Derion Vence has been arrested

Photo: Courtesy HPD

Derion Vence, 26, was arrested on May 11, 2019 and charged with “tampering with evidence-human corpse.” Davis is the stepfather of 4-year-old Maleah Davis, who has not been found since going missing earlier this month.

Investigators say they found drops of blood in the apartment of Derion Vence, the stepfather of missing 4-year-old Maleah Davis.

Vence is being held on $1 million bond after being charged on Saturday with “tampering with evidence — human corpse,” according to a probable cause document filed by Harris County authorities.

He’d previously told investigators that Maleah had gone missing after he was carjacked by a group of men. Her whereabouts are still unknown.

Investigators now say in charging documents that they found blood in the hallway and bathroom of the home that Vence shared with Maleah’s mother, Brittany Bowens.

Tests of the blood, investigators said, “showed that the major component is consistent with being from a person who is the maternal offspring of Brittany Bowens.”

Investigators “observed from the video that the basket appears heavy due to the stance (Vence) uses when walking,” court records show.

Vence returned to his apartment roughly three minutes later without the basket, investigators said. He then walked out of the apartment with cleaning supplies, including bleach, investigators said.

Cadaver dogs responded to the scent of decomposition after sniffing Vence’s car and other vehicles in the parking lot. Investigators also found a gas can in the car that Bowens says did not belong to her.

Vence, 26, was arrested by the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders and Fugitives Task Force at a relative’s home in Sugar Land without incident.

Written by Abelina Tavera