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Located in Arkansas Friday during a search, the remains were identified as those of the missing girl in Houston, the Harris Institute of Forensic Science in Texas announced.
The cause and manner of his death are still pending, according to the forensic institute.
Maleah was reported missing in early May by former fiance of her mother, Derion Vence.
Vence first told the police that Maleah had been abducted by a group of men – but investigators found signs of degradation in his car and traces of blood in his apartment.
Earlier Friday, Houston police had said that remains found in a bag in southwestern Arkansas could belong to Maleah.
According to police, Vence was arrested and sentenced to Harris County Prison in May for altering a human corpse.
History raised questions
In early May, Vence told the police that he was driving in the car with the girl and her infant son when he heard a loud noise and parked. A group of men stopped behind him, he said, and knocked him out for nearly 24 hours. When he woke up, Vence claimed that he was at the edge of a road with his son, but Maleah was gone.
He stated that he had gone to a nearby hospital, where he had been treated for his injuries and reported the disappearance of Maleah. But when the detectives started gathering evidence, his account began to collapse.
The video shows that Vence was dropped off at the hospital in the car that he claims to have been stolen, authorities said. The investigators also took blood from his apartment "compatible" with DNA from the Maleah toothbrush.
The investigators also viewed images captured under the porch of an apartment next to that of Vence, according to the affidavit.
The images show Maleah entering the apartment, but she's not on the video coming back. On May 3, Vence leaves the apartment with a large blue laundry basket containing a black garbage bag.
He returned a few minutes later and took out Walah Maleah David from the apartment with cleaning supplies, including bleach, according to court documents.
Search in Arkansas
Maleah's search was carried out in Arkansas after Vence reportedly confessed to Quanell X, who had visited him in prison on Friday, that he had thrown Maleah's body there. Quanell is a community activity that represented the girl's mother.
"One thing he wanted me to explain was that what happened to Maleah was an accident, he said it was an accident, and he confessed to me where he threw the body, "said the activist at CNN affiliate, KTRK.
Houston police detectives and search and rescue teams immediately went to Arkansas. Houston police have asked local authorities to begin their search near Hope, a town located about 30 km northeast of the border between Texas and Arkansas.
A team of roadside lawn mowers spotted a foul-smelling garbage bag near Hope, which contained the remains of a child, said Hempstead County Sheriff James Singleton at KTAL.
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