Joshua Lee Burgess, 35, has been sentenced to death over the 22-hour-long torture and killing of his 15-year-old daughter, Zaria Burgess.
The judgment came down on Friday, almost three years following the incident that resulted in the teenager‘s horrific death.
The teen’s body was later discovered at his Monroe, North Carolina, home with a large gash to her neck and Joshua Lee was charged with first-degree murder. It was eventually uncovered that he killed his daughter “after psychologically and sexually torturing her for 22 hours.”
As a result, he was also charged with statutory rape, three counts of statutory sex offense and one count of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
“The details of this murder are indescribable,” Sheriff Eddie Cathey noted in a 2019 statement. “Every officer and detective involved in this case is feeling the effects of what happened to this child.”
“There is no logical answer to explain why this man did what he is accused of doing. Our hearts and prayers are with Zaria’s mom and her family,” he continued.
Source: North Carolina Man Receives Death Penalty After Torturing And Killing 15-Year-Old Daughter
