The funeral for Shaniya Davis, the 5 year old little girl that was raped and murdered, is Sunday November 22, 2009 at 3:00pm. Shaniya Davis’s funeral will be held at Manna Church which is located at 5117 Cliffdale Road in Fayetteville, North Carolina. This little angel will be placed in her finale resting place as many grieving people attend to say their final farewells.
Shaniya Davis has become everybody’s child. This tiny little 5 year old girl who was so trusting and innocent met with a fate that is too horrific to think about. Evil came into her life and the ones that were supposed to take care of her didn’t. She was betrayed.
Shaniya Davis’s autopsy has been done and the preliminary report is that she died of asphyxiation and was raped. The Fayetteville police say it can be up to 90 days before all the test results are in.
The murder and rape of Shaniya Davis is still under investigation and there will be much more unfolding as time goes on. Right now we know that the man charged with the murder and rape of Shaniya is Mario McNeill. He was the last person seen with Shaniya alive when he was caught on video camera entering a hotel room with the 5 year old in his arms. Police have taken evidence from the car that McNeill owns which was another factor in charging him for the murder and rape.
Antionette Davis, Shayina Davis’s mother, has been charged in human trafficking as it is alleged she gave Shaniya to McNeill knowing she would be used for sexual acts. McNeill picked up Shaniya at her trailer park on November 10, and a few minutes later Antionette Davis called the police to report her missing, making a false report to the police department.
An alert employee of a hotel saw Shaniya’s picture from an Amber Alert and called authorities because he had seen McNeill with the child at the hotel he worked at. Police got there too late, he had already left with the child, but surveillance tape proved that it was indeed Shaniya Davis with McNeill.
Shaniya’s body was found six days later dumped in a field off a rural access road. She was raped and killed and her body was dumped, the same day McNeill picked her up.
It is unclear the relationship that Davis and McNeill have. First reports were that McNeill was Antionette Davis’s boyfriend then it was reported he was Davis’s sister’s boyfriend. Newest reports suggest that Davis owed McNeill drug money and Shaniya was used as payment.
Reports from family and friends of Bradley Lockhart, Shaniya Davis’s father, say that there were signs of abuse on Shaniya before she died. Shaniya had told family friends she was burned by cigarettes from “Mommies friends. Read this story: Shaniya Davis Family Members Speak Out. Shaniya had only lived with her mother for one month before she was murdered. She had lived with her father for the last several years. The father, Bradley Lockhart, appeared on Oprah Friday speaking about Shaniya and the horrible ordeal. Read story here: Shaniya Davis’s father on Oprah.
References: ABC News, Fayetteville News, Fox News, CNN News