North Carolina Man Sentenced to Death for Murdering His Biracial Daughter He Tortured for 22 Hours
A North Carolina man has been sentenced to death after he was convicted of murdering his teen daughter along with a rape charges.
Law enforcement officials said 35-year-old Joshua Lee Burgess walked in August 2019 at around 9:24 am and explained the details of the crime to 911 dispatchers. A press release from the sheriff’s office released more details, “Once the dispatcher began inquiring about his name and searching for possible arrest warrants, Burgess told her she would not find his name and that he had just killed someone. Burgess gave further details including the address where the victim was located as well as the victim’s identity.”
Law enforcement officials discovered the 15-year-old girl’s body at his home. The Union County District Attorney’s office says the father slit Zaria Burgess’ throat after “psychologically and sexually torturing her” for 22 hours while she visited him for the weekend. Burgess lived with her biological mother.
Court documents explain that Burgess strangled his daughter before the “sharp force injury to the neck,” which medical examiners ruled the cause of her death. Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey said the incident left the local community hurt.
“The defendant, in this case, Joshua Burgess is the essence of evil and stole Zaria from her friends, family and local community,” Cathey said in a statement. “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.”
At the time Cathey found it difficult to wrap his head around the details of the incident. Telling local station WCNC at the time, “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.”
A jury only took three hours before sentencing Burgess to death on June 3 for one count of first-degree murder. 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. Union County District Attorney’s Office says he must serve a minimum of nearly 76 years in prison for all those offenses.
“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 district attorney’s office said. Investigators came to the conclusion that Burgess pointed to several motives for killing his biological child, but the main factor appeared to be lust and control.
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