Cierre Wood, a former running back in the NFL and Canadian Football League, was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday after a plea deal related to the death of his girlfriend’s 5-year-old daughter in Las Vegas in April 2019.
At 33 years old, Wood was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 10 years following his guilty plea in April to charges of second-degree murder and felony child abuse. Clark County District Court Judge Jacqueline Bluth also imposed a consecutive sentence of 28 months to six years for the felony child abuse charge.
The victim, La’Rayah Davis, was found dead in Wood’s apartment on April 9, 2019, shortly after she and her mother, Amy Taylor, moved in with him. Both Wood and Taylor were indicted in June 2019 on charges of murder along with 20 counts of felony child abuse.
During the investigation, both individuals confessed to utilizing physical punishment as disciplinary measures. An autopsy revealed that Davis suffered from multiple injuries, including 20 broken ribs, internal bleeding, a lacerated liver, and various bruises.
As a result of the plea agreement, several remaining felony child abuse charges against Wood were dropped. Wood entered an Alford plea, indicating that he did not admit guilt but acknowledged that a guilty plea was in his best interest.
In a related plea agreement earlier this year, Taylor also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and felony child abuse.
Wood played in the NFL for the Houston Texans, New England Patriots, and Buffalo Bills between 2013 and 2015, following his collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame. He later had a brief tenure with the Montreal Alouettes in Canada.