What happens next for Quanell X in the case of Maleah Davis

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Throughout the case of missing Maleah Davis, community activist Quanell X has played a role.

First representing the four-year-old’s mother during press conferences, making allegations of abuse against Derion Vence, then separating from the family.

Today a Houston attorney is applauding his most recent work, if true, gaining the confession of the only suspect in her case.

“People make confessions to people that they know, or they’ll make confessions to jail folks that are their cell mates in jail, that happens often, but when somebody who is a quasi-celebrity like Quanell X is able to walk in to a jail, talk to an inmate who’s facing capital murder charges and get him to all but confess to this girl’s death and certainly where the body is, this never happens,” said attorney Steve Shellist.

Quanell met with ABC 13 Eyewitness News, sharing a portion of that conversation.

“One thing he wanted to make clear to me was what happened to Maleah was an accident. He says it was an accident and he confessed to me where he dumped her body,” Quanell said.

Shellist says the conversation between the two is now subject to the investigation and is potential evidence.

“They’ll subpoena Quanell X if this case goes to trial and say, ‘what did he tell you?’ And he will be allowed to say, ‘here’s everything he told me.'”

Their jail house conversation may have been unconventional, but Shellist says it was certainly by the law.

“While some people may take issue with what he did, certainly the lawyer, it was not illegal. He was the client, was free not to talk to him. Vence didn’t have to talk to Quanell, but he chose to talk to him and he’s going to have to live with the consequences of that.”

And if the child’s body found does turn out to be that of missing Maleah Davis, Quanell X told ABC13 that although he may qualify for the reward, he would not accept the money.