Maleah Davis (CPS failure)
Before her murder, Maleah Davis had been removed from her home by CPS after a skull fracture but was returned. The case exposed systemic failures in the Texas child welfare system.
Before her murder in 2019, four-year-old Maleah Davis had been under the supervision of Texas Child Protective Services. In 2018, she was hospitalized with a severe skull fracture and brain bleed while in the care of her mother's boyfriend Derion Vence.
CPS removed Maleah and her siblings from the home. However, after a few months, the children were returned to the home with Vence still present, despite the unexplained injury.
After Maleah's murder, investigations revealed that CPS caseworkers had failed to follow up adequately and had accepted implausible explanations for her earlier injuries.
The case led to calls for reform of the Texas child welfare system, including demands for smaller caseloads, better training, and more aggressive intervention in cases of suspected abuse.
Curated starting points for verifying and researching this case. Direct references are checked; search links are provided as further-reading aids. ColdCaseIndex is an index of public information — see a case correction? Email info@coldcaseindex.com.
Have Information About This Case?
Cold cases are solved when someone comes forward. Even a detail that seems minor can matter. If you have any information about this case, contact law enforcement through one of these channels:
- FBI Tips (tips.fbi.gov) — submit a tip online to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- FBI Tip Line: 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324)
- The local police department or sheriff's office in Texas, or the state bureau of investigation
Tips can usually be submitted anonymously. To report an error on this page, email info@coldcaseindex.com.