Photo Courtesy of Union County District Attorney's Office & Facebook (Black Kids Haven)
Joshua Lee Burgess was sentenced to death in North Carolina after brutally raping and murdering his daughter Zaria Joshalyn Burgess.
On June 3, Burgess, 35 was sentenced after three hours of jury deliberation following a three-week trial.
On August 18, 2019, Burgess killed his 15-year-old daughter Zaria who typically lived with her mother but was visiting him.
After 22 hours of psychological and sexual torture at his home, Burgess murdered Zaria by slitting her throat.
After committing the crimes, Burgess went to the Union County Sheriff’s Office and turned himself in for murder.
The disgraced father was convicted of one count of first-degree murder, one count of statutory rape, three counts of a statutory sex offense, and one count of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. In addition to his death sentence, he has an additional minimum of nearly 76 years in prison for those offenses.
Related Story: Joshua Nelson Donates College Fund After Receiving Scholarship
In a Facebook post shared by The Union County District Attorney’s Office, District Attorney Trey Robison thanked the jurors “who gave their time and effort in this very emotional case and helped bring closure to Zaria’s family and friends.”
Sheriff Eddie Cathey said, “The details of this murder are indescribable. 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.”