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Ex-Notre Dame Star Charged in 5-Year-Old Girl's Death

By Ross Kelly April 12, 2019 at 8:12am

Former Notre Dame and NFL running back Cierre Wood was arrested on Wednesday and faces a charge of first-degree murder.

The victim was 5-year-old La’Rayah Davis, who was the daughter of Wood’s girlfriend, Amy Taylor. Taylor was also arrested and also faces a murder charge.

#BREAKING Former NFL player, Cierre Wood, is in jail in connection with the death of a 5-year-old girl. @LVMPD say that Wood and his gf were arrested last night at Summerlin Hospital on child abuse charges. The Coroner’s office confirmed the death of a child. More details to come pic.twitter.com/IPYuiRCNdO

— Christopher Redfearn (@chrisredreports) April 11, 2019

WBND-LD in South Bend, Indiana, said that police were called to a Las Vegas hospital on Tuesday night in connection with a child’s death.

The couple was then arrested, and jail records showed that Woods was being held without bail.

It wasn’t clear if Taylor had been released on $5,000 bond, but Woods’ next scheduled court appearance will be on Monday morning.

During a Thursday court appearance, the child’s father, Danaun Davis, spoke out.

“You purposely hurt my kid. I never thought I’d bury my child at five years old,” Davis said. “I can’t call her. I just talked to her that Monday before. ‘Dad, I’ll see you in two weeks.’ The next day, I get a call that she’s gone.”

Davis also said there were warning signs that something bad was going on.

“Every time I picked her up the last few months, she was afraid to go home,” Davis said. “She kept telling me something was wrong.”

An autopsy revealed that La’Rayah Davis had a liver laceration and bruises on her torso, legs and abdomen. A cause of death had yet to be determined.

Wood last played professional football in the CFL, where he was on three different teams from 2017-18.

He played in the NFL from 2013-15 and appeared in seven games for the Bills, Seahawks, Patriots and Texans. For his NFL career, Wood had five carries for 12 yards and one reception for -6 yards.

Wood was undrafted in 2013 after skipping his final year of eligibility at Notre Dame. With the Fighting Irish, Wood split carries with future NFL running backs Jonas Gray and Theo Riddick.

One of the top high school recruits in the Class of 2009, Wood was the No. 8 running back in the nation and had offers from Notre Dame, USC and UCLA among others.

He was named a USA Today High School All-American in 2008 and was named as the top running back in the nation over future first-round pick Trent Richardson.

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