Attorney Dennis Elisco told WPXIthat he believes the supreme court made the right call in exonerating Brown, whose record he believes will eventually be expunged. And I was in there. But now Im kind of, like, I go back and forth sometimes, I think, he said. Jordan's mother, Mildred Krause, was just four months pregnant with him when she first entered a courtroom to battle his father, Christopher Brown. I didnt care. [I'm] happy that this part of it is over with Jordan, you know, being wrongfully accused. This was their first child together a baby boy they had already named Christopher. Our website services, content and products are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Where are phys reports showing this childs jealousy and hatred for his step mom. 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. "The conflict caused police to reinterview Jenessa, who told police that Jordan Brown had a shotgun covered in a blanket Friday morning and she heard a big boom prior to the pair leaving for school. In her first interview, the girl said she did not hear or see anything unusual, according to the lawsuit. They never said he wasnt guilty. After researching the case more, in particular the testimony of the 7 year old Jenessa. Judge Hodge issued a juvenile court opinion on April 19, 2015, again finding that Jordan was the individual who killed Kenzie Houk and her unborn child on the morning of February 20, 2009. Time flew when you were reading.. And her phone rang.. 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. The day before Emily was murdered James (age 16 at the time) came to visit her. Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Jeffrey Martin, now retired, says he was one of the first responders on the scene. 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. "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. Despite this, prosecutors excluded the ex-boyfriend as a suspect during their initial investigation. When Jenessa was re-interviewed, police said she had a startling recollection. He spent over three years in a juvenile facility in Pennsylvania. Around 8:15 a.m., Jordan said he and Jenessa left the house to catch the school bus. I think has just ruined us [from] ever having closure and the person who did this, and for the person who actually did this to pay for it.". He kept shifting and obviously upset. Police also confirmed he had been at work during the shooting, so they quickly eliminated him as a suspect. Another issue Jordans attorneys raised was that there was no blood or tissue found on the gun or Jordan Browns clothing that day. Its difficult to charge an 11-year-old with homicide. He had 120 seconds to kill her and clean up. The search for her killer ended with the most surprising murder suspect residents of Wampum, Pennsylvania, had ever seen: 11-year-old Jordan Brown, the son of the victim's fianc. Police say 23-year-old Jordan Brown was witnessed firing a handgun from inside a vehicle. On May 8, 2013, the Superior Court vacated the finding of delinquency, citing "palpable abuse of discretion" and sent the case back to juvenile court. 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. It cost me my job, and what money that I had coming in went into the gas tank and went into things that he needed, Chris Brown said. Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. 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That's where the case took us. By then, Bongivengo had been replaced by a different prosecutor. 5 Theories Explain HowCayleeAnthony Really Died, pointed out the lack of an eyewitness or credible forensic evidence, Who Is Carolyn Bryant Donham? RELATED:If Casey Anthony Didn't Kill Her Daughter, Who Did? Police say Brown walked into his father's bedroom, shot his future stepmom with a hunting rifle and then boarded a bus for elementary school. When asked what message he had for the police troopers who'd arrested his son, Chris Brown said, Shame on you, is probably the most polite way to put it.. His lawyers continued to file appeals in order to have his juvenile conviction (adjudication) overturned. The mother of Kenzie Houk, who was 26 when she was murdered in 2009, and other relatives confirmed Monday's decision by a Lawrence County judge to release Jordan Brown following a juvenile. He was almost 21 when Pennsylvania's highest court said prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to support a conviction. The blended family seemed to be bonding. [Then] she told me that when she was waiting downstairs for Jordan to come downstairs and go get the school bus like they normally do, she heard a big boom and she identified it as the sound of a gun, added retired Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Bobby McGraw. Houk,. A man has been jailed for 21 years and his partner for a minimum of 29 years over the torture and killing of his six-year-old son, Arthur Labinjo-Hughes. It's almost inconceivable that you could suggest that a shotgun was fired at close range wouldn't deposit any tissue, any blood on the barrel of the gun or on his clothing, which he wore to school, Elisco said. [I'd say,] Jordan, listen, if something happens. The next day, state police arrested Brown, who was a fifth-grader at the time. Kids can be evil. 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. It used to bother me all the time. "Sure enough, his dad was the first person to reach out to me . Trooper McGraw believed Jordan threw the shell to the ground as he was walking to the bus the morning of the murders. So that's what I was going to get.. Season Two 21st June 2004, Jim Donnelly goes to work as usual at the Glenbrook Steel Mill, places his lunch on the bench, gets changed into his work clothes - and is never seen again. This is precisely what would have had to have happened, Colafella added. She told WKBN that Brown has maintained his innocence from the beginning and expressed hopes for his future. 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. Not long after 11:00 A.M. Lizzie found her father's body and called Bridget for help. Now, he was losing his son. Brown could be held in a juvenile rehabilitative treatment facility only until he turned 21 in August 2018. As for whether or not an 11 year old could commit this crime, I absolutely believe it is more than possible. 2023 Cox Media Group. I was hard pressed to believe it back then & now Im even more convinced they had tunnel vision. They had a warrant for Jordan's arrest. Jordan freely admitted he knew how to handle a gun, and the gun powder was only found on his sweatshirt, which hed worn on a duck hunt just a couple days before. I dont believe there was gun residue on his hands. Police said she told them she saw Jordan moving his guns that morning. After his February 21, 2009 arrest, Jordan was placed in the Lawrence County Jail, a facility for adults. 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. He shot his father's fiancee in the back of her head, killing her and her unborn child. What happened to me is so horrible, even though when I was young I would say I didnt understand what was happening I look back and see all the blatant injustices, and that angers me, he said. Were going through hell. Shes bawling and crying, Mr. Houk said. Jordan said he and Houk had a strong relationship, and he even called her Mom., She was really nice. [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. In July 2018, the court sided with Jordan Brown, writing that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had failed to prove Jordan Brown guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But when police pulled him over in that truck the day of the murders, they determined that he could not have made the almost 24-mile drive over to Houks house and back to his neighborhood because snow left on the hood was still intact. Jordan was interviewed by Pennsylvania State Police twice that day and arrested before sunrise the next morning. You know, it's just a truck, he told "20/20." 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. And with the focus on his sons legal plight, Chris Brown said his grief for the loss of his fiance and their unborn baby had to take a backseat. Police determined that Houk had been shot in the back of the head. Pennsylvania State Police found a spent shotgun shell near the path Brown walked with Houk's older daughter to get to their school bus. That seems highly unlikely, added Bongivengo. I just did & dont understand the grounds they dismissed her ex as innocent. Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, was murdered at her Los Angeles home on June 12, 1994, along with friend Ronald Goldman. She feared him, Chris Brown said. Meika's father, Spencer Jordan, and stepmother, Marie Magoon, were initially convicted in June of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years.. He was almost 21 when Pennsylvanias highest court said prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to support a conviction. - The mother of 16-year-old George Almaraz Jr., who was killed, allegedly after suffering abuse from his stepmother, spoke about her son's brutal death. Brown said this week from his western Pennsylvania home that he is studying computer science at a college in Ohio, but taking criminal justice classes with the idea that he might go to law school and pursue a career as a civil rights attorney. 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. -, Press J to jump to the feed. Police also said they found a 20-gauge shotgun shell casing in pristine condition next to the familys driveway the next day. He has someone that says that he's at home and from the trooper that interviewed him, who said the truck didn't look like it had been driven and we took photos of the truck, Martin said. I just want to graduate college, you know, get a job in my major and, I dont know, just be successful, Jordan Brown said. But then I got to the point where it didnt bother me at all. [5], Jordan Brown was initially charged as an adult. 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. No question.. Eleven year-old shot and killed his father's pregnant fiancee, setting off a debate about trying him as an adult or a juvenile. 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. 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? The ruling in particular objected to the assumption, made by the juvenile court, that no one else but Jordan could have shot Houk. 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. Jordan Brown, now 14, was found delinquent by Lawrence County Judge John Hodge - the juvenile court equivalent of a guilty verdict. The police didn't collect all of the potential evidence and didn't so enough investigating into other suspects. Only family members were allowed to attend the trial due to. Kenzie Houks family is speaking out against the decision. In fact, the prosecutions forensics expert had testified that these particles can be transferred. Youve, you know, ruined his name in essence. [He] never changed his story. Just a fifth grader at the time, he said he didnt understand of what he was being accused. His disposition order was dated May 18, 2012. Jenessa statements to police were never presented at trial, nor did she testify. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Thanks! Where is any evidence showing abuses by the son towards his stepmom. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. Houk, who was eight months pregnant at the time of her death, was found dead by her four-year-old daughter in the familys farmhouse in Pennsylvania. 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 rounds struck a victim's vehicle and an unoccupied apartment building. She was interviewed four times in 14 hours after her mothers death, according to the lawsuit. They routinely shot on that property. It was just a bunch of strangers dragging me around.. Chris Brown said he drove every day, 230 miles round trip, to see his son in detention. 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. And I had no idea where we were going. As the conversation petered out, she hugged mea stronger one than usual. It wasnt until the coroner arrived and started taking photos, Martin said, that they realized this was something else. Especially grief-sticken was the younger . This is my first comment on Reddit. Police said what really turned the case for them were additional interviews they conducted with Jenessa and Jordan the night of the murders. Its my belief, especially after watching 20/20 that the police had tunnel vision. 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 . 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. 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. There was a small amount of gun residue on Jordan's jacket, explained by his lawyers as being from a hunt the boy had been on a few days prior. 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. Interviewing those involved, with the goal of finding out who killed Jordan and why? I don't think the kid did it and I honestly do think the cops jumped on him and didn't do their homework. I believe, I always have, that the attorney generals office and state police rushed to judgment, said Elisco. As an investigator, you have to look at everything.. And I'll say it. If I would read something and come across a word I didnt know, [I would] look it up. The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office then took over prosecution of the case. You know, [he] maintained his innocence throughout from day one, he added. 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. Arrested when he was just 11 and charged with killing Kenzie Houk, the pregnant fiance of his father . The two of them, plus Browns then-11-year-old son Jordan and Houks two daughters, then-7-year-old daughter Jenessa and then-4-year-old daughter Adalynn, all from their previous relationships, had recently all moved in together in a farmhouse. School bus told `` 20/20. happened, Colafella added point where it didnt bother me all... Throughout from day one, he told `` 20/20. know, [ he ] maintained his innocence from beginning... 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