Shaniya Davis Story: 5-Year-Old Abused By Mother, Found Dead In North Carolina

Shaniya Davis was found dead in a rural part of central North Carolina on Monday.

The discovery of the 5-year-old's body painfully ended a week's long saga, which began with Shaniya Davis' own mother Antoinette Davis, 25, notifying police last Tuesday that the child had gone missing.

The case took several twists and turns and it was revealed that Antoinette Davis will face charges for sex trafficking and child abuse.

More from the AP:

Searchers found Shaniya Davis' body early Monday afternoon about 100 feet off a road southeast of Sanford, in central North Carolina, Fayetteville Police spokeswoman Theresa Chance said. She declined to comment on a cause of death or the condition of Shaniya's body.

"We've got a lot of people out at the scene right now that are torn up," Chance said. "Detectives have been running off adrenaline to find this little girl and to bring her home alive. You have a lot of people in shock right now."

Two people have been charged in her disappearance, one of them her mother, Antoinette Davis, 25. Police charged Davis with human trafficking and felony child abuse, saying Shaniya was offered for prostitution.

Davis was calm and quiet during a five-minute court appearance in Fayetteville on Monday afternoon. She provided one-word answers to the judge's questions and held her hands in front of her, without handcuffs. She requested a court-appointed attorney and did not enter a plea.

Her sister, Brenda Davis, 20, said outside that she does not believe the charges.

"I don't believe she could hurt her children," said Brenda Davis, who was able to speak to her sister at the jail Sunday.

Authorities also charged Mario Andrette McNeill, 29, with kidnapping after they said surveillance footage from a Sanford hotel showed him carrying Shaniya there. Authorities said McNeill admitted taking the girl, though his attorney said he will plead not guilty.

Comments

[nikkirkpatrick]

12:50 AM on 11/27/2009

I am amazed the kidnap and murder of an african american cild even made the news. that is to say, crimes against minority children make the news about 99.99% less than crimes against caucasian children. The media bias when it comes to crimes aginst minorities is blatant and disgusting. While they were talking about Laci Peterson and Chandra Levy, hundreds, maybe even thousands of minorities were being killed in the streets. Where were they on the national news every day? Nowhere, that's where.

[Evita]

08:18 PM on 11/18/2009

MY HEART GOES OUT TO THIS FATHER AND HIS FAMILY ON THE DEATH OF THIS BEAUTIFUL LITTLE ANGEL BABY. WHY IS THIS KIND OF CRIME HAPPENING SO MUCH IN THIS COUNTRY.WHY IS OUR GOVERMENT AT ALL LEVELS NOT TRYING TO CHANGE THE LAWS OF OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM? IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYTIME YOU TUNE INTO THE NEWS, THERE IS NEWS OF THE MURDER OF ANOTHER CHILD. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY? THE DEATH PENALTY SHOULD BE AUTOMATIC IN A CASE WHERE A CHILD IS KILLED IN A MANNER SUCH AS THIS. BE IT A PARENT OR STRANGER THEY NEED TO BE EXECUTED AND NO APPEALS IN ORDER FOR THE ACCUSED TO JUST LINGER AND WAIT TO BE PUT TO DEATH,

[tjmaxx53]

04:08 PM on 11/18/2009

My heart is so heavy right now- I am so dishearten with the human being. How can anyone look this baby in the face one minute, and kill her the next.
If people were not sure evil and satan exist in this world- look at the people involved in this sinister act, starting with the mother who had the mimigated gall to lie about her child knowing all too well that she had written her child's death sentence.
I pray that for every second this woman is alive, her child haunts her until the day she dies. I pray that all the people involved in hurting and killing this baby are caught and tried to spend the rest of their evil lives in prison- and have this baby as a constant in their lives forever.
People whatever happened to parents that loved their children, wanted only the best for them, and tried to give the children they had; morals, respect, a home and most of all love. What happened to human beings on this planet?

[loveyourbabies]

04:05 PM on 11/18/2009

This is a terrible tragedy. I live on the west coast and have been thinking about this story everyday. I am so disgusted that everyday something tragic is happening to young kids here in the United States. Some of them are not even safe in their own homes. We as a country, as a community, and as parents need to speak up if something just doesn't seem right. It is better to be safe then sorry. Our children deserve to be protected from these predators, whether they are their parents or strangers. This is one of the most horrific stories that I have ever heard and Shaniya did not deserve this. I have a little girl and can not imagine why someone would do this, but they will continue to do this until we as a nation stand up and make sure stricter laws are enforced and we send the message to these child violators that we are watching and will stand up for our children. RIP Shaniya.