LAS VEGAS — A former professional footballer was sentenced to prison on Tuesday for the death of his girlfriend’s 5 year old daughter in his apartment in Las Vegas.
The sentencing came after Cierre Wood, a former running back in the NFL and Canadian Football 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. Clark County District Court 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 molestation charges they initially filed against Wood. He entered an Alford plea, a formal admission of guilt in criminal court that allows a defendant to claim innocence.
The Associated Press sent an email to his attorney Tuesday seeking comment.
Wood played for the University of Notre Dame and then played briefly for three teams in the NFL and the Montreal Alouettes in Canada.
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 trauma.
