WHITLEY COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — The man at the center of a toddler’s brutal murder received his sentence Tuesday morning.
A Whitley County judge sentenced 24-year-old Jordan Taylor to life without parole for the murder of 3-year-old Amoura Smallwood.
In February 2023, police arrested Taylor in connection to Smallwood’s death.
At the time, authorities said Taylor was watching Amoura when she was “badly injured.” The toddler later died at the hospital.
A grand jury indicted Taylor, charging him with murder, first degree sodomy, and strangulation.
Last month, Taylor entered a guilty plea to those charges.
In addition to Taylor, the toddler’s mother, Alexandra Ward, faces charges of complicity to commit murder and complicity to strangulation.
She is scheduled for a jury trial in March 2025.
As for Taylor, he was also indicted in July for a different case. He’s charged with murder and accused of smothering a 6-month-old in Clay County in 2020.
