NY man pleads guilty, accused of killing cancer-surviving daughter due to the ‘attention’ she got

A New York man accused of killing his cancer-surviving daughter over “jealousy” pleaded guilty to first-degree-murder Thursday in a plea deal with Onondaga County prosecutors in Syracuse, New York.

Authorities say Ryan Lawrence, 25, beat his  21-month-old daughter Maddox Lawrence to death last February. Authorities say he burned the girl’s body in a fire pit, then tied the remains to a cinder block that he dumped in Onondaga Creek in Syracuse.

READ MORE: Missing 6-year-old North Carolina girl found alive chained to tree

Following the death of baby Maddox, the Onondaga county district attorney told CBS5 that she was a survivor of eye cancer.

“Without going into too much detail, [Ryan Lawrence’s] statements allude to almost a sense of jealousy about the attention that this child was getting, as opposed to the attention that he was getting,” Bill Fitzpatrick, Onondaga county district attorney told the station.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Without going into too much detail, [Ryan Lawrence's] statements allude to almost a sense of jealousy about the attention that this child was getting, as opposed to the attention that he was getting," Bill Fitzpatrick, Onondaga county district attorney told the station.

The plea deal was captured on video in the Onondaga County court nearly seven months after the death of Maddox shocked Central New York. Tears broke out from the family as the judge read through the charges. Lawrence appeared to quiver as he pleaded guilty to first-degree-murder.

The child’s body was found by police about 36 hours after an Amber Alert was issued for the missing child. The alert was issued on Feb. 21, after Lawrence disappeared with her.

READ MORE: Travis Vader found guilty of 2nd-degree murder in killing of Lyle, Marie McCann

Asked about Lawrence’s reported jealousy of Maddox from all the attention she was getting from surviving cancer, his attorney Michael Vavonese told the CBS5 on Thursday: “What I can tell you about that is nothing whatsoever.”

According to Vavonese, Lawrence was an “over involved” father who was inseparable from his daughter.

Lawrence will be sentenced next month to 25 years to life in prison.

— With files from the Associated Press.