Shaniya Davis: "Angel" Found Dead

Mario Andretti McNeill, 32, of Fayetteville, N.C., was convicted of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, sexual offense of a child, indecent liberties with a child, human trafficking and sexual servitude in connection with the death of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, left. He was sentenced to the death penalty on May 30, 2013. Shaniya's body was found in an overgrown area off N.C. Highway 87 near the Lee-Harnett county line on Nov. 16, 2009, six days after her mother, Antoinette Nicole Davis, reported her missing from their mobile home on Sleepy Hollow Drive in Fayetteville. McNeill, who was seen with the girl on a Sanford hotel security camera hours after her disappearance, later surrendered to police after investigators contacted his family. Police said he confessed to abducting her, according to the station. An autopsy determined that Shaniya died of asphyxiation and that injuries she suffered were consistent with a sexual assault. A medical examiner noted in the autopsy that investigators believe the girl was used to pay off a drug debt, the station reported. Authorities say Antoinette Davis was complicit in her daughter's death. Arrest warrants state 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." Davis is awaiting trial. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty against her, the station reports.

Searchers found the body of Shaniya Davis, a missing 5-year-old, off a road on Nov. 16, 2009. Fayetteville Police spokeswoman Theresa Chance told The Associated Press that searchers found Shaniya Davis' body southeast of Sanford in central North Carolina. The 5-year-old had been missing since Nov. 10, 2009.

Searchers wait to be debriefed at Benhaven fire department in Sanford, N.C., Monday, Nov. 16, 2009, after the body of 5-year-old Shaniya Nicole Davis was found. Authorities acted on a tip Sunday and searched a wide area in south-central North Carolina trying to find the 5-year-old girl reported missing by her mother, who has been charged with human trafficking and child abuse involving prostitution.

For a week, police feverishly searched for the 5-year-old girl across central North Carolina, only to find her body Nov. 17, 2009 off a rural road following accusations the girl's mother offered her for sex. The investigation into the disappearance of Shaniya Davis yielded the arrest of her mother and two other men, though one man was later released.

SLIDESHOW - shaniya davis, fayetteville, nc, north carolina, amber alert, missing, antoinette nicole davis, prostitution, crimesider, wral — AP Photo

In this undated photo provided by the City of Fayetteville Police Department, Antoinette Nicole Davis is seen. Davis, the mother of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, faces a child abuse charge involving prostitution as well as filing a false police report, according to a news release from the Fayetteville Police Department.

This undated photo provided by the Fayetteville Police Department shows Shaniya Davis. Authorities in southeastern North Carolina are searching wooded areas near a mobile home community where Davis, 5, disappeared Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009. The Fayetteville Police Department issued an Amber Alert after Davis' mother reported her missing shortly before 7 a.m. Police found her body on Nov. 16, 2009.

Bradley Lockhart, center, father of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, cries during a news conference at the police station, Nov. 12, 2009, in Fayetteville, N.C. North Carolina police said they were searching for the 5-year-old girl who vanished two days ago and have charged one man with kidnapping her. Police found her body Nov. 16, 2009.

An image made from surveillance video shows a man carrying 5-year old Shaniya Davis in the hallway of a hotel in Sanford, NC. Davis was spotted in Sanford with a man identified as Mario Andrette McNeill, said a Fayetteville Police spokeswoman. She was seen with him on Nov. 10, 2009, about an hour after she disappeared from her home in Fayetteville, about 40 miles away.

This undated photo provided on Nov. 13, 2009, by the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office, shows Mario Andrette McNeill. McNeill has admitted to kidnapping 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, authorities said Friday. Police found her body on Nov. 16, 2009.

An image made from surveillance video shows a man carrying 5-year old Shaniya Davis in the hallway of a hotel in Sanford, N.C. Davis was spotted in Sanford with a man identified as Mario Andrette McNeill, said a Fayetteville Police spokeswoman. She was seen with him on Nov. 10, 2009, about an hour after she disappeared from her home in Fayetteville, about 40 miles away. Police found her body on Nov. 16, 2009.

Mario Andrette McNeill, 29, is seen in a photo provided by the Fayettville, NC Police Dept., Nov. 12, 2009. Missing 5-year-old North Carolina girl Shaniya Davis was spotted in Sanford, with a man identified as Mario Andrette McNeill, said Fayetteville Police spokeswoman Teresa Chance. She was seen with him Tuesday, about an hour after she disappeared from her home in Fayetteville, about 40 miles away.

A Lee County Sheriff's Deputy searches for the missing Shaniya Davis at an intersection in Sanford, N.C. Police found her body on Nov. 16, 2009.

For a week, police feverishly searched for the 5-year-old girl across central North Carolina, only to find her body Nov. 17, 2009 off a rural road following accusations the girl's mother offered her for sex. The investigation into the disappearance of Shaniya Davis yielded the arrest of her mother and two other men, though one man was later released.

For a week, police feverishly searched for the 5-year-old girl across central North Carolina, only to find her body Nov. 17, 2009 off a rural road following accusations the girl's mother offered her for sex. The investigation into the disappearance of Shaniya Davis, seen here with her father, yielded the arrest of her mother and two other men, though one man was later released.