HOUSTON — A Harris County medical examiner has confirmed that the child's body found in Brays Bayou last week belongs to 2-year-old Maliyah Bass.
The 2-year-old vanished a week ago after her mother says she left her alone for a few minutes in the Sunset Crossing apartment’s courtyard.
At this time, her cause of death is still pending.
Maliyah’s loved ones gathered in southwest Houston Saturday to honor Maliyah. People brought teddy bears and balloons to remember the little girl they called smart and loving.
“Maliyah was, she was my everything. She was, and I hate that she’s gone, but I want justice for Maliyah," Jimerson said. “I talked to her on FaceTime. Her mom let me talk to her every day, and it would be, ‘Hi, my Nana,’ and I’d be, ‘Hi, my Tootie.’ And I’ll never forget that. That is just so embedded in my brain.”
Their pain turned to sorrow over what may have happened to the 2-year-old.
“The waiting, the not knowing of that was my baby. If that was my Tootie, and we know now that that was our Tootie,” Jimerson said.
John Marsden, the founder of Houston’s Unsolved Homicides, presented the family with a banner demanding justice for Maliyah.
And I pray to god, I pray that these cowards, or coward, come forward and speak. I’m tired of our kids that are black and brown getting murdered," he said.
The family also urges parents to keep a close eye on their kids.