LOUSIVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A convicted Louisville triple murderer will remain behind bars after the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled unanimously to uphold his sentence.
Brice Rhodes was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in March 2024 for the brutal murders of three people, including two teenage brothers, nearly 10 years ago.
In December 2023, a jury deliberated for less than an hour before convicting Rhodes of the murders, one count of tampering with physical evidence, and two counts of abuse of a corpse in the shooting of Christopher Jones and brutal beating and stabbings of teenage brothers Maurice Gordon and Larry Ordway. Their bodies were burned.
During his sentencing, the judge told Rhodes it would be a “dishonor” not to follow the jury’s recommendation and formally sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility for parole.
Thursday, the Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously upheld his conviction in an unanimous ruling.
“Justice has once again been affirmed,” said Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman in a news release Thursday. “With the appeal denied of this three-time convicted murderer, the court has reinforced that accountability does not expire.”
In a statement, Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerina Whethers said the hope is that the families of the victims “can rest easier knowing that his lifetime sentence has been confirmed.”
Background
The case stalled for years as Rhodes cycled through numerous attorneys, who Rhodes either refused to work with or threatened. He waited more than a year for a mental competency evaluation and the case languished through the pandemic when courts were shut down.
His bizarre outbursts in the courtroom, including threatening judges and attorneys, implying the lead prosecutor and a previous judge were having an affair and calling several court officials racists, angered family members of the victims and prompted even more publicity in the high-profile case.
Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Julie Kaelin had previously ruled that while Rhodes was competent to stand trial, he was ineligible for the death penalty, finding he has a documented history of serious mental illness or intellectual disability.
Defense attorney Tom Griffiths told the judge they will appeal the guilty verdict.
Rhodes’ attorneys had acknowledged in December that jurors had found Rhodes accountable for “horrible things” done in May 2016 but argued that they should show empathy and not lock him up for life in prison without parole.
“No matter what he did on his worst days, Brice is still a human being,” said defense attorney Thaisa Howorth during the jury sentencing. “I’m asking you to have just a little bit of hope with Brice,” who she said has struggled with childhood abuse, bipolar disorder and intellectual disability.
However, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Elizabeth Jones Brown told jurors at the time to consider “the horrific nature of these murders” and noted this wasn’t Rhodes’ first criminal convictions, pointing out he had already been found guilty of assault, burglary, robbery and other charges before the murders.
During the trial, Jones Brown told jurors that eyewitnesses testified that in early May 2016, they saw Rhodes kill Jones, who he believed was another man that had a bounty out for his death.
Rhodes shot Jones on May 4, 2016, on South 41st Street. A co-defendant, Anjuan Carter said he was in the passenger seat, Gordon was the “getaway driver” and Rhodes and Ordway were in the back seat when the shooting occurred.
Jones died at the hospital.
Rhodes heard that Gordon, 16, and Ordway, 14, were telling family members about the murder, so he brought them to his home on May 22, 2016, according to testimony in the trial.
After a brief scuffle, Gordon was tied up and a toboggan placed over his head, while Ordway was moved into a bathroom where he listened to his brother scream and “beg for forgiveness,” prosecutors told the jury.
Rhodes – and other men at the home – beat and stabbed Gordon, then rolled his body out of the way and brought Ordway in and the “the process was started over,” according to the prosecution.
The three then allegedly put the two brothers into a car and dumped them in the backyard of an abandoned house in the 400 block of River Park Drive, east of Shawnee Park, and burned the bodies. Carter testified he stayed behind and cleaned up after the murders.
Two of those men involved with the murders, teenage cousins Carter and Jacorey Taylor, cut deals for lesser sentences and testified during the trial that Rhodes was the mastermind, forcing them to take part in the killings.
Previous Coverage:
Brice Rhodes sentenced to life in prison for 2016 triple murder conviction
Brice Rhodes is ‘pure evil,’ lead detective in Louisville triple murder case says
Jury recommends life in prison without parole for Brice Rhodes, convicted of 2016 triple murder in Louisville
Louisville jury finds Brice Rhodes guilty on all counts in 2016 triple murder case
Attorneys and family of Brice Rhodes plea for leniency in sentencing for triple murder convictions
Jurors shown interrogation video of Brice Rhodes during 4th day of testimony in murder trial
Defendant testifies Brice Rhodes made him participate in murders of teen brothers
Brice Rhodes’ co-defendant testifies Rhodes was the instigator and mastermind in 3 murders
Prosecutor tells jury Brice Rhodes was ‘calculating and cruel’ as his triple murder trial begins
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