News
Shaq paid for funeral of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis
12:04 PM on 11/26/2009
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- 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.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Follow theGrio on Facebook & Twitter!
Top Stories
-
First lady launches 'Let's Move' effort against childhood obesity
WASHINGTON (AP) - First lady Michelle Obama says she loves burgers and fries, but she wants her daughters -- and the rest of America's children -- to learn about better nutrition and exercise....
more
- Sade's return is worth the wait
- Can fried chicken just be fried chicken?
- 'Soul Train' 40 years later: Appealing to Americans on both sides of the track
- Haitian children need a future, not a one way ticket out
- Soul music legend Bill Withers shines in new documentary
- The pros and cons of Black History Month
- Slideshow: The 25 most influential albums by African-Americans
- Michael Jackson's doctor prepares for charges this week
- Next for Academy Award nominee Gabourey Sidibe: 'A nap'
- Stars gather to cover 'We Are the World' for Haiti
- Serena Williams wins second straight Australian Open
- Red Cross clears Kanye West in battery case
- NY Gov. Paterson has mere $620G to battle $12 million-man Andrew Cuomo
- The new Obama is the old Obama
- Tea Party fundraising email shows Obama as pimp
- 'We Are the World' turns 25: Can a remake resuscitate Haiti?
- Obama focuses on 'the Benjamins' in State of the Union
- Eric Holder's quiet revolution at the Justice Department
- Denver boy, 9, died after state-benefits error denied him asthma medication
- 7 ways to keep your resolution to work out
- Tiny newborn girl may break world record
- NBA star's wife uses baby to exercise
- Dr. Fleming lives with sickle cell disease and no boundaries
- Death penalty for gays? Uganda debates proposal
- TheGrio's 100: Bill T. Jones, activism through movement
- Editor's Note: theGrio's new black history section
- Fantasia's fight to get back on track
- Reporter's notebook: Witnessing a miracle in Haiti
- theGrio's Todd Johnson talks to MSNBC about being on the ground in Haiti
- Cite Soleil's best and brightest buried in mission school
- Mary J. Blige's 'Stronger With Each Tear' is a gem
- The 10 most important black films of the decade
- Alicia Keys' new album proves to be under par
- Happy reading! TheGrio's holiday book wish list
- Invictus: South African story has relevance for America
- Paul Mooney's 'Black Is the New White' is an ode to Richard Pryor
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Myspace
Flickr
Podcast
Wordpress
Linkedin
Last.fm
Tumblr
Identi.ca
Plurk