who killed jordan brown's stepmother

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). Thats blood-boiling, seeing-red motive. Under Pennsylvania law, an adjudicated juvenile offender cannot be held in custody past his 21st birthday. They investigated for eight hours then charged an 11-year-old as an adult. As for whether or not an 11 year old could commit this crime, I absolutely believe it is more than possible. Authorities said Harvey cooperated during the investigation and agreed to take a polygraph. Police called Chris Brown at his job in the shipping department at a local tableware company and asked him to come home immediately. Teen gets new hearing in case of woman's killing. 2023 Cox Media Group. Chris Brown said he drove every day, 230 miles roundtrip, to see his son at the center. You dont just win a lawsuit over injustice for no reason.. You know, if something happened, tell me. Until now. Were going through hell. [2][3] He was subsequently arrested. - 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. The blanket being outside Jordans bedroom is not surprising. Attorney Katherine Burdick, another member of Browns defense team, discussed her reaction to the decision with local CBS station WKBN. Were ecstatic, we believe professionally and personally in Jordans innocence, Elisco told the station. Police arrested Jordan Brown based on the information provided by the girl. It's such a small window and such an unlikely set of circumstances that one, he found out where she lived. Browns hands were swabbed for gunpowder residue and came back clean. [He] never changed his story. I liked her a lot, Jordan Brown told 20/20. I was happy [about the baby] I always wanted a little brother. I was happy. Wright described 11-year-old Brown sitting on a bench waiting to be placed in a jail cell with the sleeves and legs of his adult prison jumpsuit rolled up at the ankles and wrists to fit, swinging his feet because they didnt touch the ground. She stood by her confession and . 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. I used to hate it. The blended family seemed to be bonding. Feb. This case was investigated by some of the finest police officers in this country, plain and simple. They never said he wasnt guilty. Houk,. 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. In their decision, justices questioned prosecutors reliance on circumstantial evidence, including a questionable conclusion that a shotgun found in Browns bedroom was the murder weapon. 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. On the morning of Feb. 20, 2009, Chris Brown was running a little late for work. Alan's death devastated his family. Kenzie Houk, seen here in this undated family photo, and Chris Brown were engaged when she was killed. The system is very, very wrong.. -, Press J to jump to the feed. I'm never not going to be here every day, Chris Brown said. Janessa Houk is seen here in this undated family photo. I just watched the 20/20 episode. Jordan was interviewed by Pennsylvania State Police twice that day and arrested before sunrise the next morning. Jordan Brown (Shooting of Kenzie Houk) | Did an 11-Year-Old Commit Murder? 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. But that's why I told them.. 2023byTango Publishing Corporation All Rights Reserved. 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. It's the totality of the circumstances. Houk, 26 and about eight months pregnant with Jordans little brother, was found dead in her bed by her 4-year-old daughter on Feb. 20, 2009. On November 20, 2010, Renee King, 29, of Macomb County, Michigan, called 911 to say her stepdaughter, two-year-old Lily Furneaux, was unconscious. "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. I just did & dont understand the grounds they dismissed her ex as innocent. He knew the doors were unlocked. The 25-year-old criminal was born in Pennsylvania, United States. Enough evidence without a reasonable doubt? They routinely shot on that property. But Houks family remains convinced that Jordan is guilty, and that he should receive the maximum punishment and be tried as an adult. At that point, we're trying to maintain the integrity of the scene.. Last year, Jordan Brown, now 12, was charged with murdering Kenzie Houk, his father's eight-and-a-half month pregnant fiancee while she was asleep. CINCINNATI (FOX19) - A 28-year-old man was gunned down in Avondale late Wednesday, Cincinnati police said. I also thought it was hilarious how uncomfortable the big bald cop in the middle was. It was a whole different world. He lost his entire youth being wrongfully convicted of a crime he didnt commit, Wright said. 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. 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. 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. But omg! 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. All I remember was they came and got me at 3:00 in the morning, Jordan Brown said. 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? 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. Jordans conviction was overturned. Police also said they found a 20-gauge shotgun shell casing in pristine condition next to the familys driveway the next day. Where are phys reports showing this childs jealousy and hatred for his step mom. In fact, the prosecutions forensics expert had testified that these particles can be transferred. And I had no idea where we were going. He was almost 21 when Pennsylvania's highest court said prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to support a conviction. But, with my years of interviewing people-- he was crying for her.. 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. The farmhouse in Wampum where Chris Brown lived with his fiance Kenzie Houk, his son Jordan Brown and her two daughters, Janessa and Adalynn. That seems highly unlikely, added Bongivengo. [18], Brown is currently a college junior studying computer science. On May 8, 2013, Superior Court, in the second appeal that came before it in this case, ruled that "the juvenile court committed a palpable abuse of discretion in rendering a ruling that is plainly contrary to the evidence" and vacated the juvenile court's disposition of delinquency. As the conversation petered out, she hugged mea stronger one than usual. [7][8][9][10] Judge Hodge held that Brown's juvenile hearing would not be open to the public or to the news media. 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. I just read about this and came to this subreddit looking to see if anyone posted anything about it. I just want to be successful. Presiding Judge Dominick Motto of the Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, Common Pleas Court initially denied decertification and transfer to juvenile court because Jordan would not admit his involvement in the crime. He was almost 21 when Pennsylvania's highest. 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. It was just a bunch of strangers dragging me around.. ", https://wandervogeldiary.wordpress.com/tag/jordan-brown-innocent/. After some research I do believe he killed her. 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 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. Now 21, Brown, who spent more than. At 9 a.m., tree trimming workers arrived to work around the house. Naturally, I hugged her . Just 18 hours before, Chris Brown had lost his fiance and unborn child. According to a search warrant filed Friday, police found the gun outside the boys bedroom, along with a blue blanket with a hole the size of a quarter and burn marks. I can remember just looking at Jordan and feeling like we had failed him. At that time, in March 1997, Krause filed a. In statements to the police, Jordan Brown claimed to have seen a black pickup truck parked by his home, resembling the one owned by the ex-boyfriend, on the morning of the murder. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. In fact, police said, in his second interview, Jordan changed his description of the black truck and added that there was a person inside with a hat on, ducking down. ". However, shortly after his birth, Chris attained full custody as his mother fell seriously ill. I saw a gentleman in front of me that was crying, said Martin. 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. It's kind of a bittersweet feeling, you know. He was granted transfer of his case into the juvenile court system. VOLANT Jonathan Krause insists that his nephew is not a killer. Eleven year-old shot and killed his father's pregnant fiancee, setting off a debate about trying him as an adult or a juvenile. So we hurry up and went out the backdoor and ran down the driveway. 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. In April 2017, when Roy Oliver, a 37-year-old white police officer in Balch Springs, a suburb east of Dallas, shot and killed an unarmed 15-year-old black teenager named Jordan Edwards as he. And we just sat on the couch in the living room waiting and then Kenzie told us to go because the bus is coming and we're going to be late. [17], Another possible suspect is Adam Harvey, an ex-boyfriend of Houk. Brown then drove off in a black . This is my first comment on Reddit. Harvey also drove a black truck. [They] put me in the back of the car and they took me to the police barracks. This is a really interesting case. ", I just read about this case on people.com. 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. You took an 11-year-olds childhood away from him. 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. A judge finding a juvenile delinquent is effectively a guilty verdict. Jordan Brown, now 17, insists he is innocent despite being convicted of killing his father's pregnant fiancee in 2009. . Jordan Brown (right), seen here with his father Chris Brown (left), was released when he turned 18 in 2015. 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. 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. As an investigator, you have to look at everything.. This was way beyond shoddy police work! 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. 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. Jordan Dewey Brown, 35, was charged Monday in 4th District Court with four counts of rape of a child, a first-degree felony; two counts of drug possession, a third-degree felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor. I miss her every day, he said. 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. I honestly believed that jordan was guilty/there was enough evidence to prove it and never thought much of it since. He was almost 21 when Pennsylvania's highest court said. 6 New Details About The Woman Who May Have Falsely Accused Emmett Till, discussed her reaction to the decision with local CBS station WKBN, Groom Invites His Nephews To His Wedding But Excludes Brother's Stepdaughter Her Mom Is Debating Whether To Attend, What Jon Hamm Says Changed His Mind About Marriage After Swearing It Off During His 18-Year Relationship With Jennifer Westfeldt, Man Insists Landlords Should Get Tipped By Tenants If They're Going To Tip Baristas, Latest Updates And News About The Murder Of1stGrader AprilTinsley And The Man Finally Arrested After 30 Years. Judge Hodge put Brown on probation in the custody of an uncle who lived in Ohio, just across the border from Lawrence County. Part of me wants to get into a line of work to help kids or just people in general to prevent the injustices before they happen or at least after they happen, trying to correct them., 2023 Trib Total Media | All Rights Reserved, Railroads urged to examine track detectors after Ohio crash, Historically mild February leaves Pittsburgh region with barely a trace of snow, EPA opens office near site of Ohio toxic train derailment, UPMC cites employment costs, pandemic as profits fell in 2022, Gas prices resume fall on worrisome inflation figures, analyst says, Low-calorie sweetener may increase risk of heart attack and stroke, study finds, Vento's Pizza, home of 'Franco's Italian Army,' to close, Heinz offers to buy boat for sailor who survived on ketchup while lost at sea, Pa. Chick-fil-A bans customers under 16 from dining in restaurant without adults, Western Pennsylvania's trusted news source. 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. And that's when we realized that it was a homicide.. [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. He shot his father's fiancee in the back of her head, killing her and her unborn child. Police found several rounds of ammunition inside the family's farmhouse. Dr. Todd Grande 1.26M subscribers Subscribe 394K views 1 year ago This video answers the question: Can I analyze the. I was just going to walk in to wake her [Kenzie Houk] up. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. According to The Associated Press, Kenzie Houks ex-boyfriend had a history of threatening her, and Houk and multiple members of her family had restraining orders against him. Brown could be held in a juvenile rehabilitative treatment facility only until he turned 21 in August 2018. This is precisely what would have had to have happened, Colafella added. Police also confirmed he had been at work during the shooting, so they quickly eliminated him as a suspect. Jenessa statements to police were never presented at trial, nor did she testify. Just 11 years old when he was charged with fatally shooting his pregnant, would-be stepmother, Jordan Brown is finally a free man more than nine years later. Jordan Brown is ruled . 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. And again a third appeal was taken to the Pennsylvania Superior Court. Its my belief, especially after watching 20/20 that the police had tunnel vision. PITTSBURGH (AP) A boy who was 11 when he was accused of killing his father's pregnant fiance and her unborn son was found guilty Friday of their 2009 shotgun slayings. But now Im kind of, like, I go back and forth sometimes, I think, he said. And the first person that comes to mind was Adam Harvey. I can't even imagine all the pain Jordan Brown and his family went through :/. 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.. During his incarceration, Jordan taught himself to play guitar and said he became a pretty good basketball player. She wanted financial support payments for Adalynn but he had refused, saying he first wanted proof that the child was his. The police didn't collect all of the potential evidence and didn't so enough investigating into other suspects. Medical examiners determined early that both people probably had been killed with an ax or a hatchet. Trooper McGraw believed Jordan threw the shell to the ground as he was walking to the bus the morning of the murders. Houk, who was eight months pregnant at the time. I am a step dad to twin 12 year old girls, a 7 year old and a 4 year old for the past 3 years. More than two years after Jordan Brown was charged, a judge ruled that his case would be moved from adult to juvenile court, where instead of facing life in prison he would get out far earlier. As for the shotgun shell casing police found near the driveway, Colafella said, On that property where they lived on a farm, there were shotgun shells all over the place. "Sure enough, his dad was the first person to reach out to me . A 7 year old will remember that. Her mom said she doesnt care what Browns next step is; she believes he killed her daughter. Jordan battled the fear that she would turn out to be like her mother. They were saying there wasnt enough evidence. A week has passed since Roy Oliver, a Balch Springs police officer, shot his rifle through the window of a car and killed 15-year-old Jordan. Even with the relationship they had, Adam was still in love with Kenzie. Jordan, who had a bedroom upstairs, had already moved his clothes into that downstairs bedroom. The 4 year old who is speaking now; she sure does remember some details from a tragic event. They had a warrant for Jordan's arrest. "Homicide, something of this magnitude was very, very uncommon," Martin said. I have never expected to have the murder weapon to be a shotgun, Martin said. Brown was tried as a juvenile after his lawyers fought a judges original decision to try him as an adult. 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 tree trimmer called 911. It was one of a half dozen incorrect characterizations in the summary that were not in the transcript, Wright said.

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