Bio

Mario Andrette McNeill was born on April 30, 1980. McNeill lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He lived with April Autry, the mother of his young daughter. He also had ties to the Sleepy Hollow Trailer Park, where Shaniya Davis lived with her mother, brother, and relatives.

McNeill knew members of Shaniya’s family before the crime. He had previously been involved with Shaniya’s aunt, Brenda Davis, and had spent time at the family’s trailer. Because of this, he knew the home and had been around Shaniya before.

McNeill was known by the nickname “Mano,” and that some people called him “Mono.” His prior criminal history was mentioned during the sentencing phase of his trial, including a 2003 conviction for three counts of assault inflicting serious bodily injury.

Murder Story

On November 10, 2009, 5-year-old Shaniya Davis was reported missing from her home in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Mario Andrette McNeill knew members of Shaniya’s family and had been around the home before.

Early that morning, McNeill went to the Sleepy Hollow Trailer Park where Shaniya lived. Cellphone records later placed him near her home during the early morning hours. Shaniya’s family soon realized she was missing, and her mother, Antoinette Davis, called police at 6:52 a.m.

Shortly after Shaniya disappeared, McNeill was seen with her at a Comfort Suites hotel in Sanford, North Carolina. He checked into a room using his own name and told the front desk clerk that the child with him was his daughter. Security footage and hotel witnesses showed him entering and leaving the hotel with Shaniya.

Later that morning, McNeill left the hotel with Shaniya and drove away. Cellphone records later placed his phone near the area where her body would eventually be found. Investigators also found soil evidence from his car that was compared to soil from the recovery site.

Police interviewed McNeill on November 12, 2009. At first, he denied knowing Shaniya and denied being at the hotel with her. After investigators showed him evidence, he admitted he had taken her to the hotel, but claimed he later handed her off to unknown people. Investigators did not find evidence supporting that story, and McNeill was arrested for kidnapping.

On November 16, 2009, searchers found Shaniya’s body in a kudzu-covered area near Highway 87 and Walker Road, close to the Lee-Harnett county line. A medical examiner determined that she died from suffocation, also described as asphyxiation. The medical examiner also found injuries consistent with sexual assault.

McNeill was later charged with first-degree murder and other crimes connected to Shaniya’s death. At trial, prosecutors used hotel security footage, witness testimony, cellphone records, forensic evidence, hair evidence, and soil evidence to connect him to the kidnapping and murder.

On May 23, 2013, a jury found McNeill guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, sexual offense of a child by an adult offender, taking indecent liberties with a child, human trafficking of a minor, and sexual servitude of a minor. He was found not guilty of rape of a child by an adult offender.

On May 29, 2013, McNeill was sentenced to death for Shaniya Davis’s murder. He also received additional prison sentences for the other convictions. He appealed the case, but on June 8, 2018, the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld his convictions and death sentence.

Mario Andrette McNeill remains on North Carolina’s death row. His current status is awaiting execution.