Alexandra Ward and Jordan Taylor were indicted for “complicity” charges in her 3-year-old daughter’s death. Taylor faces murder and other charges. (Images: Whitley County Detention Center)
A Kentucky woman and her boyfriend were indicted for her 3-year-old daughter’s murder.
The Whitley County Sheriff’s Department announced on Monday that state police arrested Alexandra Dotson Ward, 20. She was indicted with Jordan Blake Taylor, 22, for a count each of complicity to commit murder and complicity to commit strangulation, authorities said.
Taylor is also charged with murder, strangulation, and sodomy in the first degree in a victim under 12.
Local outlets reportedly identified the child as Amoura Smallwood.
Ward had a legal duty to prevent her daughter from being strangled on Feb. 17 and murdered two days later, documents show authorities said.
Records show Taylor was booked into the Whitley County Detention Center on Feb. 20.
Whitley County deputies told state police on Feb. 19 of the child’s death, according to documents obtained by The Lexington Herald-Leader.
The mother’s boyfriend, Jordan Taylor, was initially charged. However, the prosecutor says 20-year-old Alexandra Ward is to blame as well. https://t.co/ob6y77lTdS
— Victor Puente (@thevictorpuente) April 18, 2023
Taylor allegedly claimed he was the only person supervising the child until the ambulance arrived. The lead detective determined the child’s injuries did not match his statement. The child had injuries from head to feet and all sides of the body, authorities said.
Taylor invoked the Fifth Amendment after beginning a non-custodial interview, and he refused to take a blood test.
Authorities managed to get his blood from a search warrant. But documents did not show his test results.
Ward took no effort to protect her daughter, said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Bowling, according to WKYT.
“In Kentucky, you have an affirmative legal duty as a parent to protect your children and keep them from harm,” he said. “In addition to being a moral duty, it is a legal obligation. Parents that fail to protect their children from suffering and consequences like this are liable for the crime like they committed it themselves.”
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Alexandra Ward and Jordan Taylor indicted for murder