Ex-NFL Player Sentenced in Little Girl's Murder

UPDATE Aug 14, 2024 1:30 AM CDT

Former NFL player Cierre Wood was on Tuesday sentenced for the murder of his girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter. Wood made a plea deal known as an Alford plea, meaning he only admitted prosecutors had sufficient evidence to convict him on charges of second-degree murder and child abuse, neglect, or endangerment. He was sentenced to between 10 years and life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 10 years, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. He also received a sentence of 28 months to six years on the abuse charge, to be served consecutively, ESPN reports. Wood's lawyer claimed it was the little girl's mother, Amy Taylor, who inflicted the child's fatal injuries, but Taylor claimed Wood was abusive toward both her and her daughter. Taylor made a similar plea deal and was sentenced last month to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years on the murder charge, plus eight to 20 years on the child abuse charge.

Apr 12, 2019 7:41 AM CDT

A former NFL player and Notre Dame star is accused of murder in the death of his girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter. Cierre Wood, 28, was arrested in Las Vegas on Wednesday on suspicion of child abuse, along with the girl's mother, Amy Taylor, 25, who has since posted $5,000 bail, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Wood was additionally charged with first-degree murder Thursday as prosecutors revealed La'Rayah Davis died Tuesday with a liver wound and bruises on her torso, legs, and abdomen. La'Rayah's father, Danaun Davis, traveled from California to be in the courtroom as a judge ordered Wood held without bail for two days pending state charges. "Every time I picked her up the last few months, she was afraid to go home," he later told KSNV of his daughter. "She kept telling me something was wrong … I'm sorry that I didn't listen."

The girl went into cardiac arrest at a Las Vegas apartment before she was pronounced dead at Summerlin Hospital Medical Center, reports the Review-Journal. Police were called around 7:30pm Tuesday as personnel noticed signs of abuse. The Clark County coroner's office hadn't determined the cause and manner of death as of Thursday, though prosecutors stressed an autopsy showed a large liver laceration. "You purposely hurt my kid," Danaun Davis said at the court hearing, per KSNV. "I just talked to her that Monday before. 'Dad, I'll see you in two weeks,'" he added. "The next day, I get a call that she's gone." A star at Notre Dame from 2010 to 2012, Wood played three games with the Houston Texans in 2013 and two games with the Buffalo Bills in 2015. More recently, the running back played in the Canadian Football League, per NBC News. (More murder stories.)