Clay County Native's Girlfriend Sentenced to Life in Prison for Role in Child's Death

CORBIN, Ky. — A Corbin woman has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for her role in the death of a three-year-old girl, a case that drew widespread attention and heartbreak across the region.

Alexandra Ward was sentenced this week after being convicted on charges of complicity to murder and first-degree complicity to strangulation. In addition to the life sentence for complicity to murder, she received a concurrent five-year sentence for the strangulation charge.

Ward was arrested by Kentucky State Police in April 2023, following an investigation into the death of young Amoura Smallwood. The fatal incident occurred in February 2023 at a home on Eatontown School Road in Corbin.

Ward’s boyfriend, Jordan Taylor—a Clay County native—previously pleaded guilty in October 2024 to the murder of the child. He was sentenced shortly after entering the plea. Prosecutors said Taylor was directly responsible for beating the toddler to death, while Ward was complicit in both the murder and the prior acts of abuse.

According to court records and previous testimony, Ward failed to intervene or seek help during the repeated abuse of the child, which ultimately led to Amoura’s death.

The case led to multiple indictments and has remained in the public eye due to the tragic nature of the crime and the young age of the victim.

Ward’s conviction and sentencing bring some measure of closure to the case, which authorities and child advocates have described as one of the most disturbing in recent memory.

Both Taylor and Ward remain incarcerated in state correctional facilities.