SHAQ PAID FOR SHANIYA'S FUNERAL: '(Her) story brought a tear to my eye'

     The AP reports that O'Neal, now with the Cleveland Cavaliers, was touched by the stories he saw and got in touch with the family to see what he could do to help.

     More than 2,000 people attended the girl's funeral Sunday. Her body was found Nov. 16 beside a rural road. Her mother, Antionette Davis, who had reported the child missing six days earlier, is charged with human trafficking and child abuse involving prostitution. Mario McNeill is charged with murder, rape and kidnapping in the case.

     "I was sitting at home watching it on the news and the story brought a tear to my eye," O'Neal told The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.

     Corey Breece, of Rogers and Breece Funeral Home, which handled the service, declined to tell the Fayetteville Observer newspaper how much it cost but added that a child's funeral "averages around $4,500."

     Shaniya Davis' father, Bradley Lockhart, and his family had set up a trust fund in memory of Shaniya to help raise money to pay for the funeral. Lockhart was not available to talk Thursday, said a man who answered the phone at his home.