Shaniya Davis

The wheels of justice sure are moving slowly in the murder case of 5 year old Shaniya Davis.  According to the North Carolina Court System, McNeill was scheduled to appear in court on the 3rd January 2011, no details of what this appearance entailed has been released.  Additionally, no details of further scheduled court dates are yet available.  Regarding Davis, she is scheduled to appear in court on the 2nd February 2011, morning shift in court room 002B , case number 2009CR065834.

Just to recap…

Shaniya was reported missing by her biological mother Davis, from her Fayetteville home on November 10th 2009.  Her body was found in a patch of kudzu off a rural road near the Lee-Harnett County line six days later.  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.  McNeill was captured on CCTV at hotel with Shaniya on the day of her reported disappearance and was subsequently arrested, as was Davis.

MARIO ANDRETTE MCNEILL is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree rape and first-degree kidnapping of Shaniya

ANTOINETTE DAVIS, Shaniya’s biological mother,  is charged with human trafficking, felony child abuse - prostitution, filing a false police report and obstructing a police investigation.

UPDATE -

FAYETTEVILLE – The case against the mother of Shaniya Davis was continued for the ninth time Wednesday. Groups formed online in memory on the five year old after she was killed are now expressing frustration over the delays.

Antoinette Davis is out on bail after being charged with human trafficking and felony child abuse. Victim’s advocate Tom Bennett says it’s not unusual for people to become frustrated by the length of time it takes before a case goes to trial.

“I think the delays are very hard on the crime victims,” said Bennett. “It drags out the emotional trauma of what happened to them. So the delays aren’t a good thing but at the same time, we need to make sure that justice is done, that innocent people are acquitted but also that guilty people are convicted.”

Mario McNeill, the man charged with raping and murdering Shaniya, still awaits trial in prison.

News 14 Carolina could not reach District Attorney Billy West for comment on this story. View Video  at charlotte.news14.com