Former Notre Dame star sentenced to life in prison for murder of girlfriend's 5-year-old girl

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Cierre Wood, a Notre Dame standout who played in the NFL and the Canadian Football League, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for his role in the death of a 5-year-old girl.

Wood pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of his girlfriend's daughter at his Las Vegas apartment. The girl was killed in April 2019.

Court records also show he pleaded guilty to felony child abuse, and he will be eligible for parole after serving 10 years.

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Cierre Wood, #20 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, runs against the BYU Courgars at Notre Dame Stadium on Oct. 20, 2012 in South Bend, Indiana. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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.

Prosecutors dismissed the remaining felony counts of child abuse that they initially had filed against Wood, according to the plea agreement. He entered what is known as an Alford plea, a formal admission of guilt in criminal court that allows a defendant to still claim innocence.

Court records show that the child's mother, Amy Taylor, also pleaded guilty earlier this year to second-degree murder and felony child abuse as part of a deal with prosecutors.

The girl was found in the apartment with bruises and trauma.

Cierre Wood, #20 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, carries the ball against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the game on Sept. 24, 2011 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

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Wood became a star for the Fighting Irish in his sophomore season, when he rushed for 1,102 yards and nine touchdowns on 217 carries, all of which were career-bests.

The following season, he split carries with Theo Riddick, but he decided to forgo his final season of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft.

He signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2013 but was released in October for violating team rules after playing in just three games. He then played in two games with the New England Patriots.

In 2015, he was promoted to the Buffalo Bills' active roster, but he tore his ACL, ending his season and NFL career. 

Notre Dame's Cierre Wood, #20, in action against Purdue. (John Biever /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

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Wood then went to the Canadian Football League in 2017, where he played for both the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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