Antoinette Nicole Davis, Shaniya Davis' Mother, indicted On Murder Charges. Trial for Shaniya Davis' mother to start Oct. 14.

3:57 PM, Jul 6, 2011  |   comments
Courtesy: WRAL

Cumberland County, NC -- The mother of Shaniya Davis, a 5-year-old Fayetteville girl killed in November 2009, has been indicted on murder and other charges in her death.

Antoinette Nicole Davis was indicted by a Cumberland County grand jury on charges of first-degree murder, indecent liberties with a child, felony child abuse, felony sexual servitude, rape of a child, sexual offense of a child by an adult offender, human trafficking and making a false police report.   She is being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center on $1.5 million bond.

Davis reported Shaniya missing from her Cumberland County home in November 2009.  Her body was found in some weeds near the Harnett and Lee County lines.

Mario McNeill is accused of kidnapping Shaniya after surveillance footage from a Lee County hotel showed him carrying the girl.   He is charged with raping and murdering the girl.  Police said he was a friend of the family.

An autopsy results listed the cause of death as asphyxiation.  They also noted that she suffered injuries consistent with sexual assault.

It was noted by the medical examiner in the autopsy that investigators believe the Shaniya was used to pay off a drug debt.

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Well this makes my day! Finally. I really didn't think she'd be charged but it looks like they threw the book at her! Good for them.

Antoinette Davis was initially charged with human trafficking, felony child abuse–prostitution, filing a false police report and obstructing a police investigation. Arrest warrants stated that she "did knowingly provide Shaniya with the intent that she be held in sexual servitude" and "did permit an act of prostitution with Shaniya."

She was released after posting bond on those charges in February 2010.

Gavin MacRoberts, a spokesman for the Fayetteville Police Department, said in a statement that police presented the murder charge against Davis to the grand jury "after an extensive review of the investigative file."

Mario Andrette McNeill, 30, has been charged with murder, kidnapping and rape in Shaniya's death. Police have said he was a friend of the family.

McNeill still hasn't been indicted in the case, and he recently sent a hand-written note from Central Prison in Raleigh, where he is being held for his own safety, to the Cumberland County Clerk of Court to request his release while awaiting trial.

"Release me. It's easiest," he said in the note.

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McNeill still hasn't been indicted in the case,

I don't get this at all. It sounds almost as if SHE is the one that sexually assaulted and killed Shaniya. Why has she been indicted and HE hasn't?! I really think that he is the one that did the final deeds, but they have indicted her before him? (Not that I'm not thrilled that they got her for it, too!!)

Dr. Boyce Watkins; What we can learn from the Murder of 5-Year Old Shaniya Davis and the Mother Who Helped her Die…

July 6, 2011 by Staff
The mother of a 5-year old girl who went missing in Fayetteville, North Carolina has been indicted on murder charges. Antoinette Nicole Davis has been charged with the murder of Shaniya Davis, facing charges of first degree murder, indecent liberties with a child, felony child abuse, felony sexual servitude, rape of a child, sexual offense of a child by an adult offender, human trafficking and making a false police report. Her bond has been set at $1.5 million.

The little girl was reported missing from her home in Cumberland County in November, 2009. She was later found in the weeds near the county line. A friend of Shaniya’s mother, Mario McNeil, was arrested for the kidnapping of Shaniya after surveillance footage from a local hotel showed him carrying her. He allegedly raped and murdered her shortly thereafter.

The autopsy showed that the girl died from asphyxiation. Police believe that Shaniya’s mother gave her to McNeil in order to settle a drug debt.

As a parent, there is nothing more vile, sickening and hurtful than to hear about harm coming to a child. I can’t watch the surveillance video of this little girl without wishing in my heart that I could go back in time and save her from the monsters who had her in their care. The sincerity, trust and unconditional love provided by our children is not always earned by the parent, with Ms. Davis and Mr. McNeil serving as obvious cases in point.

This situation also reminds us of the terrible power of drugs and how items exist in our community that can make a mother engage in the most unnatural act of giving away her own child to a predator. When Shaniya’s mother is sober, the reality of what she’s done to her daughter will serve as a never ending alarm bell laced with the pain of knowing that you’ve done the unthinkable. It is clear that she is in need of treatment as much as prison, and some might question whether she should be allowed to raise a child ever again.

Avoiding the temptation of substance abuse is a clear message from this horrific tale. Additionally, we must all speak up and out when we see children in our community who are being abused. It’s quite likely that there were friends or relatives of Shaniya’s mother who were aware of the problem long ago and simply chose to mind their own business. Protecting our children is business that belongs to ALL of us, and a strong village might have saved this little girl’s life.

Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

:cheering: I agree Raine it is about time. I am sure the next indictment will be for Mario McNeill.

Something positive to make us feel better.

The next 'mom trial' won't be a spectacle like the last one
by Billy Liggett
1 hr 24 mins ago

The timing of the mother of Shaniya Davis’ indictment — one day following the “not guilty” verdict of another mom accused of killer her child down in Orlando — is so coincidental ... you almost wonder if it’s a coincidence at all.

You remember Antoinette Davis — the Fayetteville woman accused of prostituting her child to the man who was the last human seen in public with Shaniya thanks to a security camera in a Sanford hotel.

She’s the woman who reported her 5-year-old daughter missing six days before the little girl’s body was discovered in a patch of kudzu on a rural road near Carolina Trace on this side of the Lee-Harnett line.

Now she’s the woman who’s been indicted not only for first-degree murder, but also charges of indecent liberties with a child, felony child abuse, felony sexual servitude, rape of a child, sexual offense of a child by an adult offender, human trafficking and making a false police report.

It’s enough to make you sick to your stomach, really, and because passions are so high in the public arena to see this woman — or somebody — held accountable for a beautiful little girl’s death, this has the makings of a high-profile case.

You’ll remember in November 2009 during the search for and after the discovery of Shaniya’s body, Fayetteville and Sanford were in the national spotlight ... featured nightly on CNN and — wince — Nancy Grace’s program on Headline News Network.

Davis’ trial, like the Casey Anthony trial, has the makings (unfortunately) of a national following — mother accused of unspeakable acts, beautiful little girl, mystery surrounding those six days between her disappearance and the discovery.

Add to this a father who doesn’t shy from the camera and who’s under criticism for allowing his daughter to stay with her mom despite questionable living conditions, and again, this trial could be full of drama.

But I feel safe in guessing Antoinette Davis’ trial won’t come close to Casey Anthony’s when it comes to national media attention, and you won’t like to hear a few of the reasons why.

First, Antoinette Davis is no Casey Anthony when it comes to all the things that made Casey Anthony a media star — she doesn’t look like a sorority girl, there aren’t half-naked photos of her on the Internet, and she’s not white.

Sounds awful, I know, but that’s the way the national media engine runs ... and that engine is fueled by a public that revels in the downfall of privileged people.

As it was with Caylee Anthony, the public will want justice for Shaniya Davis ... but should this latter case go to trial, it won’t have the public love-hate relationship for the villain as it did with Casey Anthony.

But, look, don’t feel bad if the trial (or trials) for the murder of Shaniya Davis doesn’t get big attention.

Don’t let it upset you if mulitple networks don’t stop everything to televise the verdict.

Don’t fret if WRAL doesn’t interrupt its daytime programming to air the sentencing.

The spotlight didn’t do any favors for Caylee Anthony, whose murderer — whomever it was — is free.

All that should matter is that justice is served for Shaniya Davis, a little girl who didn’t deserve any of the horrible things she endured before her death.

If that happens, I don’t care if anybody is tuned in.

Read more: Sanford Herald - LIGGETT The next mom trial won t be a spectacle like the last one

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Billy Liggett, I agree with some of your points but, EVERYONE would be just as outraged if this monster's trial ended in a not guilty verdict as they were with the one that just ended.

Published: 08:22 AM, Mon Jul 08, 2013
By Michael Futch
Staff writer

A court date for the mother of slain 5-year-old Shaniya Davis could be set Friday, Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West said.

That comes during an administrative week, which is held each month. At that time, judges schedule cases after meeting with defense lawyers and prosecutors. The case management system attempts to set timetables for cases but allows flexibility for exceptional cases and for continuances.

"I anticipate Antoniette on the trial-setting calendar," West said. "We will choose her date then."

Antoniette Davis faces charges of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sex offense, child abuse, sexual servitude with a child, felony child abuse sexual act, human trafficking and indecent liberties with a child.

On May 29, Mario McNeill was sentenced to death for the murder of the child in November 2009. The same 12-member jury convicted him of kidnapping, sexually abusing and murdering Shaniya, whose body was found in woods in a rural area of Lee County off N.C. 87.

Jurors returned a not guilty verdict on a charge of child rape.

On the afternoon of July 12, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Jim Ammons is expected to conduct the administrative bit of courtroom housekeeping. That's likely to involve a scheduled date for Davis' trial.

"I think it will be most likely in the fall but before the end of the year. The fall, most likely," West said.

Ammons, West said, will probably preside over the case. When a judge handles one defendant in a case, he's familiar with the facts and typically presides over any other trials involving the same case.

West said the prosecution for the Davis trial will be the same team from the McNeill trial: West and assistant district attorneys Robby Hicks and Rita Cox.

Davis is represented by D.W. Bray.

Davis is accused of handing over her child to McNeill on Nov. 10, 2009, to settle a drug debt and then falsely reporting her missing from their residence in the Sleepy Hollow Mobile Home Park. The child's body was found six days later.

Unlike McNeill, Davis does not face the death penalty.

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Posted by Kats Friday, July 12, 2013 at 4:34 PM
Published: 02:35 PM, Fri Jul 12, 2013

An Oct. 14 trial date has been set for Antoniette Davis, the mother of slain 5-year-old Shaniya Davis.

Antoniette Davis faces charges of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, first-degree sex offense, child abuse, sexual servitude with a child, felony child abuse sexual act, human trafficking and indecent liberties with a child in connection with her daughter's murder in November 2009.

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