Jury selection begins in trial of accused triple murderer Brice Rhodes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jury selection began Monday in the trial of accused triple murderer Brice Rhodes.

Rhodes is accused of shooting and killing 40-year-old Christopher Jones in May 2016. Later that month, he allegedly killed 14-year-old Larry Ordway and 16-year-old Maurice Gordon. Police have said Gordon and Ordway were killed at Rhodes' home in Clifton. Their bodies were dumped in the Shawnee neighborhood and set on fire.

Rhodes allegedly tied the two brothers up and made them beg for their lives before stabbing them, according to an interview with a co-defendant. The two were allegedly killed because Rhodes was worried they might tell police about his involvement in Jones' murder.

Since his arrest, Rhodes' court appearances have been disruptive and unpredictable. He has a history of violent and profane outbursts, threatening at least one judge, accusing a prosecutor and another judge of having an affair, lashing out at several of his attorneys and calling court officials racists or members of the KKK.

He's also been accused of spitting, throwing urine, and attacking corrections officers while behind bars at Metro Corrections, racking up more charges including terroristic threatening.

"These are rather insignificant charges against this gentleman, in his mind and his perspective," a judge said during one of Rhodes' court appearances. "The corrections officer that had urine thrown on him, I'm sure it's not very minor to him."

He's also been known to blast his own attorney during court appearances.

"As far as him, he really doesn't have anything to do with this because we don't, we are not on speaking terms. He's really not in my best interest," Rhodes said of one of his attorneys during a previous court hearing.

In court Friday morning, Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Julie Kaelin told Rhodes that he will be removed from court or shocked by an ankle cuff if he is disruptive during the trial.

Kaelin said she didn’t expect to have to resort to either measure given Rhodes has not had an outburst during court since she took over the case from a previous judge in January.

"I've not had any problems with you Mr. Rhodes," Kaelin said, adding that he won't be shackled during the trial and will wear regular clothes, so jurors don't know he is incarcerated.

But if he does cause a disruption, Kaelin said she will remove the jury and give Rhodes the option to stay in court with an ankle cuff that deputies can use to shock him or remove him altogether.

"I'm not going to make you wear it," she said. "You will be given the choice of staying in the courtroom with that device on" or not being in court. "But again, I don't have any reason to think there's going to be a problem. ... I think you want this trial over with, too."

Rhodes did not respond to the judge's warning. His attorneys did not argue against the stun cuff or his possible removal from the courtroom.

The families of the three victims have been waiting more than seven years for Rhodes' trial to begin. While Rhodes has had plenty to say leading up to his trial, he hasn't been the only one with something to say.

"And I said, he's up there cursing at the judge," said Jackie Partee, the grandmother of Ordway and Gordon, after one of Rhodes' hearings. "Before I even go to court, I pray to ask God to help me maintain my composure because I don't know where this fool is coming off at."

More than 230 people were questioned by attorneys as potential jurors during selection on Monday.

The high-profile case has been pending since 2016 and was scheduled for trial in January 2022 before Rhodes' defense asked for a competency evaluation.

Because of a statewide backlog, it took KCPC more than a year to evaluate Rhodes on whether he is competent to stand trial or should be eligible for the death penalty.

Kaelin ruled in April that Rhodes is competent to stand trial. Then, in October, Kaelin ruled that Rhodes is ineligible for the death penalty, saying he has a documented history of serious mental illness or intellectual disability and "this is not a close case" as to whether he is eligible for the death penalty.

Opening statements are expected to begin Tuesday or Wednesday with the trial not expected to wrap up until January.

Rhodes is being held on a $1 million full cash bond.

Related Stories: