Photo: Facebook
After three hours of deliberation, a jury handed down the death sentence to a North Carolina dad for the brutal slaying of his teen daughter in 2019.
According to astatement from the Union County District Attorney’s Office, the girl’s father slit her throat “after psychologically and sexually torturing her for 22 hours” at his Monroe, N.C., home on Aug. 18, 2019.
Burgess was also convicted of one count of statutory rape, three counts of statutory sex offense, and one count of first degree sexual exploitation of a minor, according to the statement.
He received a minimum of nearly 76 years in prison for those offenses in addition to the death sentence.
“This was truly an especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel killing of an innocent child. This case was emotionally taxing for everyone involved. We continue to grieve with and pray for Zaria’s mother,” the Union County District Attorney’s Office said.
Union County Sheriff’s Office
Burgess “stole Zaria from her friends, family and local community,” his statement read. “While we know Zaria is forever gone to us, we hope that today’s verdict helps to bring some closure to Zaria’s family and friends, and we will continue to keep them in our prayers each day.”
While Burgess identified several motives throughout a confession provided to UCSO detectives, they say the primary motives for the killing appeared to be lust and control.
Zaria Burgess.Facebook
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?Click hereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
It wasn’t immediately clear who represented Burgess in court or whether he plans to appeal the death sentence.
source: people.com
