Missing Girl Dead for Weeks Before Mom Called 911: Police

Hey. >> What you want to say about the baby? >> J'Khai. baby. >> That is the voice of 4-year-old Ja'veah. Harris, a little girl who police claim. is now dead. Her parents are in jail. They're charged with killing her, but. this case [music]. has a bizarre and disturbing twist. >> The hardest announcement that I've ever. had to make in my 36-year career in law. enforcement. >> That she had been deceased for at least. a month. >> How do the police know she's dead.

[music] if they haven't found her? We're. bringing in a criminal defense and civil. rights attorney to help break down. everything. Welcome [music] to Sidebar, presented by Law & Crime. I'm Jesse. Weber. By the way, if you're into [music]. content creation, if you're putting. things out on social media, you might be. seeing that we put so many of these. clips out there so quickly on these. rapidly developing stories. The reason. that we're able to do this, how we're. able to do it, is we use something. called Opus Clip. And this is an. all-in-one AI editor that makes it so. easy to cut, create, and upload videos.

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to get a free week and then 50% off. This is an absolutely stomach-churning, horrifying story out of South Carolina. And it is one. that has now taken a devastating turn. I. wish it wasn't the case, but this is. what law enforcement is saying. A. 4-year-old little girl, Ja'veah Harris, was reported missing after according to. her family she wandered away from from. front yard of her home. Hundreds of. people joined this search. Deputies, helicopters, drones, K9s, everyone.

hoping that she'd be found alive. But. now, investigators claim. that's never going to happen. According. to the Aiken County Sheriff's Office, JaVeah had already been dead for at. least a month before anyone called 911. to report her missing. Her parents, Michayla Herring and Jamaria Harris, are. now charged with homicide by child. abuse. And Herring is also charged with. filing a false police report. But here's. what makes this case so unusual, so.

different, potentially challenging for. prosecutors. There's no body as of yet, right? Investigators are still searching, but. they haven't found this little girl, which as we'll get into could present a. challenge. But now the question becomes, how can authorities definitively say. she's been dead for weeks if they. haven't recovered her body? How do they. know for sure? What evidence led them to. file these homicide charges? What do. police believe happened during that. month before she was ever reported. missing? Look, I'm going to try to get.

into all of that, what police are saying. so far, the sheriff's major update in. the case that broke over the weekend. just as the parents appeared in court to. face a judge for the first time. But. first, here's how all of this unfolded. So according to police on June 30th at. around 8:15 p.m., Aiken County deputies. received a 911 call. Mother reported her. 4-year-old daughter missing saying. JaVeah was playing at the front yard. near a chicken coop when she. mysteriously wandered off. And just like. that, a massive search gets underway. I'm talking more than 200 personnel on.

the ground, helicopters, drones, K9s, even the FBI got involved. And for days, this is what everyone was focused on, finding this little girl alive and. bringing her home. And then sadly something shifts. The. search is scaled back. And on July 4th, Aiken County Sheriff Marty Sawyer called. a press conference to deliver what he. says was the hardest announcement he's. ever had to make. >> I'm deeply saddened. to tell you that our investigation.

and evidence. leads us to believe. that 4-year-old Ja'Veya. Harris. is deceased. It's the outcome that we all feared. And sadly, it's the outcome that we must face. We'll have to face it together as a.

community. Sadly, the night of the 911 call on June the. 30th, when that call was made, it was already too late. to save Ja'Veya. At this time, our investigation supports. that she had been deceased. for at least a month. >> Now, the sheriff also addressed the. search itself, and he made it clear that. they're still looking, but he also.

hinted at something else. >> Our search for Ja'Veya drives on. We are continuing to put massive law. enforcement resources. to work. to recover Ja'Veya and bring her home. We all hope and pray. to find her alive, but it's extremely. important. to bring her home to her family,

and it's important to bring her home for. us. We are currently searching an area. of interest right now, not in Aiken County. Additional charges. may be forthcoming. We'll figure that out as the. investigation goes further. >> Okay, so now I want to talk about bond, and both parents appeared before a judge. on July 5th. Neither of them walked out. First up, let's talk about 22-year-old. Mshelia Harris. Listen to what a judge. told her. This is courtesy of WRDW about.

the charges she's facing. >> Ms. Harris, you've been charged with. homicide by child abuse. Do you. understand that charge? >> Yes, sir. >> Do you understand that if convicted, it. carries up. 20 years to life in prison? >> Yes, sir. >> that? You've also been charged with filing. false police report, a felony violation. Do you understand. that? >> Yes, sir. >> It carries up to 5 years in prison or a. $5,000 fine. Do you understand that? >> Yes, sir. >> Ms. Harris, with regards to.

um. the homicide by child abuse, it carries. 20 years to life if convicted. >> Mhm. >> Okay. Based on the severity of the charge, um. and the penalty that it carries, I do. not have the authority to set bond. You will have to go before a circuit. court judge. The circuit court judge will basically. do what I'm doing, but will have the. authority to set a bond on you. >> True. I will be notified.

>> Sometime within 30 days, you will have. that opportunity to go before. the circuit court judge. With regards to the filing false police. report of the felony violation, uh that. bond would have been set for $5,000, but because it's connected to. the um homicide charge, I'm going to. deny bond. >> Now you go to 23-year-old Jamari Harris. Listen to this exchange. >> You've been charged with homicide by. child abuse,

which carries a. uh. prison sentence if convicted of 20 years. to life. Do you understand that? >> Yes. >> With regards to the charge. um. that. You're here to have a bond set. But this court does not have the. authority or the jurisdiction to set. bond. for a. a sentence of a crime that could get you. life in prison. So, today's bond is being.

denied and it's also. being. transferred to the circuit court. where a circuit court judge will will. hear this. uh. case. within the next 30 days. >> So, look, that is where we stand right. now. You have these parents in custody. You have this belief by law enforcement. that this little girl is dead. You don't. have a body. You're trying to figure out. how this case is going to unfold. And I. want to try to make sense of it because.

it's a really, really disturbing case. I. I want to bring on criminal defense and. civil rights attorney Tyler Bailey um. into this discussion. Tyler, thanks for. coming on. Uh really appreciate it. This. is a strange one. Um it's a sad one, but. a strange one. The idea that law. enforcement can say, "We believe she's. dead.". without the body. What do you think about that? >> Yeah, it is strange, but it's in South. Carolina you do not need a body to prove. a homicide. You need evidence. And the. sheriff, he went on TV during that press.

conference and and now said they have. shifted their investigation towards a. homicide versing a missing person. because they believe there's evidence. that leads to the parents being the. culprits of a homicide by child abuse. here. And it's a sad situation. They're. not showing their whole hand about what. they have, but they clearly they have. they believe they have enough to move. forward with those charges. >> Why is it difficult or more difficult. for prosecutors to prove a case of. murder or prove a case of homicide,

whatever the the charge may be, without. a body? >> It's an evidentiary hurdle. One of the. questions the jurors are going to want. to know is where is the body? And that's. something that the defense will try to. highlight in their representation of the. accused here. So, it makes it more. difficult for the state to prove, but. it's not impossible for them to prove. It could be done by circumstantial. evidence, and likely they have a lot of. that here, unfortunately. >> Because the idea is you wouldn't be able. to determine cause of death, right? You. wouldn't be able to determine the exact.

circumstances of how someone died. So, that's room for the defense to argue. reasonable doubt. I guess the question. becomes, how can they definitively say. that she's dead? I mean, isn't that. I'm sure like what is the hurdle? What. is the amount of evidence they could. determine we know that she's no longer. alive. Is it because it you know, you're. also dealing with a a young girl like. this who is not an adult? You know, it's. not like somebody could sustain injuries. and wander off or escape. How do they. know definitively she's she's deceased?

>> That statement that was made was a. was a a bold one by the sheriff, and. they must have something. It could be. text messages that they have. There. could be video evidence that they have. It could be witness statements, forensic. data. It's not impossible for them to. prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. that there was a death that occurred and. criminal conduct is what led to the. death occurring. And that's what has to. be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. But. like you like you mentioned earlier, they're going to highlight that there. has The defense will highlight that.

there's some reasonable doubt here, and. they'll try to poke any holes in the. state's case. And we'll see what they. have, but the state's holding their. cards pretty close to the chest, and. they say they believe and they have. enough evidence to move forward. >> I mean, the idea of this search now, it's the search to recover her remains. Is that what you're getting the sense. and [clears throat] why it's so. important for the family to just get. some answers, to get their Obviously, from an evidentiary point of view and a. forensic testing point of view and an. investigative point of view, it's going. to be important to try to find her. remains. But also for the family. I.

mean, we talk about it in a similar. fashion with the Nancy Guthrie case. I. mean, there's a lot of indicators to. believe that unfortunately Nancy might. not be alive, but the family wants some. sort of answer, right? They want to have. the body. They want to have the remains. They say, "Bring them Bring them home, right?" I mean, that is a a very. important factor that can't be. overlooked. And And even if they believe. that this little girl is dead, it. doesn't take away from the importance of. the effort of searching for her. >> Absolutely. And I I don't even believe. that his share is primary concern right.

now is specifically the case. What he. has referenced and what this community. needs is some justice and accountability. and closure for that family. So, they're. looking everywhere for the body. I would love to believe that she's alive. and they're definitively saying that. this is a homicide investigation and. that the family needs closure. You know, having a somebody your loved one. missing, especially a young child like. this. I mean, so many people uh likely. loved her. She seems like a beautiful. young soul. It's really a tragedy and.

they need some closure and that's why. the FBI's involved. You have SLED who's. involved, multiple sheriff departments. that are involved and they're working. tirelessly to bring her home. >> Are child abuse cases tough to. prosecute? Let me rephrase that. I don't. mean tough to prosecute in the sense the. subject matter could be the hardest. cases that you ever have to deal with, obviously. But, it does make me wonder, are they. tough to secure a conviction for. prosecutors in the sense are there. alternative explanations for how a child.

could get hurt or you know, they're. young, they run around, they fall. And. particularly if you have a case with. potentially no body, can those be. difficult cases for a prosecutor to. secure a conviction? You know, child abuse cases, homicide by. child abuse, talk me about that. >> Homicide by child abuse specifically is. a is a difficult case to prove when. there is no body. And that makes it a. lot more difficult than uh would be if. there was a unfortunately a child's body.

who was um able to be examined through. autopsy autopsy mechanism of injury and. things of that nature. Most of the time. child abuse cases uh that do not rise to. the level of a homicide are easier uh to. prosecute, but they still are. gut-wrenching just because of the the. sheer nature of the evidence and not. taking any of the gruesome uh reality of. it as a for the the benefit of the doubt. and they need to prove every element of. the crime beyond a reasonable doubt and.

that means they need to lay out all the. facts and circumstances before a jury, which makes it difficult for the. prosecute prosecution to move through. that evidence in a way that the jury can. comprehend it. But switching here, looking specifically at this case, a. homicide by child abuse and neglect and. you do not have a body, makes it a. little bit more difficult for the. prosecution. >> By the way, the sheriff also hinted at. these arrests and that maybe more could. be coming. Maybe. I want to take a. listen. >> We've arrested her dad,

23-year-old Jamaria Harris, and her mom, 22-year-old. Mashaela Herring, for homicide by child abuse. and filing a false police report. Additional charges may be forthcoming. We'll figure that out as the. investigation goes further. >> What did the sheriff mean by that? What. additional charges could be here? >> He's pretty He's pretty coy about not. saying exactly what those specific. charges could be, but there's several.

that I I think they could be a reality. here. It. The uh penalty for homicide by child. abuse and neglect is 20 to life. You. have uh up to 5 years for the false. report. Uh there could be a situation. where this turns into a murder. investigation and if a grand jury finds. that the evidence is sufficient, that. could have put the the penalty on the. table. Uh here in South Carolina, there. could be some accessories after the fact. or accessories uh who helped uh conceal. some of the evidence could could be. obstruction of the justice charges. It.

seems like they're leaving the door open. for anything that the evidence leads to. show there's a crime that committed. And. that's what they should do for the So. there'll be full justice here. The The. body has not been found. They're. probably still interviewing witnesses. who may have information. And so that. could lead to there being more charges. Namely, I believe it could be upgraded. if there's um more facts here. And there. could be some other people who could be. accessories after the fact who. obstructed justice. >> When you see two caregivers, two parents.

charged, do you see a situation and and. we're in the early stages? I don't know. exactly what would be argued or how what. the defense would be. Do you see one. blaming the other? >> Oh, that could be a possibility here. We. don't know. I I do know that there. appears that one person made the phone. call to the sheriff's department. The. other had an alibi as to where they. were. And so we don't know what. happened. It The false report could be. somebody who may be more culpable for. obstruction of justice. Uh and there. could be somebody else who actually did.

more of the physical um. aspect of the crime. It is is I don't. want to speculate too much, but any. situation where you have life in prison. uh that's on the table, you're likely to. have people looking to point the finger. at the other to to reduce the amount of. time they may serve. >> Tyler, both parents here were denied. bond. Um both appear that the it seems. that they're going to go before a. a judge in the coming weeks. Um both. have been ordered to comply with uh DSS. requirements. Are you surprised both.

were denied bond? And what does it mean. that DSS is involved? >> Anytime you have a child who's been. harmed and if there are other children. of that the parents, then DSS will be. involved. Uh they could uh temporarily. remove the children from custody of that. parent and place them with another uh. loved one who will temporarily uh have. custody of them. And then I'm not. surprised at all about bond being. denied. In South Carolina, the first uh. step in bond hearings is seeing a. magistrate judge. The level of this.

offense is higher, so it has to go. through a circuit court judge. And that. will probably be heard within 30 days, so they'll go up before before a judge. to see if they can get a bond later on. And the facts of this case uh are. looking like uh that's going to be a. less likely of an event of them getting. bond. If they do get one, it'll be a. substantially high one. And we'll see. what DSS finds in their investigation of. the parents as well. >> There's another part to this. This is. the mother, this defendant, uh this is. according to reporting authorities. confirmed in this presser,

that she had given birth to another. child, but we're not sure if. investigators believe that birth had. anything to do with the timing of this. missing child report. But that's a. development. That's a significant. development, too. >> Yeah, it is a significant development. That she's she's a mother and there she. had another child, and she's currently. sitting behind bars with bond being. denied. And so there needs to be. somebody to take care of that child. And. I also could give you a little bit about. the state of mind that she uh was in.

We'll see what the her defense uses. regarding that. I'm not sure how far. along she is in in the birth of her new. child, whether postpartum could be. something that they look into. Uh but. there's a lot of nuances here uh with. the family dynamics with involving I'm. Javeous' parents and also uh this new. child and who's going to be taking care. of them and what effect, if any, that. has in the state's prosecution. >> Now, something else I want to get into. Before the arrests, uh station WRDW. actually spoke with the father here. So,

you had reporter Will Rio who. interviewed uh Mr. Harris by phone on. Thursday, July 2nd. Um Um, this was. while the search was still active. And. you look back to that interview now and. you wonder what do we make of it, right? Based on these allegations. And look, they are both innocent unless proven. guilty. But this is part of what he said. "I got. up around 5:00, 5:00-ish, and my. daughter was outside playing. My girl. was out there watching her. I left the. house around 7:00. I got back to the. house maybe around 7:15. I went to like.

three stores, maybe. I was back at the. washing machine that was right beside. the Circle K. And when I was at the. Circle K, I was seeing a lot of police. I did not know that it was my house. My. girlfriend at the time, she did not have. service on her phone, so she could not. call me. So, she just ended up calling. 911. When I came back to the house, I. seen a whole bunch of police right in my. house. She came up crying to me saying. my Javion was missing, and I kind of. freaked out." Tyler, thoughts on that? I. wonder, is there parts of that that. could be true even given the.

allegations, or is it suspicious? Again, he's innocent unless proven guilty, but. I thought that was interesting. this interview. >> He's innocent until he's proven guilty, but the the fact that he gave that uh. recitation, very specific about what he. was doing. He said a few stores here and. there. I mean, there's some parts that. could be dissected. Whatever the reason. for it is, it's certainly going to be. used against him now. Um, they're going. to look to corroborate any specifics in. the alibi he tried to give. And it's not.

uncommon a lot of times in missing. person cases that you have people who. are are the culprit or accused who are. participating in the search. They're. talking to people. They're showing up. I. I don't know the specific reasons for. the father doing this here. We we as you. said, he's innocent or he's presumed. innocent until proven guilty. But it is. kind of odd that he uh decided to give. an interview uh to the media knowing. where they were with the situation. Um, and and that the sheriff said that the. child unfortunately he believes was.

deceased at least 30 days prior to the. mother giving the call. >> I want to just show one more thing here. Um. there is this video. of Juvie. It was posted online. It is heartbreaking. >> Hey. What do you want to say about the baby? Juvie time, baby. >> It's a heartbreaking video to see Tyler. I want to be careful about how we say. this, but I think one of the questions. that may come out of it, maybe an. important investigative question is. there is something arguably noticeable.

in the video. I think something that. people could say is it appears there may. be a bump or a mark on her head. We. don't know for sure. We don't know when. this video was taken. We don't know if. it's related to this case in any way, but it is something that we're seeing. already people have noticed. Your. thoughts? >> It's uh it's unfortunate and um. you know, a lot of times in child abuse. and neglect cases there are signs that. are out there uh that people may turn a. blind eye to or may not think it is.

anything, but that's why it's very. important in these situations, especially for mandated reporters to. make these reports to law enforcement, to the Department of Social Services so. they can investigate this. And I I. really hope that this child wasn't being. abused and living in an abusive. situation before this incident. But if. she was and other people knew about it, they should have said something and. maybe we wouldn't be where we are today. >> Tyler Bailey, thank you so much for. taking the time. Um. I know this is a rapidly developing. situation. I know we're still trying to.

understand it, but I appreciate you. giving your expertise, your insight into. this really really difficult case to. talk about, but thank you so much. >> Anytime, thank you. >> And that's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us. As always, please. subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your. podcast. You can also check us out on. NBC's Peacock as well. >> [music]. >> If you want to follow me, X, Instagram, my NewsNation show, Jesse Weber LIVE, Monday to Friday, 11:00 p.m. Eastern. See you next time, everybody.