". It's kind of a bittersweet feeling, you know. Jordan Brown, now 17, insists he is innocent despite being convicted of killing his father's pregnant fiancee in 2009. . [I] havent had a chance to grieve properly, Chris Brown said. He knew the doors were unlocked. 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. But Houks family remains convinced that Jordan is guilty, and that he should receive the maximum punishment and be tried as an adult. Police say 23-year-old Jordan Brown was witnessed firing a handgun from inside a vehicle. Jordan Brown's age is 25. 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. I was hard pressed to believe it back then & now Im even more convinced they had tunnel vision. This was way beyond shoddy police work! 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. 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.". Brown, now nearly 23, said this week he hopes the lawsuit will be the definitive finding of his innocence as well as providing some compensation for his father, Chris Brown, who paid child support, taxes, lawyers fees and expenses to travel more than 100 miles every day to see him while he was incarcerated. In response, he allegedly confronted Houks parents in a nightclub the night before Houk'sdeath. At that point, we assumed that somehow she had hemorrhaged, Martin told 20/20. We didn't touch her, we didn't move her. Two of the statements did not show that Brown was guilty, and the others were built on lies that were fed to her by the investigators. She never testified under oath. On the morning of Feb. 20, 2009, Chris Brown was running a little late for work. 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.. Emily's Death: Died September 18, 1979. The father (or maybe his lawyer or someone) said theres a murderer walking among us who has been overlooked .any ideas? They couldn't prove that the shotgun found in the house was the one used in the murder, other than a sniff-test (smelling of the gun barrel). 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. Houk had a restraining order against Harvey because Houk had claimed Harvey threatened to kill her and her family. They literally said because he cried in the interview he was still in love with her & because the car had snow on it? I think I have a good idea of the capacity's of each given their age range. I mean, you Google Jordan Brown and you get that mug shot picture that pops up, he said. It's three feet long., Inside the Browns' farmhouse, police found a collection of handguns, rifles and several rounds of ammunition. Judge Hodge put Brown on probation in the custody of an uncle who lived in Ohio, just across the border from Lawrence County. The farmhouse in Wampum, Pa. where Kenzie Houk was killed. That decision, he told 20/20, is something that's haunted me.. By then, Bongivengo had been replaced by a different prosecutor. Arrested when he was just 11 and charged with killing Kenzie Houk, the pregnant fiance of his father . Retired Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Bobby McGraw said he is still confident that Jordan Brown committed the murders. I didn't know where I was at, what was going on or anything, he said. The 4 year old who is speaking now; she sure does remember some details from a tragic event. Jordan is the prime suspect in the 2009 murder of his father's 26 year-old fianc, Kenzie Houk, who was also 8 months pregnant at the time of her death. 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. 5 Theories Explain HowCayleeAnthony Really Died, pointed out the lack of an eyewitness or credible forensic evidence, Who Is Carolyn Bryant Donham? Have you been living under a rock? The Jordan Brown case involves Jordan Brown (born August 12, 1997), who was initially charged at 11 as an adult in the fatal shooting of his father's fiance, Kenzie Marie Houk, 26, in New Beaver, Pennsylvania, which occurred on the morning of February 20, 2009.Jordan was interviewed by Pennsylvania State Police twice that day and arrested before sunrise the next morning. The discovery of that shell was not significant.. I believe, I always have, that the attorney generals office and state police rushed to judgment, said Elisco. The state Attorney General prosecutor asserted that Houk was killed by a youth-model Harrington & Richardson 20-gauge shotgun, a Christmas gift to Jordan from his father. This case was investigated by some of the finest police officers in this country, plain and simple. It also mentions that he had a significant motive. They also pointed out the lack of an eyewitness or credible forensic evidence as reasons for the decision. The boy, who was initially charged as an adult, spent . That morning of Feb. 20, 2009, Jordan Brown said, was just a normal morning as he was getting ready for school. Cinnamon Brown, who at age 14 carried out her father's command to kill her stepmother, was denied early release Tuesday by the state youth parole board despite her cooperation with authorities in . Finally, the truth finally got out, Jordan Brown said. But now Im kind of, like, I go back and forth sometimes, I think, he said. 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. The investigators were excited to have a sensational murder case, and once their minds were made up they did not collect additional physical evidence because they were sure they had their killer. I just did & dont understand the grounds they dismissed her ex as innocent. Not long after 11:00 A.M. Lizzie found her father's body and called Bridget for help. [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. And just feeling so sorry for him at that moment, Colafella said. You know, [he] maintained his innocence throughout from day one, he added. On weekends Jordan hunted alongside his father, Chris Brown, who purchased the youth-sized 20-gauge shotgun that state police believed was the murder weapon. Naturally, I hugged her . The tree trimmers saw Adalynn sometime after 9 a.m. that morning. Sometime shortly after, one of the tree trimmers spotted little Adalynn in the doorway, sobbing and saying her mother was dead. They played a big [role] in, like, keeping my head straight, he said. The rounds struck a victim's vehicle and an unoccupied apartment building. 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. Houk, who was eight months pregnant at the time. Now, he was losing his son. Browns hands were swabbed for gunpowder residue and came back clean. He kept talking about a piece of fuzz, and I got it out of my pocket and I threw it. In my opinion, he was focused on the shotgun shell casing that he threw after he left the residence, McGraw said. 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. 2023byTango Publishing Corporation All Rights Reserved. I also signed up to comment. I would not bet that she can recall time and detail to provide evidence for the case. 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. 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. Finally, it felt like a big weight had been lifted off of me. And I'll say it. 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. Kenzie Houk is seen here with one of her daughters in this undated family photo. Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, was murdered at her Los Angeles home on June 12, 1994, along with friend Ronald Goldman. Both lawyers also discussed key details about Browns whereabouts. As an investigator, you have to look at everything.. People will believe what they want to believe, but Jordan was innocent. On July 18, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction in a 50 decision. No question.. [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. And he told me everything was going to be all right, and I just sat there and cried.. Harvey told police he didnt harm Houk, telling them he was sleeping at home when she was killed. 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. Interviewing those involved, with the goal of finding out who killed Jordan and why? Under Pennsylvania Law, those who are under 15 and being tried as an adult are sentenced to life with parole after 25 years. In 1985, David Arnold Brown masterminded a twisted plot to have his 14-year-old daughter, Cinnamon, kill his wife, Linda, to collect almost a million dollars in life insurance. 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. They are also not smart enough to leave no traces. They routinely shot on that property. But the prosecutions expert witness said that the angle in which the gun was shot could have minimized whats referred to as blowback. Its my belief, especially after watching 20/20 that the police had tunnel vision. Evidence Popularised By A New Documentary And TikTok Theory Suggests An O.J. So that's what I was going to get.. Just a fifth grader at the time, he said he didnt understand of what he was being accused. Police found several rounds of ammunition inside the family's farmhouse. I guess the big question is whether the residue on the child speaks to being in the room, or if it speaks to pulling the trigger. 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