I believe, I always have, that the attorney generals office and state police rushed to judgment, said Elisco. Jordan Brown, now 17, insists he is innocent despite being convicted of killing his father's pregnant fiancee in 2009. . As for Chris, he still mourns the loss of Houk and their unborn son. Both lawyers also discussed key details about Browns whereabouts. He also claimed he didnt know where Houk lived. Judge Hodge ruled that Jordan would not be released pending that hearing. Its frustrating that they gave up so easily on Kenzies ex, Adam, so quickly. He kept shifting and obviously upset. Houk,. Both children were interviewed and, according to police, neither said anything out of the ordinary had happened that morning. 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 dad's pregnant fiance, Kenzie Houk. Read that Supreme Court order and realize that this kid was done wrong., 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Houk was found lying in bed in a pool of blood with a shotgun blast to the back of her head, according to court papers. Her unborn son died as well. The next day, state police arrested Brown, who was a fifth-grader at the time. Police found several rounds of ammunition inside the family's farmhouse. Kids that age dont just up a kill without there having shown resentment and previous hostility toward their victims. Houk, a hairstylist and a stay-at-home mom, was sleeping in a bedroom downstairs at the time, which was to become Jordans room after the baby was born. Now 21, Brown, who spent more than seven . Trooper McGraw believed Jordan threw the shell to the ground as he was walking to the bus the morning of the murders. That's where the case took us. She was interviewed four times in 14 hours after her mothers death, according to the lawsuit. I didnt care. But he added that Jordan's hands were never checked for gunpowder residue. It was a whole different world. But because few people seem to agree with him, he said, Krause decided to speak out Wednesday on behalf of Jordan Anthony Brown, 11, who is charged with two counts of murder in the shooting death of his father's pregnant fiancee last week in New Galilee. I was standing right at the edge of the doorway, and I remember the coroner saying, as he started to touch the body, We have a problem, Martin said. I'm your dad. TACOMA, Wash. - A memorial stands outside the doors of World of Weed in Tacoma honoring the life of an employee killed during an armed robbery that happened this past weekend. Boy who killed dad's pregnant fiancee to get juvenile review. Why would the police ignore it? In a 5-0 ruling, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Jordan Brown, who was 11-years-old when he was arrested, booked into an adult jail and initially charged as an adult for the 2009 murder of his father's pregnant fiance. Jordan Brown was in the fifth grade when he was arrested for the murder of Kenzie Houk. 2023byTango Publishing Corporation All Rights Reserved. The tree trimmers saw Adalynn sometime after 9 a.m. that morning. But as far as his guiltiness, I know he is. In response, he allegedly confronted Houks parents in a nightclub the night before Houk'sdeath. 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. 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. He was almost 21 when Pennsylvanias highest court said prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to support a conviction. All I remember was they came and got me at 3:00 in the morning, Jordan Brown said. Brown, who has lived with his uncle since being put on probation in 2016, was not in police custody and had met all of his treatment goals, Burdick told The Associated Press. The farmhouse in Wampum, Pa. where Kenzie Houk was killed. Brown was 11 years old when prosecutors said he shot 26-year-old Kenzie Houk, who was eight months pregnant, in the head and then went to school. The lawsuit also alleges that troopers failed to completely and properly investigate Houks ex-boyfriend who had threatened her and her family previously, had recently moved to the same area as her and had found out he was not the father of her youngest daughter. Within a day, Harvey was cleared as a suspect. [7][8][9][10] Judge Hodge held that Brown's juvenile hearing would not be open to the public or to the news media. She was thrilled, thats what she wanted, Houks mother Debbie Houk told 20/20. The clothing was washed. We did not get this wrong, McGraw told 20/20. There is not a trooper on scene that day that has lost one second of sleep over this case.. Were going through hell. 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. At that point, we're trying to maintain the integrity of the scene.. I think I have a good idea of the capacity's of each given their age range. Jordan Brown (right), seen here with his father Chris Brown (left), was released when he turned 18 in 2015. Went to school.. I dont believe there was gun residue on his hands. In an interview with New Castle News, Elisco addressed potential problems with how the case was investigated. CLICK HERE to find out how. Brown could be held in a juvenile rehabilitative treatment facility only until he turned 21 in August 2018. Finally, it felt like a big weight had been lifted off of me. I just want to be successful. 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? Elisco said that moniker fueled the media frenzy and the presumption of guilt that stayed with the case throughout.". A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. Now 21, Brown, who spent more than. Wright says in the lawsuit that state police investigators failed to include any exculpatory evidence that indicated someone else could have committed the murders in their affidavit to charge Brown although he said plenty existed. Cinnamon Brown, whose sensational 1985 murder of her stepmother at her father's urging was the subject of two books and a television miniseries, is free after serving seven years in a California . And I had no idea where we were going. Double jeopardy has attached under the Fifth Amendment, and Brown, now 21, cannot be retried. It just seems like at some point during the investigation he would've broken if he'd been guilty. The justices attacked the evidence as insufficient and said that the juvenile trial evidence pointing to a shotgun in Brown's bedroom as the murder weapon supported an equally-reasonable conclusion that it was not the murder weapon.[1]. You have to be sure enough to charge him, Bongivengo told 20/20., At a time when headlines called Jordan America's littlest monster, he was at an age where he still believed in Santa Claus. CINCINNATI (FOX19) - A 28-year-old man was gunned down in Avondale late Wednesday, Cincinnati police said. Marie Magoon, Spencer Jordan tortured 6-year-old Meika Jordan before death, alleges Crown Spencer Jordan, Meika's father, and Marie Magoon, her stepmother, were originally charged with. PROVO A Provo man who police say "groomed" a 13-year-old girl for sex has been charged with multiple counts of rape. Christopher Brown and his once-partner, Mildred Krause, gladly welcomed Jordan Brown into their lives on August 12, 1997. ", " The girl also told investigators that she saw Jordan Brown toss something on the snow next to their driveway. The coroner determined Lily had died at least two hours before her stepmother . That decision, he told 20/20, is something that's haunted me.. Under Pennsylvania law, an adjudicated juvenile offender cannot be held in custody past his 21st birthday. Unfortunately, we cant give him back the years that were lost, but were glad that the courts ruling today will mean that further barriers to his moving forward with a successful life will be broken down.". She wanted financial support payments for Adalynn but he had refused, saying he first wanted proof that the child was his. Despite this, prosecutors excluded the ex-boyfriend as a suspect during their initial investigation. And I went outside, and I had asked the tree men that were cutting down trees, Do you guys know my grandmas number? And they were like, No. she said. He needed to drive four hours every day, he said, to visit Jordan because hes my son., Jordan Brown said those visits were a lifeline: I dont know what I wouldve done without them.". Jordan Brown said he has "mixed feelings" about what happened to him. The rest of their story: https://people.com/crime/jordan-brown-case-murder-kenzie-houk-interview-after-prison/. It's the totality of the circumstances. As time went on they completely abandoned that statement, which would have been the strongest evidence in the case, and rather tried to pursue a prosecution based upon this forensic evidence.. You took an 11-year-olds childhood away from him. Ill be honest with you, I suffer from PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] over this, Chris Brown continued. As an investigator, you have to look at everything.. The shooting happened at their home in Wampum, Lawrence County. Jordan Brown was just 11 years old when he was taken into custody in 2009 by Pennsylvania police for allegedly fatally shooting 26-year-old Kenzie Houk, who was expecting Jordan's younger. The youth's father did not publicly discuss the case, until after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court exonerated his son nine years later in July 2018. The Lawrence County District Attorney's Office initially filed the charges in adult court because that is required in Pennsylvania homicide cases, regardless of a defendant's age. 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. 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. The father-son duo was as close as possible and often spent their weekends hunting in the nearby woods. I didn't understand what was happening. Two years ago, Howard County State's Attorney Rich Gibson decided not to charge a Woodbine homeowner who shot and killed a drunken man at his door.The stranger had come to the wrong house . Alan's death devastated his family. 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. However, Jordan said he remembered seeing a black truck near the garage. They found Houk in the bedroom, he said, and thought at first that shed had a medical emergency. I guess you could speculate that. I didn't know where I was at, what was going on or anything, he said. Kenzie Houk, seen here in this undated family photo, and Chris Brown were engaged when she was killed. 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. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Not only did the individual defendants in this case fail all of us, the institution of policing failed us as well, Alec Wright, an attorney with the OBrien Law firm in Pittsburgh who represents Brown, wrote in an emailed statement. And again a third appeal was taken to the Pennsylvania Superior Court. Houks father, Jack Houk, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he and his wife Debbie, who have raised Houks two daughters since her death, are distraught. Police had tried to speak with Adalynn when they arrived at the house, but reported that she was in a state of shock, and could not provide coherent answers. A former Lawrence County man is suing a handful of retired state police investigators and officials alleging malicious prosecution after he spent most of his childhood in prison for the shotgun killing of his fathers pregnant fiance before the state Supreme Court overturned his conviction. 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. And then they took me straight to the county jail. Alan's stepmother, Rosalind L. Brown, and her brother, Montel Pettiford, were eventually convicted of his murder. [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. 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