Authorities in South Carolina have accused the parents of Javeayah Harris of using potent chemicals in a horrifying attempt to obliterate the 4-year-old’s remains.
“Investigations indicate the application of corrosive substances along with other methods intended to expedite the destruction of her tiny body,” Aiken County Sheriff Marty Sawyer Jr. stated at a recent press conference. “After committing this act, these individuals disposed of what remained of Javeayah in the Cedar Creek Reservoir.”
“Retrieval of any part of Javeayah’s body,” Sawyer acknowledged, “or any additional remains from this point forward, appears highly improbable.”
Highlighting the extreme efforts Johmarea Harris and Michilae Herring took to conceal their appalling actions, Sawyer remarked, “In my 37 years of law enforcement, I have never encountered anything so horrendous.”
Earlier this month, Johmarea and Michilae faced charges of homicide by child abuse, with Michilae additionally charged for filing a false police report after falsely reporting her daughter as missing.
They were denied bond, according to court records viewed by WYFF. According to arrest warrants obtained by Oxygen, Harris and Herring confessed to killing the child through child abuse and neglect and then failing to seek proper medical care.
They were also charged with destruction and desecration of human remains, Sawyer said on July 9.
The search for Javeayah began on June 30 after Michilae reported that she vanished while playing near the family’s chicken coop around 8:15 p.m.
Police said Javeayah was last seen wearing pink Minnie Mouse pajamas and Crocs with her hair in pink braids. They described her as a “smart, talkative, and friendly girl” who could fit into small spaces.
Multiple law enforcement agencies joined search efforts that spanned 5,000 acres and included helicopters and drones.
“We are working around the clock to find Javeayah and to bring her home,” Sawyer said during a July 2 press conference. “We know that this family is living a nightmare and we are doing everything we can.”
Two days later, Sawyer shared a heartbreaking—and shocking—update.
“I am deeply saddened to tell you our investigation and evidence leads us to believe 4-year-old Javeayah Harris is deceased,” he said in a press release. “We have arrested Javeayah’s parents.”
Authorities believe Javeayah had been dead for approximately one month before her mother reported her missing, Sawyer said.
Now, the goal is to seek justice for Javeayah.
“I will not refer to them as ‘mom’ and ‘dad,’ or ‘mother’ or ‘father,’” Sawyer said in the press conference. “They don’t deserve that title.”