Basketball star Shaquille O’Neal picked up the tab for the funeral of Shaniya Davis after being moved by national news coverage about the 5-year-old North Carolina girl police say was sold into child prostitution by her mother, The Associated Press reports.

Authorities believe Shaniya was kidnapped, raped and murdered after being reported missing Nov. 10. Her body was found six days later on a roadside about 30 miles from her hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Last Sunday’s memorial service was attended by more than 2,000 people.

In a statement released by his team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, on Thanksgiving Thursday, the famed hoopster — a dad himself — said he was touched after hearing the little girl’s story on The Nancy Grace Show.

“I was sitting at home watching it on the news and the story brought a tear to my eye. What happened to her was tragic. I wanted her to have a funeral that would be as beautiful as she was,” O’Neal said in the statement.

Corey Breece, of Rogers and Breece Funeral Home, told The Fayetteville Observer he wouldn’t discuss the cost of Shaniya’s service, but he noted a child’s funeral “averages around $4,500.”

Shaniya’s mother, Antionette Davis, has been is charged with human trafficking and child abuse involving prostitution. Her companion Mario McNeill is charged with murder, rape, and kidnapping in the case.