Shaniya Davis Cause of Death Leads to Rape and Murder Charges Against Mario Andrette McNeill

Authorities Were Able to Ascertain Approximately Where Shaniya Davis Was Killed, Giving Cumberland County Jurisdiction

Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine announced Friday that 5-year-old Shaniya Davis' cause of death was apparently asphyxiation, according to the preliminary medical examiner's autopsy report. According to the Fayetteville Observer, Mario Andrette McNeill, the 29-year-old last seen with Shaniya Davis and charged with her kidnapping, was charged with her rape and murder as well. The second person held on charges connected to the disappearance of Shaniya Davis, her mother, Antoinette Davis, has not been additionally charged as yet. The 25-year-old was charged with felony child abuse related to child prostitution and human trafficking on Saturday.

Chief Bergamine stated that it was now time for the family to begin healing.

Bradley Lockhart, Shaniya Davis' father, raised his daughter for most of her short life. He allowed her stay with her mother just a month ago, telling authorities that he had thought her mother, who had struggled with drugs and finances for years, had become more responsible. But it seems that Antoinette Davis may have had an ulterior motive for asking Lockhart if she could try raising the child. Police are investigating into whether Antoinette Davis allowed Mario Andrette McNeill to take the girl "with the intent that she be held in sexual servitude" as a repayment of a debt.

Charges were kept in abeyance until jurisdiction of the crime could be determined. Part of that determination depended on the cause of death. Once cause of death was established, Cumberland County (where Shaniya Davis was kidnapped) and Lee County (where the body of the 5-year-old was recovered) could then attempt to establish where the child was murdered. It was established that Shaniya Davis was killed by asphyxiation sometime after leaving a Comfort Suites hotel in Sanford, North Carolina, and where her body was discarded along Highway 87. Asphyxiation occurs when an individual is deprived of oxygen. In the case of Shaniya Davis, the details as to the cause of death are as yet undisclosed.

Cumberland County was given jurisdiction in the case.