A North Carolina male has been sentenced to death for the 2019 murder and torture of his 15-year-old daughter. The accused Joshua Lee Burgess was found guilty of first-degree murder and will be executed via lethal injection.

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.

In addition, Burgess received a minimum of nearly 76 years in prison for those offenses in addition to the death sentence.

Reports indicate that on August 8,2019 Burgess killed 15-year-old Zaria Burgess by slitting her throat after sexually torturing her for 22 hours at his home in Monroe.

After completing the macabre act, Burgess reportedly walked into the Union County Sheriff’s Office and confessed to the murder.

Meanwhile, investigators assigned to the Union County Sheriff’s Office indicated that the primary motive for the murder is lust and control.