LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS 11) -- Louisville Metro Police on Wednesday announced detectives had arrested two people, including a juvenile, in the killings of two teenaged brothers.
Brice Rhodes is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Larry Ordway, 14, and Maurice Gordon, 16.
According to an arrest report filed for Rhodes, the teens' bodies were found stabbed and burned May 22 on River Park Drive in the Shawnee neighborhood.
At a Wednesday morning news conference, homicide detective Lt. Todd Kessinger said Rhodes was a family friend to the teens but would not elaborate on their connection.
"I don't know why he would do that to them, he had them in a music video, yes, he knew them," another family friend, Renada Frampton said after Rhodes court hearing Wednesday morning.
The teens' mother, Marie Wren, told WHAS11 her sons were killed because they witnessed a murder on May 4. Kessinger would not confirm a motive; however, Rhodes is charged with the May 4 shooting on 41st Street that left a man dead.
Jefferson County coroners identified that victim as Christopher Jones, 40.
Kessinger said the teens' bodies were dumped at the location they were found, which is only a few blocks from the Jones case, and that the teens had been murdered at another location.
Kessinger would not reveal that location, but said detectives had already processed that scene.
While the arrest report said the teens were stabbed, a report from the coroner's office said they died from multiple blunt force injuries.
It was only Wednesday morning when the teens were public identified by officials. Because of the conditions of the bodies, police had to use a sketch artist to draw a composite of the boys to release to media outlets.
It was that sketch, Kessinger said, that was critical in moving the investigation forward.
"A juvenile is problematic because you don't have the same database and search engines that you do with an adult," Kessinger told reporters, praising an alert staff member at Olmstead North Academy.
"She saw that on the news and said, 'Hey, these kids haven't been in school a couple of days and they match the drawing,'" he said.
The boys' mother said her sons did not deserve to die.
"It was a nightmare, they died hugging each other," Wren sobbed, "They never spoke down on anybody, they were always home and helped people."
A balloon release to honor the victims is planned for May 25 at 6 p.m. at Wyandotte Park and is open for the community to attend.
A judge set bond for Rhodes, who has a length criminal history, at $1 million. He is scheduled to return to court June 3.