Ex-NFL player to go on trial in death of girlfriend's child

A former pro football player was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on murder and child abuse charges in the death of his girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter soon after they moved into his Las Vegas apartment this year.

A judge told former NFL and Canadian Football League running back Cierre Marcelle Wood, 28, that testimony from a detective, firefighter and medical examiner convinced her that Wood and the child's mother, Amy Taylor, inflicted physical injuries that caused the death of La'Rayah Davis.

"We know who was in that apartment during that period of time," Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Melanie Andress-Tobiasson said. "We know who was responsible for the ultimate and untimely and horrific death of this child: Mr. Wood and Ms. Taylor."

Former NFL player Cierre Wood, right, who along with his girlfriend, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 5-year-old daughter, La'Rayah Patra Nicole Lamont Davis, appears in court with his attorney Thomas Ericsson at the Regional Justice Center on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu TesfayeLas Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Andress-Tobiasson rejected as "ridiculous" a bid by Wood's defense attorney, Thomas Ericsson, to throw out the murder charge for lack of direct evidence that Wood was responsible for the girl's fatal injuries.

"There is simply no evidence that rises to his conduct as to this murder charge," Ericsson said.

The attorney conceded, however, that the prosecution met the standard of "slight or marginal" evidence needed to put the 19 child abuse charges before a jury.

Judge Melanie Andress-Tobiasson presides during the conclusion of a preliminary hearing for former NFL player Cierre Wood at the Regional Justice Center on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, in Las Vegas. Wood, who along with his girlfriend, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 5-year-old daughter, La'Rayah Patra Nicole Lamont Davis. (Bizuayehu TesfayeLas Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

The judge cited photos of numerous external bruises and autopsy findings that La'Rayah had 20 newly broken ribs, internal bleeding, a lacerated liver and bruises to her heart, diaphragm and connective tissue.

Taylor and her daughter moved in with Wood and his young daughter on March 27, and Andress-Tobiasson said La'Rayah must have suffered before she died.

"She's 5 years old," the judge said. "It's hard for me to even conceptualize."

FILE - This undated Clark County Detention Center photo released by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows Cierre Wood. Wood, a former NFL player, was arrested April 10, 2019, in Las Vegas and is charged with murder and felony child abuse in the death of La'Rayah Davis, the 5-year-old daughter of his girlfriend, Amy Taylor. Wood was ordered Wednesday, May 22,2019 to stand trial in state court on murder and 19 felony child abuse and neglect charges in the death of his girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter less than two weeks after they moved into his Las Vegas apartment. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via AP, File)

Wood, who played for the University of Notre Dame before NFL stints with Houston, New England and Buffalo, is held without bail pending his arraignment next Tuesday in state court. He could face up to life in prison if he is convicted. His attorney says Wood will plead not guilty but declined to comment outside court.

Taylor, 25, is jailed and faces a separate preliminary hearing Aug. 5. Her attorneys watched Wood's hearing and declined to comment afterward.

Detective Jessica Rogers testified that Wood said he spanked the girl when she misbehaved, but Taylor disapproved so he turned to exercise as discipline and had La'Rayah do sit-ups and other exercises, including running sprints in the apartment. He called it "learning through fun."

Wood, who was released by the Montreal Alouettes in Canada in May 2018, told detectives that La'Rayah complained of chest pains and lost her appetite in the days before she died but that she was tough and could handle a lot of pain, Rogers testified.

The day she died, La'Rayah "got to a point she could no longer do a sit-up," Rogers said. Wood told police he pulled La'Rayah's shirt forward and when he let go, she fell backward and hit her head on the carpeted floor.

Wood said he could tell La'Rayah was injured, called Taylor and had his daughter call 911, Rogers said. Taylor, a certified nurse's aide, told police she was at the store at the time.

Paramedics reported finding La'Rayah unresponsive at Wood's apartment. She died at a hospital.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — At least 90 people were injured in Argentina's capital when a passenger train struck an empty boxcar on the tracks and derailed Friday, authorities said, a rare collision that fueled questions about basic safety.

The train was on its way from Buenos Aires to the northern suburbs when it derailed around 10:30 a.m. on a bridge in the trendy neighborhood of Palermo, safety officials said.

While it was not immediately clear why the idled boxcar had been on the bridge, Argentina's railway union said several meters (yards) of copper cable used to carry power along the tracks had been stolen from the railway, disabling the signaling system intended to prevent such accidents.

Union leaders fiercely opposed to libertarian President Javier Milei's economic austerity blamed the government for its failure to invest in public infrastructure.

“We have been demanding for 10 days that the stolen signaling cables be repaired," rail union leader Omar Maturano told the country's independent Radio Con Vos station. “The government said there was no money for spare parts.”

Prosecutors said they were investigating.

“There is not enough information about the mechanics of this accident,” Buenos Aires Mayor Jorge Macri said from the crash site where he praised the swift evacuation of victims.

Dozens of injured were treated at the scene and 30 people taken to hospitals in moderate to serious condition, at least two by helicopter with chest trauma and broken bones.

Alberto Crescenti, director of the city's emergency service, said rescuers with police dogs had helped 90 people trapped in the derailed train, lowering some by rope from the highway overpass scattered with twisted metal and shattered glass.

Dazed passengers staggering out of the derailed boxcars told local media the train had stopped on the bridge for several minutes before starting up again and slamming violently into the other train, jolting passengers and veering off the rails in a jumble of sparks and smoke.

Officials at the Argentine rail authority, Trenes Argentinos, said service on the popular rail line had been suspended, complicating travel for many commuters.

The collision brought increased scrutiny to rail safety in Argentina, where a string of train crashes from 2012-2014 left over 50 people dead and hundreds injured. It emerged at the time that outdated infrastructure, delays and human error had left the railway system vulnerable to crashes, prompting the government to invest in new safety and braking systems.

With Argentina's economy spiraling and anti-government protests gripping the streets, the crash quickly spawned contradictory narratives, with both government officials and leftist union leaders using the incident to further their agendas.

“The rail company has been totally degraded because there's no budget," said Maturano, from the rail union.

President Milei reposted comments on social media blaming his left-leaning predecessors for neglecting public infrastructure and running up a massive budget deficit.

In the midst of Argentina's worst economic crisis in two decades, police have repeatedly reported would-be cable thieves being electrocuted in the act. Those who succeed wreak havoc on the rail system in stealing metal to sell to scrapyards, where local media says the going rate is about $7 a kilogram ($3.18 a pound).

The Argentine website Infobae in February called copper cable theft “a trendy crime for the crisis.”

Police tape off the site after a passenger train collision in the Palermo area of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A paramedic transports an injured commuter after two trains collided in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Railway workers inspect a passenger train after it collided with another in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Franco Dergarabedian)

Railway workers inspect a passenger train after it collided with another in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A police officer talks to a commuter who was injured when two trains collided in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

A train wagon that collided with another stands on the rails in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Paramedics transport injured commuters after two trains collided in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)