CHADBOURN, N.C. (WBTV) - A legendary basketball player has teamed up with multiple law-enforcement agencies to honor four kids who were killed in a North Carolina house fire late last month.
Sister-station WECT said former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal and law enforcement from Georgia and Florida made a joint donation to cover funeral and other expenses related to the Aug. 30 house fire in the town of Chadbourn.
The girls -- who were 2, 4, 6 and 7 years old -- were all sisters.
In the days after the blaze, the girls’ father -- Patrick Ellis -- released a statement to WECT that said his heart was “shattered beyond words.”
“Kalani, Kendall, Josie, and Sophia were my joy, my light, and my purpose,” Ellis’ statement read in part. “Our family has been overwhelmed by the love, prayers, and support from this community during the hardest time of our lives. We ask you to join us in celebrating their laughter, their innocence, and the precious memories they leave behind.”
Four girls were killed in an eastern North Carolina house fire on Aug. 30, 2025.
Four girls were killed in an eastern North Carolina house fire on Aug. 30, 2025.(WECT)
Arrest warrants showed that the children’s mother, Reagan Noelle Powers, was charged on Sept. 10 with four counts of both involuntary manslaughter and negligent child abuse with serious bodily injury. The warrants said Powers was not home when the fire broke out and had left the four girls in the care of an 11-year-old.
Now, nearly two weeks after the deadly fire, O’Neal and his law-enforcement partners have stepped up to help.
“As a father, my heart is broken for the Ellis family,” Shaquille O’Neal said via WECT. “What I can offer is love, support, and a promise that their lives will not be forgotten.”
Sheriff Reginald B. Scandrett of Henry County, Ga. is in charge of one of the agencies that partnered with Shaq.
“The loss the Ellis family has endured is one that shakes us all to our core,” Scandrett said. “Our goal is to remind them they do not walk this journey alone.”
Shaq partnered up to pay funeral and other expenses for a North Carolina family who lost four...
Shaq partnered up to pay funeral and other expenses for a North Carolina family who lost four kids in a house fire.(Kevin Kolczynski | AP)
“We wanted the family to feel the love, compassion, and solidarity that reaches far beyond county or state lines,” a spokesperson for Scandrett’s Henry County Sheriff’s Office said. “It’s about showing them they are not alone in their grief, and that an entire law enforcement community is standing with them.”
It was not clear how much the joint donation from Shaq and his law-enforcement partners was.
The four girls will be honored at a memorial service on Saturday, Sept. 13.
As of a Sept. 9 update, the cause of the Aug. 30 house fire had not yet been determined.
Chadbourn is right off Highway 74 in the eastern part of the state, about an hour west of Wilmington.
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