had been abducted by a group of men — but investigators found signs of decay in his car and blood evidence in his apartment.
Vence was arrested and booked into the Harris County jail in May on suspicion of tampering with a human corpse, according to police.
What led police to Arkansas
Houston police detectives along with a search and rescue teams immediately headed to Arkansas. Houston police requested that local authorities begin searching near Hope, a town about 30 miles northeast of the Texas-Arkansas border.
A roadside mowing crew spotted a garbage bag emitting a foul odor near Hope, which contained the remains of a child, Hempstead County Sheriff James Singleton told CNN affiliate KTAL.
A community mourns
Meanwhile, the Houston apartment the 4-year-old girl was last seen entering is filled with posters, unicorns and flowers. Almost everything is pink, her favorite color.
The home’s entrance is decorated with teddy bears, candles, posters signed by hundreds of neighbors and toys, CNN affiliateKTRK reported.
Mothers across the area visit the memorial, many holding back tears.
“Every time I walk out from my apartment what I see is where she used to live,” Jania Soto said.“It’s hard.”
A changing storyline
At the beginning of May, Vence told police he was driving with the young girl and his toddler son in the car when he heard a loud noise and pulled over. A group of men pulled up behind him, he said, and knocked him unconscious for nearly 24 hours. When he woke up, Vence claimed he was on the side of a road with his son, but Maleah was gone.
He said he walked to a nearby hospital, where he received treatment for his injuries and reported Maleah missing. But as detectives began collecting evidence, the man’s account began to fall apart.
Video shows Vence was dropped off at the hospital in the car he claims was stolen. Investigators also collected blood from his apartment that was “consistent’ with DNA taken from Maleah’s toothbrush.
Investigators also viewed footage captured from the porch of an apartment next to Vence’s, according to the affidavit.
The footage shows Maleah entering the apartment, but she never comes back out. Instead, Vence is seen leaving the apartment on May 3 carrying a large blue laundry basket with a black trash bag inside. He returned a few minutes later and walked out of the apartment carrying cleaning supplies, including bleach, according to court documents.
