Mother tells Pineville man convicted of murdering her son that she forgives him

Her son's bedroom is next to her own, and Edwin Davidson Jr.'s mother said Wednesday that it has been unbearably silent since he was murdered on Oct. 20, 2020.

"I miss my son every day," she said softly.

Shanay Henderson spoke before 9th Judicial District Court Judge Greg Beard during what was to have been a sentencing hearing for Andrew Chestley Mayo, the 20-year-old Pineville resident convicted on Nov. 18 by a Rapides Parish jury in her 17-year-old son's death.

Mayo refused to waive a mandatory 24-hour waiting period after his request for a new trial and for a judgment without a verdict were denied by Beard. As a result, his sentence of life in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension will be handed down Thursday afternoon.

But Henderson was ready to give her victim impact statement Wednesday. She said her son's death has been a hard pill to swallow. She said her first child was the one who taught her how to love and how to be responsible.

"It is so hard, but still I have to forgive. And I forgive you," she say while looking at Mayo sitting at the defense table with his attorney, Allen Smith III.

Henderson showed photos of Davidson, including with his younger sister. She talked about how close the two were and how he isn't here anymore to celebrate her birthday and holidays. He also had a younger brother.

"He has a life sentence he never can come back from," she said.

Henerson talked about arriving to the scene of the shooting and not believing what she was seeing. She chided Mayo for taking justice into his own hands.

Mayo and four others drove to a home on Orchard Loop in Pineville, seeking revenge because they believed they'd been cheated in an earlier drug deal. Davidson was not involved in that incident, police have said.

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Mayo and two others shot into the home. One bullet, which police testified at an earlier hearing likely came from Mayo's weapon, hit Davidson in his head. He died at the scene.

"And he never came back home," said Henderson, who said she trusts in God and thanks those who worked on the case. "But that still won't bring him back."

Henderson held up a piece of her son's hair she kept, a piece of him she'll always have even though she said it won't heal the hole or pain in her heart.

"A part of my family is gone forever. Forever, and it wasn't worth it," she said.

Davidson never got to meet his son, who now is 2. "He'll never see his dad," said Henderson.

She repeated that she forgave both Mayo and his family, "and God bless you."

Beard went over facts of the case, saying the drive-by shooting happened over a $90 drug deal. "In this case, drugs and guns equal a death," he said.

He told Mayo that he alone was responsible for his decisions and said Davidson was taken way before the prime of his life, never seeing his child.

Mayo was the first of five defendants in the case to be found guilty by a jury. Two others, Terrence Armstrong and Tyrone Markel Compton, face trials in February 2023.

They were indicted on the same charges as the other defendants − second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and three counts of criminal conspiracy.

Mayo was tried only on the murder charge.

Defendant Pamela Earlene Smith pleaded guilty to one conspiracy charge in June 2021 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Defendant Kaitlyn Carlino has pleaded guilty to one conspiracy charge, and she is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 12.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Edwin Davidson Jr.'s mom says she forgives Pineville man who murdered him