Bradley Lockhart, Shaniya Davis' Father, Pleaded For Girl's Return in Vain

By: Sammy Rose Saltzman
Topics: Daily Blotter

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Bradley Lockhart, father of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, appeared with his sister Carey Lockhart-Davis on CBS' "Early Show" Monday to beg for the girl's safe return.

PICTURES: Shaniya Davis Found Dead

But their tearful plea was in vain; After a massive, nearly week-long search effort, Shaniya Davis was found dead Monday afternoon in Sanford, N.C., about 30 miles from her Fayetteville home. Sanford is 42 miles southwest of Raleigh.

"Drop her off at Wal-Mart, anywhere, I don't care – just so somebody can find her and bring her back to the people that love her," her father Bradley Lockhart said Monday morning, hours before police found his daughter's body.

"She's a precious, little angel, full of joy," he said. "A little reserved when you first meet her, but once she gets to know you, she just runs around, plays and won't leave you alone."

"I just ask that, at this time, please just let her go," said Shaniya's aunt, Carey Lockhart-Davis. "She doesn't deserve this. Have a kind heart."

(Family Photo/WRAL-TV)

Photo: Shaniya Davis.

PICTURES: Shaniya Davis Found Dead

Bradley Lockhart and his sister, who live out of state, cared for the girl until last month, when she went to live with her mother. Antoinette Davis had worked to get her life together and had been working for at least six months and gotten a place of her own, Bradley Lockhart said.

"I should've never let her go over there," he told The Associated Press on Saturday.

"She had asked if she could be a mother, and I felt she was sincere in asking, and I figured to give her a chance," he said.

But according to police Antoinette Davis had not gotten her life back together and sold her daughter into sexual slavery. Her arrest documents say that she "knowingly provide[d] Shaniya Davis with the intent that she be held in sexual servitude" and she "permit[ted] an act of prostitution."

Antoinette Davis was scheduled to appear in court Monday afternoon.

Another man, Mario Andrette McNeill, has been charged with kidnapping in the case. He was seen last Tuesday in a hotel surveillance video carrying Shaniya Davis towards an elevator in a Comfort Suites hotel in Sanford.

Police have not yet commented on whether the charges against Antoinette Davis and Mario Andrette McNeill will be amended to include murder. The relationship, if any, between Antoinette Davis and Mario Andrette McNeill is unclear at this time.

MEDIA
PICTURES: Shaniya Davis Found Dead

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
November 17, 2009 - Antoinette Davis, Mom Accused of Selling Shaniya Davis as Sex Slave, is Pregnant Again
November 17, 2009 - Shaniya Davis, Fallen "Angel" Remembered In Pictures
November 16, 2009 - Mario Andrette McNeill: Things May Get Much Worse for Man Charged With Kidnapping Shaniya Davis
November 16, 2009 - Shaniya Davis Found Dead; Mother Turned Little Girl Into Sex Slave, Say Police
November 16, 2009 - Bradley Lockhart, Shaniya Davis' Father, Pled For Girl's Return in Vain
November 16, 2009 - Shaniya Davis Found Dead; Mother Turned Little Girl Into Sex Slave, Say Police
November 16, 2009 - Shaniya Davis Not Found: Cops Fear Missing Child is Dead, Search Focuses on Body
November 16, 2009 - Shaniya Davis: Missing 5-Year-Old Seen in Horrifying Hotel Video
November 16, 2009 - Shaniya Davis Missing: Mother Arrested for Human Trafficking, Putting Daughter in "Sexual Servitude"
November 11, 2009 - 5-Year-Old Shaniya Davis Missing; Foul Play Suspected

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by tonlo December 5, 2009 9:13 PM EST: how is he just as guilty. He made a mad judgment call, maybe he didn't have resources. But he is in no way guilty of her rape or murder.; Reply to this comment


by blablablashit November 21, 2009 10:35 PM EST: Um why was the aunt speaking of shaniya in the past tense before anyone knew she had been murdered??? and whats this about bradleys wife being murdered too..do authorities know who did that? Are we sure his sister dosent just want him all to herself? As sick as this case is...know it could get even more twisted!; Reply to this comment

by Kotsyamama November 21, 2009 1:13 AM EST

Bradley Lockhart meant well, I am sure, but after having read about his rather messy forays into fatherhood, I have reservations. He has had to work out of state, which is hard, considering that he has three children by a wife who was murdered. The children spend time with their grandparents, who also took in Shaniya Davis (note that she does not have the father's name, not a great sign). There are also two other Lockhart children out there somewhere, I wonder how they are doing?. Mr. Lockhart spread his seed around quite carelessly. Forgive me for being "old-fashioned," but I believe that children should be AT ALL TIMES supervised by BOTH PARENTS, ideally in a married state, but there are divorces of course that work fine as long as both parents are always aware of where the child is and how the child is doing. The parent who is taking care of the child should immediately inform the other parent if the child has a fever, is doing poorly in school, etc. And did Mr. Lockhart check in regularly with Ms Davis? Did no one investigate the Davis trailer, since nefarious activities were apparently going on, with felons like that creep "Mario Andrette" visiting Ms Davis? We all have cell phones, right? Mr. Lockhart was obviously unaware that Ms Davis had taken Shaniya out of school last October. Any concerned parent would be asking regularly how the child is doing in school. There were drugs being trafficked in that trailer. How could that have escaped Mr. Lockhart's notice? I pity the man, but he is not to be excused, he was negligent in keeping close tabs on that precious little girl. This whole ugly mess, along with cases like Haleigh Cunningham (another shifted-about child) and Cayley Anthony (whose father remains unknown), is a patent indictment of the breakdown of normal family ties. Just pop out those kids and the hell with it.

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by MobleyMay November 21, 2009 9:11 AM EST: Kotsyamama you have expressed much of what I feel. I just cannot fathom taking a child from a beautiful brick home to live in that delapidation of a mobile home park. There were NEIGHBORS who offered to take that baby and raise her for the father, if he was having trouble. Obviously they saw that he needed help. He had options. As for trying to give the child an opportunity to have a relationship with her mother, this could have been achieved under supervision, and much shorter stays...not six weeks worth. The church where they are having her funeral is a spirit-filled church, where members are taught to have true relationships with God. I hope that the father was not trying to unload this child so that he could be free enough to sleep around some more! Only he and God know for sure what his intentions were. I just feel so sad about this baby.


by cekstrom November 20, 2009 6:55 AM EST: A poem that details exactly the feelings I've had this week. Written by a friend of mine and posted on her Facebook page.

An angel child caught my heart though I never met her face
Her loss cut deep as if was mine, when she met the Lord?s embrace
Emotions that took over me were far beyond control
A little girl I never knew, her name etched in my soul
My heart cried out for those knew the blessing of her smile
For I know the pain of missing that will linger quite awhile
So now in a time of tragic loss, I can only pray
In a time of anger and in grief that faith will not be swayed
I pray for all the family, strangers and the friends
As Faith is often questioned when it?s hard to comprehend
Lord hold us tight and close to you as we grasp to understand
How this angel came to be with you, taken by Satan?s hand
Give us comfort, give us peace and show your love is true
Now that Shaniya holds your hand and stands there next to you!
Melinda Ann Duarte; Reply to this comment

by DawnBroderick40 November 19, 2009 10:57 AM EST

It amazes me, the audacity of some of the people who make comments here. I hope that the father or the little girl's beloved family doesn't take to heart any of the horrible things written here. There are only a few attention seeking freaks who write the things they do here. Normal, sane people hold NO blame for the father. His love for that little, beautiful child is very evident and shame on those who think they know what they are talking about with their vile, racist comments. God bless that beautiful little soul.

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by MobleyMay November 21, 2009 9:17 AM EST: I just think that the total picture needs to be considered. I have compassion for the father, it's just that I don't believe that he made a rational choice in sending her to live with her mother. If it was because he was going out of town, he had options. He had friends, neighbors and family members willing to take the little one while he was gone. I guess we discuss this because we hope that no one else, when faced with these types of choices, makes the same mistake. The man truly errored in judgement. I'm not blaming him, I am just saying we need to evaluate the total picture for the sake of knowing where things went wrong.


by boxer_mom November 18, 2009 1:46 PM EST: He can now live with himself for the rest of his life. He is just as guilty as the mother and the pervert. He knew that she was evil and still he let her go. May God have mercy on him. My prayers are for the little angel that was taken so soon.; Reply to this comment


by JoyNBaltimore November 18, 2009 12:32 PM EST: I totally disagree with the folks who are saying that the father is "just as guilty". That is totally untrue. My son and I had a very long discussion about this case. Can we actually blame the Dad for allowing that horrid woman to do what she should have been doing in the beginning? Do we know that Shania had any disagreement with staying with her Mom? No, we don't! Maybe that little girl needed the comfort of even that "piece of crap" Mom she has! I felt so sorry for the Dad when I saw the footage of him praying to God. Mr. Lockhart.....please don't forget that both you and Shania are blessed children of GOD!! THE ALMIGHTY HAS ALREADY RECEIVED HER INTO THE KINGDOM!!!!!!; Reply to this comment


by aberdeennc November 18, 2009 12:53 AM EST: SHANIYA

Dear Jesus, please comfort Shaniya.
I pray she knows she was too young to die yet.
Shaniya was only five, tiny years old.
Had she even lost her first tooth?
I shudder to realize how violently she lost her youth.

Incredibly beautiful and absolutely innocent.
Did she dream of cheerleading or becoming a pianist?
What fabulous things might have happened for Shaniya?
Please ensure she knows, we so didn't want her to be gone yet.

God, by now you have welcomed Shaniya into your Heavenly Home.
Not once will she be mistreated; Never again will she be alone.
I pray you bless and comfort Shaniya's folks, especially her Daddy.
Please give him and others the peace
You promise that surpasses all understanding.

Dear Jesus, please comfort sweet Shaniya.
It's hard to believe she's really gone.
She didn't HAVE to die yet.; Reply to this comment


by ccrider1960 November 17, 2009 7:46 PM EST: My heart is broken at the news of Shaniya. As I watched the father on this mornings news I cried as I watched him in his grief break down. Mr Lochart, do not second guess your judgement as you felt in your heart you were doing the right thing to unite a mother with her daughter.

Unfortunatley, her intentions were not in the best interest of the baby She appears to be have been a beautiful child-(not interacial as people refer as you are a lumbee indian)

I pray that the angel of comfort surrounds you and your family.

to the mom, I hope God has mercy on your soul as this is one of the most evil things I have heard or see come out of the cumberland county area. I would spit on you as you have no soul.; Reply to this comment

by patty101558 November 17, 2009 12:09 PM EST

I have only one comment ....the father is just as guilty to send that beautiful mixed baby to a mother with whom he knew had serious issues with life ....he got on TV...hope the life of his child was worth it...allow the mother and man general population in the worst prisons in the world...they will suffer...because a blind eye will be turned .....but the remember ...the father is as guilty ....he put the child in the situation she was in....and believe me it was because she was mixed ....cant get a girlfriend f****** a black girl or having a mixed child..........I know ....I am married with three mixed children and lived in NC....they still have the morals of the 1800's.................................

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by azure_3282 November 17, 2009 1:36 PM EST: The father I'm sure wanted the daughter to have a relationship with her mother. Who would think that a mother would sell their child. The father is an innocent victim. And you are a ignorant racist. Patty101558 I feel sorry for your children that they have a racist lowlife as a mother. Get a life.


by MobleyMay November 18, 2009 7:14 AM EST: This thought ran across my mind also -- not so much because of her race, but I was wondering if the father wanted freedom to date without the shackles of the day-to-day need to raise a child. It looked like the father was living a good life ... look at the house he stayed in, compared to where he sent that baby. I could not/would not do that. :-(