Ex-NFL player sentenced for death of girlfriend’s daughter, 5

A former NFL player was sentenced Tuesday to between 10 years and life in prison for the death of his girlfriend’s 5-year-old daughter.

Cierre Wood, 33, made a plea deal in April that specified he would plead guilty to a charge of second-degree murder and a charge of child abuse, neglect or endangerment. He entered what is known as an Alford plea, meaning he only admitted that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.

La’Rayah Patra Nicole Lamont Davis died in April 2019. She had at least 100 bruises on her body, 20 broken ribs, a lacerated liver and contusions on other vital organs, authorities said.

“Your heart absolutely breaks and you think, ‘how can somebody be so cruel?,’” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Dena Rinetti at the sentencing hearing.

District Judge Jacqueline Bluth sentenced Wood to life with the possibility of parole after 10 years with a consecutive sentence of 28 to 72 months for the child abuse or neglect charge. She also ordered him to pay for funeral expenses.

That was the prison sentence Rinetti had requested.

Thomas Ericsson, Wood’s lawyer, argued that his client did not inflict the injuries that led to La’Rayah’s death but should have protected the child more. He blamed Amy Taylor, La’Rayah’s mother, for sitting on the girl’s chest and holding her down. Wood was at work at the time and didn’t know she had done that, he said.

Wood tried to provide La’Rayah and her mother with stability and has no prior criminal record, Ericsson said.

Wood was previously a running back for Notre Dame and a practice squad player on several NFL teams. His teams included the Houston Texas, New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills.

Taylor also entered a guilty plea in April, admitting to charges of second-degree murder and child abuse, neglect or endangerment resulting in substantial bodily harm. On July 30, Bluth sentenced her to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years for the murder charge and eight to 20 years on the abuse charge.

Bluth said Taylor blamed Wood for everything and claimed he was abusive towards her and her daughter. Then Wood claimed Taylor abused La’Rayah and he “kind of did nothing.” She said it was hard to grasp that he did nothing when his family stressed his strong personality and willingness to fight for what he stands for in letters.

“It’s very hard for me to believe that you just passively stood there while this child was basically being beaten to death,” she said. The judge read from texts between Taylor and Wood referring to La’Rayah with profanity and talking about not wanting her to go to school with bruises.

In his statement to the court, Wood said he takes responsibility. He said his language in text messages was unacceptable, but that he didn’t mean what he said literally.

“You are both guilty,” Bluth said. “And you better thank Mr. Ericsson for every single second that you got off because if a jury heard these text messages and saw the pictures of that child that I had to see, you would be doing life without the possibility of parole.”

Danaun Davis, La’Rayah’s father, gave a tearful victim impact statement.

“She was just a kid,” he said, and was very smart. The last time they spoke, she said Wood told her he’d beat her if she said anything. Two days later, he got a call that she was gone. It was a loss that he said left him feeling “robbed.”

“I hate myself for it, but it’s not even my fault,” he said.

Bluth addressed his feelings of guilt. “You have to find it in you to let it go,” she said, adding, “You know your daughter would not want that.”

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.