Mourners gather to remember Shaniya Davis

Mourners gather to remember Shaniya Davis

Though she lived just five years, "Shaniya Davis":http://www.thegrio.com/2009/11/new-developments-emerge-while-family-grieves-the-loss-of-shaniya.php drew in death a following to rival those who've lived far longer. Her impact led more than a thousand mourners to fill a North Carolina church, honoring Shaniya's memory through song, through a "brother's tears":http://www.thegrio.com/2009/11/interview-with-shaniyas-brother-i-didnt-think-this-could-happen.php. "I really appreciate all y'all coming out here." Memories also honored through words of heartache and disbelief from a grief-stricken dad. "Na-na--daddy loves you honey. And I know you gonna be waiting for me. I see you when I get there." Absent from the service was Shaniya's mom, "Antoinette Davis":http://www.thegrio.com/2009/11/911-call-was-a-cover-up-police-say.php; she remains jailed on child abuse and human trafficking charges. Authorities allege she may have sold her daughter into prostitution, possibly to pay debts. "Mario McNeill":http://www.thegrio.com/2009/11/man-charged-with-raping-and-killing-shaniya-davis.php, the man caught on tape by a hotel security camera carrying Shaniya the day she was reported missing, stands accused of first-degree kidnapping, rape, and murder. A judge told him he could face the death penalty if convicted. McNeill has not yet entered a plea. Officials say Shaniya died from asphyxiation. Before laid to rest, doves were released into the darkening sky signifying, mourners say, the freedom Shaniya has to touch the minds and hearts of all those she now soars above.