HOUSTON – The mother of Maliyah Bass and her boyfriend are in custody and charged in connection with the death of the 2-year-old, Houston police said Tuesday.
Sahara Ervin, 20, and Travion Thompson, 21, were charged with injury to a child and tampering with evidence in the August death of Maliyah.
Court documents said the couple killed Maliyah and put her body in a storm drain, which was later recovered from Brays Bayou.
The little girl’s remains were positively identified as those found in Brays Bayou, her family confirmed. She was previously reported missing in southwest Houston.
READ: Family says body found in Brays Bayou belonged to 2-year-old Maliyah Bass
Thompson’s mother, Angel Harris said she’s okay with her son being in jail because he needs to face consequences for his actions.
On Aug. 22, Thompson and Ervin told reporters that Ervin left Maliyah alone for 5 minutes at a neighborhood playground while she was cooking. Then the couple claimed they couldn’t find Maliyah and claimed she was kidnapped.
“It was just a bunch of lies. That’s it, a bunch of lies,” said Harris.
READ: HPD believes foul play was involved in the child’s death
Authorities agree with Harris.
“The defendant and her boyfriend ... injured and killed the two-year-old complainant," said a court worker during Thompson’s probable cause court hearing. "After the complainant’s death, the defendant and co-defendant put her body in a sewer drain, where it floated into the bayou and was discovered by a citizen.”
Ervin and Thompson were in charge of protecting Maliyah. Now, they are accused of killing her and dumping her body.
“I am happy that the truth came out, and I am happy that now I can feel peace, because I know the truth,” said Harris.
Thompson’s bail has been set at $150,000 and Ervin’s bail is a total of $175,000.
Authorities said Ervin did not make it to court for medical reasons but is scheduled to be in court Thursday morning.
Houston activist Quanell X met with Ervin and Thompson shortly after the child’s disappearance and said the couple’s story left him with a lot of questions.
“Who kidnapped the child? Was she ever kidnapped? We don’t know yet but it doesn’t pass the smell test,” he said at the time. “No responsible parent would leave their child on the playground like that for five minutes knowing it’s a high crime area and shut the door behind them.”
Quanell X said he was concerned with the living conditions he saw inside. He said it was very rough conditions for a child. He said while he won’t represent the family, he plans to get to the truth.
In 2019, Quanell X helped to bring 4-year-old Maleah Davis' body from Arkansas back to Houston.