Jordan Blake Taylor has admitted to strangling, sodomizing and ultimately killing three-year-old Amoura Smallwood earlier last year.
Taylor, 24, of Corbin, appeared in Whitley Circuit Court on Wednesday morning to enter a guilty plea in connection to Smallwood’s death.
Smallwood died in February 2023 at Baptist Health Corbin after suffering extensive non-accidental injuries sustained while she was in Taylor’s care.
Taylor’s plea is contingent upon a deal with Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Bowling, in which Taylor has agreed to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, Taylor pleaded guilty to murder, first-degree sodomy and first-degree strangulation. Judge Dan Ballou, who presided over the case, accepted the plea.
A sentencing hearing has been set for Tuesday, where Ballou will make a final ruling regarding Taylor’s punishment.
“I think it’s in everyone’s best interest that we expedite this,” said Ballou.
Bowling spoke with the News Journal on Wednesday morning following Taylor’s plea, in which he stated that no offer had been extended to Taylor and there was no intention of doing so, but Taylor and his defense team presented prosecutors with an offer he felt he couldn’t refuse.
“Mr. Taylor’s defense team requested to plead guilty as charged in exchange for a sentence of life without parole. When a defendant is protesting their innocence or defying the evidence [prosecutors] have, it’s an easy decision to push forward with what proof you have and and be confident in your case—and we’re extremely confident in our case. When a defendant is basically surrendering their life, that puts you in a difficult choice where you have to take risks that really aren’t worth any type of reward,” said Bowling. “The difference between life without parole and the death penalty is largely academic right now in Kentucky. But as strong as our case was and as good as we felt a jury would hammer Jordan Taylor, it wasn’t a risk we were willing to take.”
Bowling also noted that Smallwood’s father was in favor of the agreement and preferred that the case not be taken to trial if at all possible.
Additionally, with Taylor pleading guilty to his charges, it removes the possibility for an appeals process that would have been likely if Taylor were to have been convicted during a jury trial.
Taylor was scheduled to have his case presented to a jury in March 2026, though the trial date has now been set aside.
Smallwood’s mother, Alexandra Ward, 21, of Corbin, also faces charges of complicity to commit murder and complicity to commit first-degree strangulation for her alleged role in Smallwood’s death. According to her indictment, Ward is accused of failing to make a proper effort in preventing Smallwood’s death.
During a bond hearing held in April for Ward, Bowling presented a condensed version of the case against her that appeared to be incriminating toward bother both her and Taylor. Based on that evidence, Bowling alleged that Ward was not only aware of Taylor’s abuse of Smallwood, but that she actively attempted to cover it up.
Bowling told the News Journal following Taylor’s plea that he was still planning on prosecuting Ward to the fullest extent of the law.
“This case is a horrible inexcusable and totally avoidable tragedy. It remains the worst case I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Bowling. “We intend on pursuing Alex with the same vigor we pursued Jordan Taylor with.”
Ward currently has a jury trial set to begin in March 2025.
Taylor is still facing a lone count of murder in Clay County for the July 2020 death of his own infant child.
Following the infant’s death, an investigation was conducted by local law enforcement, but no charges were filed. It wasn’t until August 2023 that charges were levied against Taylor in the infant’s death, when he was indicted by a Clay County grand jury.
According to that indictment, sometime in July 2020, Taylor smothered his infant child, who was six months old at the time.
Gary Gregory, commonwealth’s attorney for the 41st Judicial Circuit, consisting of Clay, Jackson and Leslie County, told the News Journal following Taylor’s indictment in that case that the new charges were brought forth against Taylor based on information obtained by investigators who were collecting information into Smallwood’s death.
The News Journal attempted to reach out to Gregory’s office to ask if he would also seek to reach a deal with Taylor, though he could not be reached.
A jury trial is still currently set in that case and is expected to begin in September 2026.
Taylor and Ward both currently remain jailed in the Whitley County Detention Center.
Case History
On Feb. 19, 2023, Smallwood was transported to Baptist Health Corbin around 3 p.m. by Whitley County EMS. When she arrived at the hospital, she was unresponsive and had multiple injuries. Whitley County Coroner Andy Croley pronounced Smallwood dead just a couple of hours later.
Taylor had been the only person in the care of Smallwood since approximately 8:30 a.m. the day she died.
A number of explicit evidentiary items were presented during Ward’s April bond hearing, which included texts, photos and videos allegedly sent from and taken by Taylor to Ward
Among the evidence shown during that hearing was photos of Smallwood with various bruises, marks and injuries that get progressively worse up until the time of her death. There were also threats sent to Ward by Taylor, such as one text that read, “I will leave this house a crime scene,” and others that were directed toward Smallwood, such as “I’m about to flip on her.”
A video taken from Taylor’s phone was also shown at the hearing, which depicted Smallwood being smothered by having her nose and mouth blocked by what appeared to be Taylor’s hand.
