LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Drama unfolded in the courtroom as Brice Rhode’s co-defendant, Jecorey Taylor, took the stand in Rhodes triple-murder trial.
Rhodes is accused of brutally murdering 14-year-old Larry Ordway and 16-year-old Maurice Gordon after they allegedly witnessed him shoot and kill Christopher Jones, 40, back in 2016.
Taylor, who was just a teen when he was indicted, plead guilty in connection to Ordway and Gordon’s murders in 2018.
A part of Taylor's plea deal, he was required to testify against Rhodes, but on Thursday, he shied away from the Commonwealth’s questions.
Judge Julie Kaelin informed Taylor that he "must answer the question," however he again refused to answer prosecutors on whether or not he knew Rhodes.
“I understand what y’all doing here, but I don’t got nothing to say about the incident,” Taylor said.
“Simply not answering will result in me holding you in contempt of court and putting you in jail likely," Kaelin responded.
After speaking to a public defender, Taylor returned to the courtroom sharing a similar story to his cousin, Anjuan Carter, who testified Wednesday about a gruesome vote Rhodes allegedly made a group of boys participate in. Carter said the result of that vote determined the teenager brothers' fate.
Taylor testified that Rhodes shot and killed Jones. He said Rhodes was upset when he learned Ordway and Gordon told their mother about the shooting.
“He was saying we can’t mess with them no more. We got to get them back for telling on him,” Taylor said.
Taylor said the two boys were at Rhodes house on May 21, 2016. While there, Taylor and Gordon got into heated argument. Then Rhodes got involved.
“He said I want you to violate him and I was scared. I was like what you mean?” Taylor said. ”He said I want you to punch him in his chest and if you hit him in the face, I’m going to hit you. He had me punching him and then he said stop.”
That’s when Taylor said Rhodes tied up the teen brothers, stabbed them several times and made others do the same. Taylor says after Rhodes left with the bodies, he and Carter were left to clean up.
Forensic Pathologist Lauren Lippincott shared new insight into the one of the boy's autopsies. Her autopsy results showed Ordway was stabbed 21 times. She said the 14-year-old died from the stabbing and was burned afterwards.
“I feel like we’re just as guilty because we there,” Taylor said emotionally. “I couldn’t do nothing though. I mean I was scared. We were all scared. I don’t know. I just know we really couldn’t save them.”
Taylor went on to admit he told officers a different story in 2016, which defense attorneys mentioned in their cross examination. But again, he said he was scared.
Before Taylor’s testimony, prosecutors called Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) personnel to the stand. The defense attempted to undermine their credibility by circling back to a consistent theme – LMPD’s handling of evidence.
During cross examinations, they questioned scene techs and detectives about the back seat of Brice Rhode’s car.
Rhodes' attorneys said LMPD claimed the seat was in their custody in 2016, but was never tested for DNA.
While on the stand, detective Brian Peters said they didn’t find the full cushion. However, they recovered what appeared to be remnants of it in a dumpster days after Ordway and Gordon was found.
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