Throughout the initial hearings, Keith insisted that all three defendants be kept away from each other, and Judge Oliphant agreed. Indeed, it seemed as though His Honor would agree to almost anything the State requested, and Joshua Burch was keeping notes. Privately, he had been complaining for years that Oliphant was too close to Jesse. Now that his favorite lawyer had been murdered, he seemed determined to help the State put away the killers. Burch planned to do what everyone expected—file a motion asking the judge to recuse himself.
It never happened. In early May, Judge Oliphant was rushed to the hospital after falling in his office. His blood pressure was off the charts. Scans revealed a series of mini-strokes, none of which would be fatal but the damage was done. After three weeks in the hospital, he was released for home rest and returned to a mountain of paperwork. Per doctors’ orders, he would not preside over jury trials in the foreseeable future, if ever. He was urged by his wife to retire because he was, after all, pushing eighty, and he promised to consider it.
In late July, he notified Keith and the defense lawyers that he was voluntarily recusing himself from the three cases. He would ask the state supreme court to appoint a special judge to handle them. The Court agreed to do so but months would pass before a new judge arrived.
Keith was not pushing for a speedy trial. Henry Taylor was in solitary confinement in the Hancock County jail and not doing well. The longer he was confined to a cramped, humid, windowless cell with no air-conditioning, the more he might realize that Parchman would only be worse.
Judge or no judge, Joshua Burch continued piling on the paperwork with a dizzying assortment of motions. He finally asked the court to recuse the district attorney, for obvious conflict of interest. Keith responded quickly and opposed the motion.
For a few wonderful days in early August, he managed to forget about prosecuting criminals. Ainsley gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Eliza, and the Rudy clan gathered at home to welcome the child. Keith was delighted to have a daughter. A son would have complicated matters because of the pressure to name him Jesse.
* * *
In August, almost one year after the murder, Sgt. Eddie Morton was court-martialed and sentenced to fifteen years in prison for selling explosives from the munitions facility at Keesler. Part of his plea deal required him to cooperate with the DA in Biloxi.
In their first meeting, inside Keesler, and with the FBI and state police present and recording, Morton revealed that on August 3, 1976, he gave five pounds of the plastic explosive Semtex to Nevin Noll, a man he had known for a couple years. Morton admitted to a gambling problem and also a fondness for the nightlife over on the Strip. In exchange for the explosives, Mr. Malco promised to forgive his gambling debts.
Five months later, Noll called again and was fishing around for some more explosives.
Morton admitted to selling smaller quantities of Semtex, Harrisite, C4, HMX, PETN, and other military explosives, over the past five years. All in, his little black-market business had netted him about $100,000. Now he was ruined, divorced, disgraced, and headed to prison.
Keith and the investigators were impressed with Morton and thought he would make an excellent witness. The one they wanted, though, was Henry Taylor.
* * *
In September, and while still waiting for a judge, Keith decided to finally approach Sam Grinder with a deal. In Keith’s office, he presented the State’s case against Henry Taylor. The fingerprint trail alone was enough to overwhelm any jury. The State could easily put Taylor in the courthouse at the time of the blast. And why else would he, a noted bomb-maker, be in Biloxi?
On the one hand, Keith was sickened by the idea of cutting a deal with the man who had actually killed his father. But, on the other hand, his target was Hugh Malco, and to get him he had to build a case.
As always, the plea deal was fraught with uncertainty and suspicion. In return for cooperation, the State would not promise leniency. However, leniency was on the table. First, the indictment in Tennessee would be quashed and forgotten. Taylor would testify against Nevin Noll, the only contact he had dealt with, tell all, then plead guilty and get himself sentenced. The State would recommend a ten-year prison term. The state police would find a soft spot for him in a county jail far away from Biloxi, and Taylor would avoid Parchman. If he behaved himself he would be eligible for early parole and able to find a permanent hiding place.