Professional basketball player Shaquille O’Neal paid for the funeral of Shaniya Davis, the five-year-old girl from Fayetteville, North Carolina who was kidnapped, raped and murdered after allegedly being trafficked by her mother to settle a drug debt.
O’Neal said in a statement released by the Cleveland Cavaliers that he was touched when he saw Shaniya’s story on Nancy Grace.
“What happened to her was tragic. I wanted her to have a funeral that would be as beautiful as she was,” O’Neal said in the statement.
Corey Breece, of Rogers and Breece Funeral Home said that a child’s funeral averages around $4,500 but declined to comment on the exact cost of the arrangements for Shaniya Davis.
Mario Andrette McNeill has been charged with kidnapping and Fayetteville police said he also will face murder and child rape charges.
Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine told reporters that the child was asphyxiated and that they were still waiting on final autopsy reports.
Davis’ mother, Antionette Nicole Davis, has been charged with human trafficking and other offenses. Police have said they believe she was prostituting the girl.
i was touched to know what happened to that baby her mother should die for what she did