Former running back Cierre Wood, who spent time with five NFL teams and three CFL teams, has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to the murder of a five-year-old girl in 2019.
Via the Associated Press, Wood struck a deal in April to plead guilty to second-degree murder and felony child abuse. He will be eligible for parole after 10 years.
He also must serve between 28 month and six years on the child-abuse charge. The punishments will run consecutively.
Technically, Wood entered what’s known as an Alford plea, which counts as an admission of guilt but allows him to maintain his innocence.
The child’s mother, Amy Taylor, separately pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and felony child abuse.
In April 2019, La’Rayah Davis was found dead in a Las Vegas apartment. She had 20 broken ribs, internal bleeding, a lacerated liver, and bruises to her heart, diaphragm, and connective tissue, per the autopsy report.
Taylor told police at the time that she sat on the girl while disciplining her. Wood said he used exercise as discipline, and he claimed Davis fell backward while doing sit-ups and hit her head on carpeted floor.
Undrafted out of Notre Dame in 2013, Wood began his career with the Texans. He also was under contract with the Patriots, Ravens, Seahawks, and Bills. He then went to Canada.