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"   Ryan Lawrence had always been seen as a doting dad to his daughter, Maddox. When he started his shift delivering pastries to coffee shops around Syracuse, New York, he&amp;#039;d tote the toddler around with him. And when she needed chemotherapy for a deadly form of eye cancer, he&amp;#039;d drive her to New York City along with his wife, Morgan, to get the best treatment possible. Yet, a year later, he admitted to taking his child&amp;#039;s life in a grisly murder that has shaken the local community.  On February 20, Ryan dropped off Morgan at her job at a clothing store, according to Syracuse.com. He was supposed to pick her up after her shift ended, but never showed up. Once Morgan got home, she found the family car in the driveway, keys inside. Also in the car was a note that police say indicated he might hurt Maddox or himself.  Ryan and Maddox were the subjects of a multi-day Amber Alert. According to the alert, Maddox was last seen wearing a white shirt with a pink collar and brown puppies, long pink pants, a blue coat with a pink interior, brown suede shoes, and a gray knit hat with pom poms on top. The alert was everywhere in the area for days, on highway signs and televisions.  &amp;quot;If you&amp;#039;re listening, please just bring Maddox home,&amp;quot; Morgan said through tears at a press conference. &amp;quot;Maddox, I love you, honey. Ryan, please, just please call. We just want to know that the both of you are safe. The whole family wants you both home.&amp;quot;  Two days later, Ryan was found in disguise and was arrested. According to Syracuse.com, Ryan admitted in an indictment he hit Maddox with a wooden bat, then put her body into a fire pit, burned her remains for hours, and then tied what was left to a cinder block and dropping it into Onondaga Creek. Police eventually found the remains in the creek and canceled the Amber Alert.  The motivations behind Maddox&amp;#039;s killing are still unknown, according to the New York Daily News. Some reports point to Maddox suffering a rare form of retinal cancer. Maddox&amp;#039;s treatment was expensive and time consuming, and both parents were young, stressed, and lacked well-paying jobs. They had started a GoFundMe account to help pay for her care. According to Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick, Ryan&amp;#039;s statements &amp;quot;allude to almost a sense of jealousy about the attention that this child was getting as opposed to the attention that he was getting.&amp;quot; This motivation has never been confirmed by Ryan or his defense team. The initial Amber Alert noted that Ryan had a history of mental health issues and was &amp;quot;emotionally unstable.&amp;quot; On Thursday, Ryan pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, and is expected to receive a sentence of 25 years to life in prison as part of a plea deal. His sentencing will begin October 7. In court, he was emotional, tears streaming down his face. &amp;quot;He is just devastated for what he&amp;#039;s done, and if he could take it back, at this point he certainly would,&amp;quot; his lawyer, Michael Vavoneese, told CNYCentral. &amp;quot;He was a dutiful, caring and loving father for every moment of Maddox&amp;#039;s life up through the time this incident occurred,&amp;quot; he elaborated to Time Warner Cable News.  The Syracuse community has rallied to remember baby Maddox, and set up a memorial near where her body was found. There were lots of flowers, toys, stuffed animals, and candles, and the memorial lasted so long that the family requested people move older stuffed animals and items that had started to wear out. On September 16, there was a Ride for Missing Children in Maddox&amp;#039;s honor, and police stood guard over her memorial. When the bicyclists went by her memorial site, they silently paid tribute to the life that could have been.     https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1119729651...&amp;quot; data-width=&amp;quot;350&amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt;     https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=8532291814...&amp;quot; data-width=&amp;quot;350&amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt;  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/life/mom-kids/news/a46030/ryan-lawrence-pleads-guilty-murder-daughter-maddox/>