The attorney representing Derion Vence, the only suspect in the murder of 4-year-old Maleah Davis, says his client did not make a jailhouse confession to Houston community activist Quanell X (pictured).
Quanell, leader of the New Black Panther Party in Houston, told reporters he spoke with Vence in jail on Friday. Vence is being held on $45,000 bail on charges of tampering with a corpse.
Quanell said Vence told him he killed Maleah accidentally. Vence was reportedly upset after Maleah’s mother, Brittany Bowens, accused him of being a homosexual when she discovered nude photos he’d allegedly sent to a man on his cell phone.
Vence reportedly told Quanell he punched Maleah in the head and she died. He reportedly said he drove to Arkansas and dumped Maleah’s remains in a ditch just off Highway I-30 in Fulton.
Maleah was last seen alive on April 30 on a neighbor’s surveillance camera. Maleah, wearing footie pajamas and a pink tutu, was seen following Vence into the family’s apartment that morning at the Kirkwood Landing Apartments in Houston. She was not seen alive again.
On May 3, Vence was seen carrying a large laundry basket containing a black trash bag and cleaning supplies from the apartment. The next day, he told police he was carjacked by three Hispanic males who knocked him unconscious and took Maleah the night before.
Vence was arrested on May 11 and charged with tampering with a human corpse after forensics officers found blood evidence linked to Maleah inside the apartment.
On Friday, May 31, a road crew detected a foul odor and found a large black trash bag containing a child’s bones and blood-stained clothing near exit 18 in Fulton, Arkansas. The bag was found near where Vence allegedly told Quanell he dumped her body. The remains were flown back to Houston on a private jet late Friday.
Vence’s current attorney, Dorian Cutlar, told Chron.com his client was “misled” by Quanell.
“Quanell X completely misled my client. I don’t know how he was able to get into the jail,” Cutlar said. “My client did not confess to Quanell. He did not use the word ‘accident’ with Quanell. Quanell makes his living off of reward money.”
However, Harris County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Jason Spencer said Quanell was allowed in the jail on Friday because he’s a well-known community activist.
“We know Quanell X as a community leader,” Spencer told Chron.com. “When a community leader asks to visit an inmate, we generally allow it, as long as the inmate agrees to the visit.”
Quanell denied reports that he would get the reward money which had increased to $27,500 last week. He stated he is not entitled to the money for finding Maleah, nor would he want any of it, according to Crimeonline.com.
After the visit, Cutlar filed a motion with the court to bar Quanell from visiting Vence in jail again.
Cutlar became Vence’s attorney after his original lawyer withdrew from the case because Vence’s family could not afford to pay his legal services.
The Harris County District Clerk’s website said attorney Thomas H. Burton III listed “failure to comply with the terms of his agreement” with Vence as a reason for his withdrawal.
Cutlar said Vence believed his family sent Quanell to see him after his original lawyer withdrew from the case. Cutlar said Quanell allegedly told Vence he would provide a legal team for him.
Cutlar was retained by a private source, according to reports.
Vence’s father, Joe Vence, told KPRC 2 on Friday that he had not heard his son confessed to killing his grandchild, Maleah.
“No, I haven’t heard that. But how was he (Quanell) able to talk to Derion? He’s not his attorney,” said Joe Vence, who fathered Derion when he was only 16.
Joe had previously professed his son’s innocence, saying Derion was the only responsible adult in the home. He said Derion took better care of Maleah and her 2 brothers than their mother did.
