The parents of a 4-year-old South Carolina girl remain in custody without bond following allegations that they caused her death, used corrosive chemicals to dissolve her body, and disposed of her remains in a reservoir.
According to arrest warrants obtained by local media, investigators believe Jeveayah Harris died sometime between May 1 and June 15. The documentation alleges that the child’s mother, Michilae Herring, caused the death and that neither she nor the child’s father, Johmarea Harris, sought medical attention for the girl.
Weeks after the estimated time of death, Herring filed a police report claiming Jeveayah had vanished while playing near a chicken coop in the family’s backyard. Herring gave birth to another child the same night she filed the missing person report.
The disappearance triggered a multi-agency search that included the FBI. On July 4, Aiken County Sheriff Marty Sawyer announced that investigators believed the 4-year-old was dead and had been for at least a month.
Herring and Johmarea Harris were subsequently arrested and charged with homicide by child abuse. Herring faces an additional charge of filing a false police report.
At a press conference on July 9, Sheriff Sawyer confirmed that portions of the child’s remains had been recovered and identified through familial DNA testing. Investigators allege that on June 8, the parents used corrosive chemicals and tools to dissolve the body before pouring the liquid remains into the Cedar Creek Reservoir.
“In my 37 years in law enforcement, I have never, ever heard of anything so horrific,” Sawyer said during the press conference. “Extensive and deliberate efforts were made to destroy and conceal evidence following Javeayah’s death.”
A judge has designated both defendants as flight risks, and they continue to be held without bond. Under South Carolina law, a conviction for homicide by child abuse carries a penalty of 20 years to life in prison. The false reporting charge against Herring carries an additional penalty of up to five years in prison.
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