Charlotte-area man sentenced to death for murdering his 15-year-old daughter, DA says
A Union County jury took three hours to decide that a Charlotte-area man should be sentenced to death for murdering and raping his 15-year-old daughter.
In August 2019, Joshua Lee Burgess, 35, killed his daughter, Zaria, after sexually and psychologically torturing her for 22 hours at his home off Airport Road in Monroe. Zaria was visiting her father for the weekend, WCNC reported.
Burgess was convicted of first-degree murder, 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 Trey Robison’s office said in a news release. He received an additional minimum of nearly 76 years in prison for his crimes.
The jury’s decision came after a three-week trial, according to Robison’s office’s news release.
“This was truly an especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel killing of an innocent child,” Robison’s office said in the news release. “This case was emotionally taxing for everyone involved. We continue to grieve with and pray for Zaria’s mother.”
‘No logical answer’
Zaria was a rising sophomore at Monroe High School and was a member of the marching band and dance team at the time of her death, WCNC reported.
“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,” Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey told the TV station. “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.”
Burgess took Union County detectives to the scene of the crime and “readily admitted to what transpired,” Tony Underwood with the Sheriff’s Office told WCNC in 2019.
Burgess is currently at Central Prison in Raleigh, where male death row offenders are housed, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety said. A single dose of pentobarbital, a drug typically used to treat insomnia and anxiety, is used to kill offenders sentenced to death in NC, according to execution protocol.
This story was originally published June 4, 2022 at 12:54 PM.
