I don't agree with this. I have two kids of my own and will most likely become a step-dad (officially) soon. There is no contempt from me towards the kids, they're all good kids that came from an abusive home (father towards the mother) and need help. I'm hoping that I can somehow help all of them heal and repair, eventually. While still having that same love from my own two kids.
A man charged in the death of Maleah Davis has pleaded guilty, effectively capping the two-year saga into the 4-year-old Houston girl’s disappearance and the gruesome discovery of her body next to an Arkansas highway. Derion Vence, charged with injury to a child and tampering with evidence, accepted the plea deal Thursday in lieu of a trial. He was sentenced to 40 years to run concurrently for the charges. A life sentence was a possibility had a trial jury found Vence, the former fiance of the child’s mother, guilty. Vence’s defense lawyer, Dorian Cotlar, said the plea deal was to avoid rehashing the traumatic case in trial. “Mr. Vence did not want to put Maleah’s family through this, through a trial,” Cotlar said. “He wanted to accept responsibility for his actions.” The child's mother, Brittany Bowens, paused in tears before reading an impact statement to Vence in court. A bailiff brought her a box of tissues. She said Vence robbed her of memories: prom nights and weddings. "I will never forgive you," Bowens said, her first public statement on her daughter's case in two years. "You have taken away the purest love I have ever known." Vence will be eligible for parole in 18 years, having already spent two years at the Harris County Jail and unable to make bond.
Sad. https://www.click2houston.com/news/...missing-since-thursday-texas-equusearch-says/ https://www.click2houston.com/news/...ous-disappearance-of-6-year-old-samuel-olson/ https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2021/06/02/i-can-barely-breathe-samuel-olsons-father-tells-kprc-2-what-he-would-say-to-his-jailed-girlfriend-theresa-balboa-about-his-son/ The girlfriend of a missing boy’s father is behind bars, charged with tampering evidence after a child’s body was found in a motel in Jasper, Texas, Houston police said Wednesday. Theresa Balboa may face additional charges, as appropriate, police said during a news conference in which updates were shared in the case. Balboa, who is currently in the Jasper County Jail, was out on bond from an assault case in November, police disclosed Wednesday. She was charged with assault with intent impeding breath, and Samuel’s father, Dalton Olson, was the complainant in the case. Balboa was arrested in Jasper Tuesday night when a child’s body was found in the motel room. Police said Wednesday that they believe the child’s body is missing 6-year-old Samuel Olson, but that is the medical examiner’s determination to make, they said. According to reports, officers were called to a Best Western Inn, located in the 200 block of West Gibson Street just before 6 p.m. about a body being found. Jasper Police Chief Gerald Hall, according to reports, said the body of the child was found in a tote bag located in a room on the west side of the motel complex. He also said there were indications were that the body had been there for some time, according to reports. Earlier Tuesday, Houston police and members of the forensic crime scene unit executed a search warrant at an apartment where Samuel was staying over the last few weeks. Detectives said Samuel may have been missing as far back as April 30, which is more than a month ago. Police said that the last verifiable place Samuel was seen was at his elementary school on April 30. Olson’s father, Dalton Olson, and his girlfriend, Balboa, claimed the boy was last seen last Thursday in southwest Houston. That’s when Balboa says Samuel’s mother and a man dressed like a police officer came to her apartment and took the child. Moreover, while the boy’s father alleges the boy’s mother took him, HPD said the boy’s mother does not know of his whereabouts either. Police said they are getting so many conflicting stories from different people, they really don’t know who to believe. Dalton Olson, Samuel’s father, visited the search site Monday with his girlfriend. She was the last person to see the boy, he said. “I feel like I’m having a bad dream that I can’t wake up from,” Olson said. “We stuck to our routine. I mean. It’s just very overwhelming and it’s hard.” The routine, according to Olson, had Samuel with his girlfriend, Balboa. Balboa told KPRC 2 she brought Samuel with her to her mother’s home in southwest Houston Thursday morning. “I was going to take Sam to school when his mother showed up with a police officer, or what I was under the impression to be a police officer, and they demanded me to release Sam,” Balboa said. Balboa said because she doesn’t have any legal rights to the child, she turned him over. “They had a full police uniform. They had a gun, handcuffs, everything. I thought it was a Harris County police officer because on the badge it said Harris County,” she said. Balboa said she does not remember any physical characteristics, nor the name of the man she accuses of posing as a police officer to take Samuel. “I had no choice but to hand him over,” she said. Samuel’s mother could not be reached for comment Monday, but Olson confirmed she had legal custody of the boy. When asked why the boy was with Balboa, Olson said she would help watch the boy because he didn’t have a car and worked long hours in construction. Olson maintained he and the boy’s mother have had problems in the past; however, KPRC 2 uncovered court documents that confirm Olson and Balboa have had issues, as well. According to court documents, Balboa, 29, was charged with Assault of a Family Member – Impeding Breathing in Nov. 2020. Balboa is accused of “impeding the normal breathing and circulation of the blood of [Olson] by applying pressure to [Olson’s] throat and by applying pressure to [Olson’s] neck,” according to the charging document, dated Nov. 29, 2020. A judge issued Olson an emergency protective order against Balboa for the alleged incident. According to the order, Balboa was forbidden from “communicating directly with a member of the family or household or with the protected individual.” When asked about the protective order, Olson and Balboa said they’ve overcome their problems, which had nothing to do with Samuel. “This is about Sam,” Olson said, adding, Sam wasn’t around at the time of the alleged incident. Still, the existence of the protective order raises questions about why the boy was with Balboa. Olson insisted the Balboa wasn’t at fault. “I feel like I’m having a bad dream that I can’t wake up from,” he said.
