A Delco man was sentenced to decades in prison for his role in the fatal beating of an 18-month-old girl

A Chester man has been sentenced to 24½ to 50 years state prison in connection with the fatal beating of his girlfriend’s 18-month-old daughter.

Maurice Davis, 34, pleaded no contest to aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy to commit third-degree murder in the 2021 death of Li’Aziah Thomas, who Delaware County prosecutors said was regularly subjected to horrific abuse during her short life.

Li’Aziah’s mother, Kandie Meinhart, previously admitted to dealing the blow that killed her in January 2021. But Davis, according to First Assistant District Attorney Kristen Kemp, also beat the girl inside an apartment they shared on Pine Lane.

That beating, Kemp said, weakened the toddler severely, to the point that she was unable to survive Meinhart’s abuse.

“The weakening of this poor baby due to the defendant’s actions and his ongoing actions, allowing Kandie Meinhart to do what she did and remaining in that conspiracy is why we’re here today,” Kemp said. “And it’s why instead of being a 6 year old who is about to finish her first grade year, Li’Aziah Thomas is in a box in the home of her family.”

In handing down his sentence May 20, Delaware County Court Judge Kevin F. Kelly also barred Davis from being left alone with or living with anyone under the age of 16.

Davis apologized to Li’Aziah’s father and grandmother in the courtroom, professing his innocence and placing the blame on Meinhart.

“I really am sorry. I wish I could really tell you what happened, but I can’t,” he said. “I understand y’all have a job to do. [Li’Aziah] needs justice, but at end of the day I’m going through it, too.”

In July, Davis entered his no contest plea, a year after Meinhart was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in state prison for third-degree murder.

Earlier this year, Davis attempted to revoke that plea and proceed to trial. Kelly denied his motion.

Li’Aziah was found dead Jan. 20, 2021 inside the second-floor apartment where Meinhart and Davis lived with Meinhart’s three other children. The toddler had severe bruising on her buttocks as well as her back and sides, some of which look liked knuckle marks.

The blow that killed her, investigators said, was so severe that it lacerated Li’Aziah’s liver and caused internal bleeding.

When paramedics arrived, Meinhart was performing CPR on the clearly dead child. One later testified at a preliminary hearing that she overheard Meinhart tell Li’Aziah’s father “Your bitch is dead” on a phone call.

The girl had soft tissue injuries that a medical examiner determined were several hours older than the blow that killed her.

Kemp, the prosecutor, said Meinhart’s other children told investigators they had seen Davis spank Li’Aziah as he attempted to potty train her. The children said Davis also abused them, including once dangling a boy over the staircase, and punching another in the chest.

After the toddler’s death, the couple conspired to hide the circumstances of her death, continuing to communicate even after they both had been arrested, according to Kemp.

They lied to police, saying neither was home at the time. Meinhart publicly professed her innocence on a talk radio show, and started a GoFundMe for funeral expenses that prosecutors said she instead used to fund a vacation to Miami.

Davis’ attorney, Michael Malloy, said during the sentencing hearing that Meinhart was the one responsible for her daughter’s death.

“[Davis’] biggest problem was, quite frankly, he got involved with the devil,” Malloy said. “I think that’s one thing the Commonwealth and I can agree on. Her actions are just hard to understand.”

Malloy noted that Meinhart’s relatives had reported her neglect of her children to Delaware County’s department of Children and Youth Services multiple times in the past. Her abuse of her children, he said, pre-dated her relationship with Davis by several years.

His theory of the case, he said, was that Meinhart, coming home late after doing drugs, took out her anger and frustration on her youngest daughter, with no involvement from Davis.

Malloy asked for a reduced sentence, focusing on the conspiracy between the two to lie to police.

But Judge Kelly was not swayed.