Original Blog Entry: NBA's Great Shaq Pays For Slain N.C. Girl's Funeral

truesee — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:23:40 GMT

Nov 26, 2009 4:45 pm US/Eastern

Shaq Pays For Slain N.C. Girl's Funeral

Moved By Shaniya Davis' Story, Basketball Star Shaquille O'Neal Covers Burial Costs

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP)

Shaniya Davis, of Fayetteville, N.C., was reported missing was found dead Nov. 16. (File)

WRAL

Antoinette Nicole Davis, the mother of Shaniya Davis, faces a child abuse charge involving prostitution as well as filing a false police report, according to a news release from the Fayetteville Police Department.

WRAL

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(11/17/2009) Missing Girl's Mom Charged With Human Trafficking

(11/15/2009)

Basketball star Shaquille O'Neal paid for the funeral of a 5-year-old North Carolina girl after being moved by national news coverage of the case of Shaniya Davis, who police say was kidnapped and killed.

The Cleveland Cavaliers player was touched by the stories he saw and got in touch with the family to see what he could do to help, a spokeswoman for O'Neal said Thursday.

More than 2,000 people attended the girl's funeral Sunday. Her body was found Nov. 16 beside a rural road.

Her mother, Antionette Davis, who had reported the child missing six days earlier, is charged with human trafficking and child abuse involving prostitution. Mario McNeill is charged with murder, rape and kidnapping in the case.

I was sitting at home watching it on the news and the story brought a tear to my eye, O'Neal told The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.

Corey Breece, of Rogers and Breece Funeral Home, which handled the service, declined to tell the Fayetteville Observer newspaper how much it cost but added that a child's funeral averages around $4,500.

A man who answered the phone at the funeral home Thursday told the AP that only the owner could comment and that he was away.

Shaniya Davis' father, Bradley Lockhart, and his family had set up a trust fund in memory of Shaniya to help raise money to pay for the funeral. Lockhart was not available to talk Thursday, said a man who answered the phone at his home.

O'Neal is recovering from a shoulder injury that has sidelined him for six straight games since getting hurt Nov. 12 against Miami.

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