Former NFL player Cierre Wood sentenced to prison for death of 5-year-old girl

Cierre Wood, former NFL and CFL running back, has been sentenced to multiple years in prison for the 2019 death of the 5-year-old daughter of his then-girlfriend.

As reported by the Associated Press, Wood took a plea deal in April in which he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and felony child abuse. On Tuesday he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years for the second-degree murder charge. He was also ordered to serve between 28 months and six years for the child-abuse charge, which must be served consecutively.

The plea deal Wood struck with prosecutors in April involved an Alford plea. In an Alford plea, the defendant makes a formal admission of guilt in court and accepts prison time, but maintains their innocence.

Wood was arrested on April 14, 2019, five days after the death of La’Rayah Davis. La’Rayah’s mother, Amy Taylor, was arrested alongside Wood. An arrest report was obtained by a local Las Vegas news station at the time of the murder, which said Wood had forced 5-year-old La’Rayah to run sprints and do wall squats at home because, as he told police, he was “trying to get her on the right path due to her being chunky.”

She died of blunt force trauma and a lacerated liver, but the coroner also noted multiple rib fractures that may not have been recent. Taylor was arrested alongside Wood and, according to the AP, court records show that Taylor also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and felony child abuse charges as part of a plea deal.

Wood, 33, was signed by the Houston Texans in 2013 as an undrafted free agent. He played three games in Houston before he was released for an unspecified violation of team rules. He spent the rest of 2013 and all of 2014 on practice squads before signing with the Buffalo Bills, where he played just two games. He also spent time in the Canadian Football League.