Jordan Brown was 11 years old when he was arrested in the 2009 killing of 26-year-old Kenzie Houk and her unborn child in New Beaver. [They] put me in the back of the car and they took me to the police barracks. [11] After those newspapers decided not to pursue their appeal further, Judge Hodge was directed by another panel of the Superior Court to move swiftly to hold an adjudication hearing. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://people.com/crime/jordan-brown-case-murder-kenzie-houk-interview-after-prison/. Houk, 26 and about eight months pregnant with Jordan's little brother, was found dead in her bed by her 4-year-old daughter on Feb. 20, 2009. They attempted CPR, but it was too late. All I remember was they came and got me at 3:00 in the morning, Jordan Brown said. Elisco disclosed to WPXI that Brown is attending college at an undisclosed location under another name. Later that night, as Chris and Jordan Brown were finally starting to nod off around 3:30 a.m., they were startled by a pounding on the door. Im from the nearby area also. On May 1, 2011, hours after a meeting of the neo-Nazi group at Hall's house in Southern California, the boy took his father's revolver from the upstairs bedroom where his stepmother was sleeping. The coroner determined Lily had died at least two hours before her stepmother . Speakman said Brown's family lives out of state, so when he heard Jordan was murdered, he reached out to the family on Facebook. I liked her a lot, Jordan Brown told 20/20. I was happy [about the baby] I always wanted a little brother. 2016) (In re J.B. III), the Superior Court affirmed the juvenile court, and rejected claims that the juvenile court had improperly reassessed the evidence and made new credibility determinations in ruling on Brown's post-dispositional motions. In a later interview, after investigators told her grandparents they believed Brown killed Houk, the girl said she saw him with guns that morning and heard a bang. And none of us wanted to put handcuffs on an 11-year-old. The 5-0 supreme court ruling exonerated Brown of all charges, overturning earlier findings by a Lawrence County Juvenile Court Judge that were upheld by the states appellate court. 2023byTango Publishing Corporation All Rights Reserved. It's saying that I have a charge in front of me in juvenile court, and I am finding that you are responsible for that crime, ABC News Chief Legal Analyst Dan Abrams said. WAMPUM, Pa. A lawsuit has been filed against four former troopers and a former Pennsylvania State Police commissioner for wrongfully convicting Jordan Brown, who was exonerated in the 2009. The Mesquite High School student had just left a party . This is precisely what would have had to have happened, Colafella added. Its been a nightmare for nine-and-a-half years, Chris Brown said. And I just remember looking at him thinking, How can this kid have any more hope?. Then the issue became whether Brown's eventual adjudication hearing (juvenile court trial) should be opened to the public, and whether he should provisionally be released while a decision in that matter was pending. And again a third appeal was taken to the Pennsylvania Superior Court. In her first interview, the girl said she did not hear or see anything unusual, according to the lawsuit. I mean, Mary Bell was only 11 when she killed two young kids. It was a frigid day in Wampum, a small town in Western Pennsylvania. They argue that the particle of gunpowder residue on his shirt and pants could have come from the jacket he had worn to a recent turkey shoot. WAMPUM, Pa. -- Jordan Brown was 11 years old when he was arrested and initially charged as an adult for the murder of his pregnant, soon-to-be stepmother. After some research I do believe he killed her. They investigated for eight hours then charged an 11-year-old as an adult. After his February 21, 2009 arrest, Jordan was placed in the Lawrence County Jail, a facility for adults. Time flew when you were reading.. Police called Chris Brown at his job in the shipping department at a local tableware company and asked him to come home immediately. Jordan Brown was 11 years old when he was arrested in the 2009 New Beaver, Pennsylvania, killing of 26-year-old Kenzie Houk and her unborn child. Martin said the autopsy report determined that Houk had been killed with a shotgun and she had a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. He knew there was a 20 gauge shotgun that they have in the house and gets there after everybody leaves, before it snows with no tracks, and gets by the tree cutting guys. NEW CASTLE - Jordan Brown, charged at age 11 with killing his father's pregnant fiancee, is now fighting back against the legal system that jailed him. Seriously the alibi for the ex boyfriend that threatened to kill her was he had some snow on his truck still..give me a break. TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox. I would also like to hear more about the alternate suspect the lawyer speaks of. And I don't know if that happened in this case, Martin said. At 9 a.m., tree trimming workers arrived to work around the house. Officers responded to a report of a person shot in the 3600 block of Vine Street at 9:16. Two years later that resulted in the July 18, 2018 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling. Medical examiners determined early that both people probably had been killed with an ax or a hatchet. At that point, we're trying to maintain the integrity of the scene.. And he told me everything was going to be all right, and I just sat there and cried.. My biggest hopes for him probably is that he gets a fair shake moving forward, that, you know, people look at this and, for what it is, what it truly is, Chris Brown said. Another issue Jordans attorneys raised was that there was no blood or tissue found on the gun or Jordan Browns clothing that day. Police are still confident Jordan Brown did it.. 11 is pretty young to straight up plan and commit a murder like that, perhaps though some here know of other instances. Jordan Brown, who is attending college and studying computer science, is determined to leave his past behind. 6 New Details About The Woman Who May Have Falsely Accused Emmett Till. I mean, you Google Jordan Brown and you get that mug shot picture that pops up, he said. Owing in part to the discovery of a shotgun in the family home, near Wampum, as well as a shell casing outside and evidence of gunshot residue on his clothes, police zeroed in on 11-year-old Jordan. Jade Townsend The case that took 44 years to be solved: Arlis Perry Fatim Hemraj Parents Make Shocking Discovery After 15-Year-Old Girl Sneaks Out to Meet a Strange Man Lioness Rue What Leads a. On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Jordan Brown, who was convicted of murdering his fathers pregnant fiance in 2009 when he was just 11 years old. It was a whole different world. As for his stepsisters testimony, she was 7, could very well have felt scared they were going to arrest her so she threw Jordan under the bus, not fully understanding what was going on. I remember when this all happened and just read up on everything that has happened since (I had an idea that he was out of prison, but had NO idea that his conviction was overturned based on insufficient evidence). Jordan battled the fear that she would turn out to be like her mother. Davis's death helped inspire the Black Lives Matter Movement and contributed to the national debate Read MoreJordan Russell Davis (1995-2012) Love is the desire to see unneces VOLANT Jonathan Krause insists that his nephew is not a killer. It just seems like at some point during the investigation he would've broken if he'd been guilty. If in fact the blanket was shot through then there would have been fibers in the victims hair or embedded in her skull. A never-ending shadow of shock and grief embarked upon the Brown family in February of 2009, after the lady of the house, Kenzie Marie Houk, was shot dead and their 11-year-old son, Jordan Brown, was held accountable for the murder. Had to bc this case fascinates me and I was looking for a good discussion on here and this is literally the only one I can find. ". According to the 20/20 episode, there was no blood or tissue on the gun, and the police didn't even dust for fingerprints on the door to the house. "Jordan Brown was a fifth-grader in February 2009 when Pennsylvania police arrived to take him away as the sole suspect in the shotgun slaying of his dads pregnant fiance, Kenzie Houk. And his father needs to get in the mirror every morning and look in that mirror and say, I am the father of a murderer.. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 2018 ruled prosecutors did not provide enough evidence to support a conviction and Brown was exonerated at the age of 20. Convictions of first-degree murder against a father and stepmother who killed six-year-old Meika Jordan have been upheld by Canada's top court. Of course a killer is going to say I didnt kill her, and of course a violent man who would kill his pregnant ex would be raised by an equally violent man who would have no problem providing an alibi for his son. Just 18 hours before, Chris Brown had lost his fiance and unborn child. I didn't think anything of it. Ill be honest with you, I suffer from PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] over this, Chris Brown continued. Like he couldnt have parked nearby overnight watching the house then pull up when he went to kill her WITHOUT dusting off his car prior? Only family members were allowed to attend the trial due to. Please consult your doctor before taking any action. But what police did discover during their interview with Harvey was that he had recently discovered 4-year-old Adalynn, who was believed to be his and Houks daughter, was in fact, not his biological child at all. After researching the case more, in particular the testimony of the 7 year old Jenessa. My sister Jenessa woke me up, said Jordan Brown. And her phone rang.. I just did & dont understand the grounds they dismissed her ex as innocent. Jordan Brown was sitting with his stepsister Jenessa in a room adjacent to the room where the victim was sleeping, run upstairs, grab a shotgun, load it with a shotgun shell, walk over to the bed, place that shotgun up against her head, pull that trigger, kill her, somehow manage to wipe whatever-- bodily fluid or blood might have been contained on the end of that gun, take it upstairs, replace it along the wall, remove the shell, run downstairs while her sister presumably was waiting for him in this very small house All without leaving a single clue., All they really arrested him on, largely, was the statement of Jenessa, Elisco said. You can customize your WPXI News App to receive breaking news alerts. The decertification ruling transferred Brown's case from adult court to Lawrence County's family court division regularly presided over by Judge Hodge, who handled the subsequent juvenile adjudication and dispositional hearings. We had a youth model shotgun in the house that had smelled like it recently had been fired, Martin said. However, shortly after his birth, Chris attained full custody as his mother fell seriously ill. Trooper McGraw believed Jordan threw the shell to the ground as he was walking to the bus the morning of the murders. Lawsuit claims evidence fabricated in case of man exonerated in pregnant stepmothers murder Lawsuit claims evidence fabricated in case of man exonerated in pregnant stepmothers murder. The teen was killed on Tuesday around 12:30 . He was almost 21 when Pennsylvania's highest court said. He is one. [1] Justice Debra Todd wrote the Court's opinion and noted, "The Commonwealths evidence was, therefore, insufficient as a matter of law to overcome Appellants presumption of innocence, and the juvenile courts adjudication of his delinquency for these serious crimes must be reversed. And if you go by Adalynns account, this means it all, including the murders, happened long after Jordan and Jenessa had left the house and were on their way to school. Jordan Brown is alleged to have shot 26-year-old Kenzie Marie Houk, who was eight months pregnant, before catching the school bus on Friday morning, according to the Lawrence County district. The shooting happened at their home in Wampum, Lawrence County. And it was a boy. The Jordan Brown case. The state Attorney General said Houk had been killed by a youth-model Harrington & Richardson 20-gauge shotgun that Brown had received as a Christmas gift from his father, with Pennsylvania State Police reporting finding a spent shotgun shell near the path the 11-year-old walked to get to his school bus the morning . (This account of the case is pulled from reports by ABC News, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Post-Gazette and available court documents.). Kenzie Houk and her family had a protective order against Harvey after she claimed he had left messages threatening to kill her and her family. Jordans motive, McGraw believed, was that he was jealous of the new baby. [19], Last edited on 18 February 2023, at 18:45, "Court overturns then-11-year-old boy's conviction in Lawrence County killing", "Judge declares Jordan Brown guilty of murder", "Authorities: Jordan Brown Killed Father's Pregnant Girlfriend; 11-Year-Old Charged As Adult", "13-year-old US boy's murder trial could violate international law", "Boy accused in pregnant woman's death to be tried as a juvenile", "Lawyer Of Boy Accused Of Murder Fights To Have Him Tried In Juvenile System", "Court will hear Jordan Brown arguments at next session", "13-year-old murder suspect faces US court appeal", "Jordan Brown seeks release while awaiting court decision", "Media denied access to boy's juvenile case in '09 killing", "Judge: Pa. boy killed dad's pregnant fiance at 11", "Court rejects Pa. teen's appeal in '09 slaying; suspect now living in Ohio", "Jordan Brown exonerated of all charges in 2009 homicide", "PDF of 47 page decision, provided by WKBN News", "Supreme Court opinion cites insufficient evidence", "What happened after an 11-year-old boy was accused of murdering his pregnant soon-to-be stepmom", "What life is like today for man arrested at age 11 for pregnant future stepmom's death", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jordan_Brown_case&oldid=1140154229, Delinquent of first-degree murder and criminal homicide (acquitted), Held in juvenile rehabilitation until the age of 21, This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 18:45. In 2016, Brown was released from juvenile detention, but he and his defense team continued to argue his innocence. This is final piece of the puzzle really providing him of his true feeling of innocent, closure put this behind me, Wright said. Alan's death devastated his family. [12] Judge Hodge would announce Brown's disposition (the equivalent of a juvenile sentence) at a later date. April 13, 2012. I believe that testimony, further more with: "She told officers she asked Jordan Brown about the source of the sound, but he would not answer. But authorities transferred him to a juvenile center in March 2009 after his attorneys argued that the adult jail with its three cell blocks couldn't accommodate an 11-year-old boy. He was almost 21 when Pennsylvania's highest court said prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to support a conviction. Police also confirmed he had been at work during the shooting, so they quickly eliminated him as a suspect. She feared him, Chris Brown said. Obtained by ABC News Police determined that Houk had been shot in the back of the head. Jordan Brown (right), seen here with his father Chris Brown (left), was released when he turned 18 in 2015. But still, that side of it, that suffering from the loss and not having any answers, knowing he was falsely accused and the route the prosecutor and investigators took on this, the inadequate investigation. I gave him every opportunity. Attorney Katherine Burdick, another member of Browns defense team, discussed her reaction to the decision with local CBS station WKBN. "[15][16] The last words of the opinion then ordered that "Appellant is discharged." Police found several rounds of ammunition inside the family's farmhouse. But it would take another three and a half years before his appeal was heard by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Pay for the crime that you did, Deborah Houk said in a phone interview Wednesday. Jordan Browns father speaks out after sons murder conviction overturned Jordan Browns father speaks out after sons murder conviction overturned. RELATED:Latest Updates And News About The Murder Of1stGrader AprilTinsley And The Man Finally Arrested After 30 Years, The content produced by YourTango is for informational and educational purposes only. [I] havent had a chance to grieve properly, Chris Brown said. Those law enforcement officers who said that they smelled [that the gun] was recently fired, they conceded that they had no expertise or training, said Jordans attorney Dennis Elisco. They were saying there wasnt enough evidence. Paula Scarlett-Brown, the widow of Pilgrim Assemblies International founder Archbishop Roy E. Brown, told the New York Post on Sunday that she and Brown's daughter, Tiwana Brown, had a major fight over the minister's body just hours after his death on June 2. Receive breaking news alerts had a chance to grieve properly, Chris Brown said student! 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