A former NFL running back was sentenced to prison on Tuesday for the April 2019 shooting death of his girlfriend’s 5-year-old daughter in his Las Vegas apartment.
The conviction came after Cierre Wood, who also played in the Canadian Soccer League, reached a deal with prosecutors in April and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and child abuse, court documents show.
Wood, 33, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years for the murder charge. Judge Jacqueline Bluth also ordered him 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 went what is known as an Alford pleaa formal admission of guilt in a criminal court, allowing a suspect to still claim his innocence.
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.
According to the Las Vegas coroner, the child, La’Rayah Davis, died on April 9, 2019, from blunt force injuries. According to the autopsyShe suffered 20 broken ribs, internal bleeding, a ruptured liver and bruising to her heart, diaphragm and connective tissue when she died.
Taylor said she sat on her daughter while disciplining her. Wood said he disciplined La’Rayah through exercises and that she fell and hit her head while doing sit-ups.
Wood played for the University of Notre Dame before having brief NFL stints with teams including the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills. He also played for the Montreal Alouettes in Canada.