Former NFL player Cierre Wood has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2019 murder of his girlfriend’s five-year-old daughter.
Wood, a former running back who played for the Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Earlier this year, the 33-year-old pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and child abuse in connection with the April 2019 death in a Las Vegas apartment.
Wood, who also played in the Canadian soccer league, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years for the murder charge.
La’Ryah Davis was found unconscious in her mother’s home on April 9, 2019. She later died in the hospital from a combination of serious injuries.
Cierre Wood has been sentenced to life in prison for the death of his girlfriend’s daughter
La’Ryah Davis was found unconscious in her mother’s home and later died in the hospital
According to a police report from the time, Wood forced La’Ryah to “run sprints around the apartment, do sit-ups and wall squats” before her death because he believed she was overweight.
Police said Wood told them in 2019 that he was “trying to straighten her out because she was so fat,” News 3 reported.
The police file also shows that Taylor once sat on her daughter’s chest and stomach as punishment.
Court documents show the child’s mother, Amy Taylor, 31, also pleaded guilty earlier this year to second-degree murder and child abuse as part of a deal with prosecutors.
Wood, pictured in 2012, enjoyed an illustrious college football career at Notre Dame
Wood (left) and Taylor (right) were arrested and charged by Las Vegas police in 2019
An autopsy performed by the Clark County coroner’s office found that the five-year-old girl suffered a lacerated liver, broken ribs and “multiple skull contusions” at the time of her death.
Judge Jacqueline Bluth also ordered Wood to serve between 28 months and six years for the child abuse charge. He must serve the sentences consecutively.
According to a copy of the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed the remaining child abuse charges they initially filed against Wood.
He filed a so-called Alford plea, a formal admission of guilt in criminal court, which allows a suspect to still claim his innocence.
Wood played for the University of Notre Dame and then played briefly for three teams in the NFL and the Montreal Alouettes in Canada.