Maliyah Bass' mother and her boyfriend charged in girl's death; grandmother speaks

ALIEF, Texas - Maliyah Bass’s mother and her boyfriend have both been arrested and charged in connection with the toddler’s death.

RELATED: Child's body found in Brays Bayou, police say 'high probability' it's missing 2-year-old

Maliyah's grandmother, Rosalie Jimerson says she feels a sense of guilt that she couldn’t have done more to save Maliyah from all the pain. But mostly, Rosalie said she’s appalled by all the lies her daughter told about this case.  

At the scene of a toddler’s body found in Bray’s Bayou in August, Maliyah Bass’s mother, 20-year-old Sahara Ervin and her boyfriend, 21-year-old Travion Thompson appeared completely distraught as they spoke reporters, concerned it was their missing daughter.

“I am drained. I have been looking for her for 24 hours. They should’ve took me. They should’ve took me," Ervin said in tears. 

“I asked her where’s the house? Just so she could know. Where’s the house," Thompson said.

On Tuesday, both Ervin and Thompson have now been charged with two felonies in connection with Maliyah’s death: tampering with evidence of a human corpse and injury to a child.   

Ervin seen smiling in her booking photo. 

"I just blame myself. It’s like I feel like I failed on so many levels as a mom," Jimerson. 

Jimerson said Ervin never confided in her on what really happened to Maliyah. Instead, Ervin was caught changing her story multiple times. Jimerson says had she known, she would’ve advised her daughter to tell the truth.  

"Whatever happened, just tell the truth. Just tell the truth. And they got on national television, both of them, and they lied to the whole world," Jimerson said.   

On top of all the guilt that more could’ve been done to save Maliyah, Jimerson regrets not being able to be there for Maliyah. She wishes Ervin would’ve just asked her family for help.  

"I was always there. I was always here and I'm still here. I was always willing to help. I only needed a little time. I only needed a few months and I told Sahara," Jimerson said. 

"It doesn’t matter who it is. Justice needs to be served. I hate that you bring a kid into this world and you don’t think they’re going to be taken out of this world by a person that said they loved them and took care of them," Jimerson continued. 

Investigators have not released the specific details in the case or why Ervin and Thompson were charged. However, both are expected to make their first appearance in court Tuesday night. 

Little Maliyah was reported missing more than a month ago.

The two-year-old girl was later reported dead after her body was found August 23 by a jogger in Brays Bayou in the Gulfgate area 18 miles from her mom Sahara’s apartment complex where she disappeared August 22.

RELATED: Regional AMBER Alert issued for missing 2-year-old girl

Houston police have been investigating the strange circumstances surrounding Maliyah’s death ever since.

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