Missing Tx. 2-Year-Old Was Found Dead in Bayou — and Now Mom, Boyfriend Are Accused of Killing Her
Houston Police Department Maliyah Bass
More than a month after Maliyah Bass' little body was pulled from a Houston bayou, authorities in Texas have arrested the 2-year-old girl's mother and her boyfriend, alleging they killed the child before placing her in a sewage drain.
On Tuesday, Houston police announced that Sahara Ervin, 20, and Travion Thompson, 21, were charged with injury to a child and tampering with evidence stemming from their alleged involvement in Maliyah's August death.
Investigators have yet to say how Maliyah was killed, but allege Ervin and Thompson injured the girl in late August.
Once she was dead, Maliyah's body was placed in a storm drain.
On Aug. 23, at about 10:30 a.m., a jogger spotted Maliyah's body floating near Brays Bayou.
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Officers and water rescue teams were dispatched to the scene and pulled the body from the water. At 11:19 a.m., the child was pronounced dead at the scene.
Maliyah, known to relatives as "Tootie," had been reported missing the previous morning, according to police.
Houston Police (2) Sahara Ervin and Travion Thompson
KHOU reports that court documents allege Ervin told police she left Maliyah alone for only a few minutes in the courtyard of their apartment complex, returning to find she was gone.
Thompson is being held on $150,000 bond, and is due to appear before a judge at some point today.
Ervin's bond was set at $175,000, and she was in court Tuesday night. She did not enter a plea, and it is unknown at this point if she has an attorney who could comment on her behalf.
It was also unclear if Thompson has retained legal counsel.
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After Maliyah's body was found, Thompson spoke to KHOU, saying, "She knows her ABCs. She knows her 123s. She knew how to talk because of me and her mother. She was smart ... she was growing up to be something."
KHOU reports that, when Maliyah's body was found, Ervin was at the scene; according to the station, she appeared to be inconsolable and collapsed to the ground.
Thompson, KHOU reports, had choice words for the police the day Maliyah's body was found: "Y'all are supposed to have four, five dogs looking for my baby."
