Pensacola, Fl
The sheriff’s office said that a North Carolina father surrendered to the murder of his 15-year-old daughter accused of kidnapping and rape in connection with her brutal death.
Joshua Lee Burgess is now charged with statutory rape of a person 15 years of age or younger, a first-degree legal sexual offense, first-degree kidnapping, and first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Burgess entered the mayor’s office over the weekend and confessed in detail to having murdered his 15-year-old daughter, Zarya Yochalin Burgess. Representatives said the girl was found murdered inside their home on Hampton Meadows Street on Sunday morning.
According to the coroner, the death of the 15-year-old girl was the result of a severe neck injury.
The details of this murder are unspeakable. Every officer and investigator involved in this case feels the effects of what happened to this child. There is no logical answer explaining why this man did what he is accused of. Our hearts and prayers are with Zaria’s mother and her family, “Sheriff Eddy Cathy said in a written statement Tuesday.
Burgess remains in Union County Jail without bond.
