A Disturbing Timeline Of 4-Year-Old Maleah Davis Going Missing After Being Left With Her Stepfather

UPDATED: June 12, 8:07 a.m. EDT —

The date for Maleah Davis‘ funeral has been set to take place nearly two months after she went missing in Houston. Her family has launched an online crowdfunding campaign to help pay for the services, which the four-year-old’s obituary said will be private.

The obituary posted on the website of the Richardson Mortuary in Houston goes on to refer to Maleah as “the adored daughter of Craig Davis Jr. and  Brittany Bowens,” the latter of which is her mother who has come under heightened scrutiny for her possible role in the child’s suspicious disappearance in early May. Bowens was the subject of a petition that appeared to be gaining steam after it called Maleah’s mother to be charged.

Those developments came days after Maleah was remembered in Houston as well as Arkansas, where her remains were found last week. People in Arkansas remembered her on Saturday in the same place where the missing four-year-old’s remains were found. That somber moment of remembrance came ahead of Houston marking Sunday as Maleah Davis Day in the city that she both called home and went missing from.

A group in Houston called Dear Maleah also organized a walk in the girl’s honor Sunday morning.

“The mile-long walk took participants from City Hall to Harris County Jail, where there was a moment of silence for Maleah, and then participants walked back to City Hall for a bubble release in her honor,” according to the local ABC affiliate.

The weekend observations came days after investigators moved to execute a warrant for the cellphone of Maleah’s stepfather, Darion Vence, who has been jailed for tampering with a corpse but not charged in her death.

“According to a Houston police investigator, they don’t have enough information to prove intent,” Fox News reported. “That’s why there is no murder charge at this point, police say they’re not looking at other suspects at this time.”

Vence reportedly confessed last week and pointed officials to Arkansas, where Maleah’s remains were found. After officials learned that Vence said Maleah’s body was in Arkansas, they retrieved a garbage bag with human remains from that location and began DNA testing that ultimately confirmed Monday morning that the contents were Maleah.

The unfortunate saga that unfolded in Houston showed that fact can many times be much more twisted than fiction. Davis’ disappearance made national headlines as Vence claimed that three Hispanic men beat him and kidnapped the little girl. Vence said that on May 4, he, Davis and his two-year-old son were on their way to George Bush International Airport to pick up Davis’ mother. A picture of Vence at the hospital with several cuts on his forehead began to circulate as he claimed to be a victim of violence, but it did not take long for his story to appear to unravel.

Over the course a few weeks, many began to suspect that Vence knew more about Davis’ whereabouts than he let on. Police arrested Vence days later for tampering with evidence after blood and human decomposition was found in his car. Surveillance video also shows Davis entering an apartment behind Vence, but never coming out. In addition, Vence is seen on the video holding a laundry basket with a garbage bag inside. However, he has avoided being charged with the child’s murder.

Since Vence’s arrest, Bowens has been thrust into the spotlight and many have accused her of also being involved in her own daughter’s disappearance. Bowen has denied any wrongdoing.

During the course of the investigation, it was reported how Maleah and her siblings were reportedly previously removed from Bowens’ home after Texas Child Protective Services (CPS) workers determined allegations of abuse were credible.

“In August 2018, Maleah and her brothers were placed with a relative following physical abuse allegations, stemming from a head injury she had, CPS said Monday night,” CNN wrote days after Maleah was reportedly kidnapped. “A judge ordered their return home in February and called for CPS to maintain temporary conservatorship and visit the home at least once a month to check on the family.”

Maleah reportedly had multiple brain surgeries. According to ABC reporter Shelly Childers, the surgeries were due to physical abuse.

Family members began to play the blame game and pointed their fingers at each other as no one seemed to want to accept any responsibility for what has happened to Maleah.

See the timeline of this heartbreaking saga below.