Shaniya Davis Found

Shaniya Davis, whose body was found on Nov. 16

Updated Nov. 20: Mario Andrette McNeill is being charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape of a child in the death of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine told reporters at a news conference Thursday, Nov. 19.

Preliminary test results point to asphyxiation as the cause of death, said Bergamine, adding that testing has not yet been completed. According to WRAL-TV, investigators have not yet figured out where Shaniya was killed, but Bergamine said he did not believe it was at the hotel.

As previously reported, McNeill was allegedly seen in surveillance video footage carrying Shaniya into a hotel in Sanford, NC on Nov. 10. He was jailed on kidnapping charges in the case after turning himself in on Nov. 12.

Updated Nov. 17: The father of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis shared his grief with around 500 people Monday evening during a prayer vigil in a store parking lot about 40 miles from where the girl's body was found. "Lord, I come to you with open arms and it is hard. It is hard," Bradley Lockhart cried out in prayer. "Don't give up on me and don't give up on Shaniya. She's right there with you." (To see AP video of the prayer vigil, go here)

Meanwhile, the mother who is accused of selling Shaniya for sex, Antoinette Davis, entered no plea during a brief court appearance Monday. She is being held on $51,000 bail. According to the Fayetteville Observer, a boyfriend who was a previous suspect said that Davis is pregnant with his child. That boyfriend, Clarence Coe, has since been cleared of all suspicion in the case. Davis has at least one other child, a seven-year-old.

When I heard Sunday night that police were calling off the search for 5-year-old Shaniya Davis for the evening, I was baffled and angry. How could they stop looking for this little North Carolina girl, who was reportedly sold into prostitution by her own mother, even for a second? I didn't want to entertain the obvious: that they knew she was probably dead.

Now the horrible truth is official. Searchers found Shaniya's body Monday along a local highway, say police. A couple hundred volunteers had scoured miles of landscape, roads, ravines and fields on four-wheelers and with helicopters to find her.

As previously posted by Dr. Boyce Watkins, the youngster's mother, 25-year-old Antoinette Davis has been charged with human trafficking and felony child abuse and is accused of offering Shaniya for prostitution. Police have also charged 29-year-old Mario Andrette McNeill, who was allegedly seen in surveillance video footage, carrying Shaniya into a hotel. Police say McNeill admitted to kidnapping the girl, although he is expected to plead not guilty to the charge.

Shaniya had only been living with her mother for several weeks. She had been raised by her father, Bradley Lockhart, who allowed her to live with her mom after Davis said she had gotten a new job and a new home. Shaniya had been the result of a "one-night stand," claimed Lockhart, although he said they never had issues about raising Shaniya. Understandably, he now says he regrets the decision to send Shaniya to live with her mother.

Much has been made of the interracial aspect of this case on the Black Voices message boards. Davis is black and Lockhart is white. That has led to all kinds of unfounded speculation that Lockhart was a john and Davis a prostitute, blah, blah, blah. I can't for the life of me understand why people get caught up in such details, when what really matters is that this child was truly loved by her father and truly betrayed by her mother (if what she's charged with turns out to be true).

Lest we forget how much Shaniya was loved, take a look at the video below. This morning, Lockhart and his sister pleaded for Shaniya's safe return on CBS News' 'The Early Show.'

Now she's safe in the arms of the angels.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

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Sheryl Huggins Salomon is contributing editor of Black Voices, where she writes about politics and society. She is co-editor of the 'Nia Guide for Black Women' series of self-improvement books and the former publisher of Shade magazine. Follow her on Twitter or contact her at BVCEditor@aol.com.