That morning of Feb. 20, 2009, Jordan Brown said, was just a normal morning as he was getting ready for school. 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. And he told me everything was going to be all right, and I just sat there and cried.. As an investigator, you have to look at everything.. On June 13, 2016, more than seven years after his arrest, Jordan Brown was released from juvenile custody, two months before his 19th birthday. But the prosecutions expert witness said that the angle in which the gun was shot could have minimized whats referred to as blowback. ", " The girl also told investigators that she saw Jordan Brown toss something on the snow next to their driveway. Cinnamon confessed to fatally shooting her step-mother and was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison. Pregnant Mother's Murder Leads Police to Arrest Her Step-Son Chris Brown and Kenzie Houk had been friends since they were teenagers. 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. I also signed up to comment. 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. 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. Its not a weapon that someone's going to carry across the field or carry up a driveway. Evidence Popularised By A New Documentary And TikTok Theory Suggests An O.J. Authorities said Harvey cooperated during the investigation and agreed to take a polygraph. Yes kids will add to their story but that is because of their recollection process but adults do too. Channel 11s Amy Marcinkiewicz reached out to Houks family. 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. The farmhouse in Wampum where Chris Brown lived with his fiance Kenzie Houk, his son Jordan Brown and her two daughters, Janessa and Adalynn. The summary of that interview provided by troopers is changed to claim the woman didnt want her interview used against the boy because she was scared of him. Just a fifth grader at the time, he said he didnt understand of what he was being accused. I also thought it was hilarious how uncomfortable the big bald cop in the middle was. Police determined that Houk had been shot in the back of the head. This is a really interesting case. Obtained by ABC News Police determined that Houk had been shot in the back of the head. 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 . Ill be honest with you, I suffer from PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] over this, Chris Brown continued. Judge Hodge ruled that Jordan would not be released pending that hearing. Harvey also drove a black truck. 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. The 4 year old who is speaking now; she sure does remember some details from a tragic event. 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 account of the case is pulled from reports by ABC News, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Post-Gazette and available court documents.). In a rare move, the highest court in Pennsylvania ruled that "there was insufficient evidence" to prosecute the case. 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. [7][8][9][10] Judge Hodge held that Brown's juvenile hearing would not be open to the public or to the news media. That mug shot of Jordan Brown that sort of became an icon of the story spread across the world, said Pittsburgh-based ABC affiliate WTAE reporter Bob Mayo. ", https://wandervogeldiary.wordpress.com/tag/jordan-brown-innocent/. 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. 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. 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.". At 9 a.m., tree trimming workers arrived to work around the house. Its difficult to charge an 11-year-old with homicide. 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. 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By Joe Mandak - News.yahoo.com. 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. After researching the case more, in particular the testimony of the 7 year old Jenessa. Sometime shortly after, one of the tree trimmers spotted little Adalynn in the doorway, sobbing and saying her mother was dead. 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. But then I got to the point where it didnt bother me at all. After some research I do believe he killed her. We cannot get over the fact that Adam Harvey did not have the time to drive there and have the snow on his car, Martin said. Houks younger daughter Adalynn, whom tree trimmers found sobbing when she discovered her mothers body, has never spoken publicly about this. Time flew when you were reading.. At that point, we're trying to maintain the integrity of the scene.. 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. And on 20/20 Adalynn said she woke up from a loud noise..she answers her moms phone goes to wake her up..she doesnt wake up..she goes outside & the tree trimmers help.. which would have been around 9am.. the other girl per the police reports said it was an ordinary morning. Following three days of testimony and legal argument, Judge Hodge issued his ruling on April 13, 2012, that Brown was responsible for first degree murder in the death of 26-year-old Kenzie Houk and of homicide in the death of her unborn male child. Though Mr. Houk fully believes that Brown is the murderer, another possible suspect has been considered. I wasn't with anybody. According to the lawsuit, former troopers Janice Wilson, Jeffrey Martin, Robert McGraw and Troy Steinhauser, as well as former commissioner Frank Pawlowski, fabricated evidence against Brown. And I don't know if that happened in this case, Martin said. A 7 year old will remember that. Authorities said they also tested Harveys hands for the presence of gunshot residue and found none. Simpson Conspiracy Theory That O.J Simpson's Son Jason Be Guilty Of Murdering His Step-mother Nicole Brown And Ron Goldman. The bed was all ready diapers were where they were supposed to be and everything, yeah she was ready.. It was a whole different world. Finally, the truth finally got out, Jordan Brown said. Harvey told police he didnt harm Houk, telling them he was sleeping at home when she was killed. Jordan Brown, who is attending college and studying computer science, is determined to leave his past behind. Bongivengo said police found a spent shotgun shell in the yard. 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). [1][14] The two Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices who did not participate had previously ruled in Jordan's favor on his earlier appeal while they had served as judges in the Pennsylvania Superior Court. That's where the case took us. ???? 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 is precisely what would have had to have happened, Colafella added. That was a shame., He also did not rule out the possibility of filing a civil suit on behalf of Brown, saying, If I find prosecutorial misconduct, we might find our way to the civil courts., RELATED:Who Is Carolyn Bryant Donham? 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 farmhouse in Wampum, Pa. where Kenzie Houk was killed. 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. 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. Jordan Brown, who was convicted, then exonerated, of murdering his father's fiance when he was a preadolescent, has filed suit against those who his attorney said robbed him of his childhood, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . 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. 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. I went back in the house and I remember a very nice cop had sat me on the chair. 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 25-year-old criminal was born in Pennsylvania, United States. It's kind of a bittersweet feeling, you know. 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. Police arrested Jordan Brown based on the information provided by the girl. Charles . Especially grief-sticken was the younger . His attorneys say police were never able to prove Jordan Browns shotgun was the murder weapon. 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. I didnt care. And that's when we realized that it was a homicide.. My wife is so much in shock I think Im gonna have to take her to the hospital. 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. 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. Under Pennsylvania law, an adjudicated juvenile offender cannot be held in custody past his 21st birthday. Speakman said Brown's family lives out of state, so when he heard Jordan was murdered, he reached out to the family on Facebook. The rounds struck a victim's vehicle and an unoccupied apartment building. Emma Tustin, 32, was unanimously convicted at Coventry Crown Court on Thursday of murdering Arthur Labinjo-Hughes. It's the totality of the circumstances. 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. Emma Tustin, 32, murdered the boy by . I lost it.. The father-son duo was as close as possible and often spent their weekends hunting in the nearby woods. I can't even imagine all the pain Jordan Brown and his family went through :/. You know, [he] maintained his innocence throughout from day one, he added. 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. She leaned against the Formica island, her sandy blond hair done up in a bulbous, frizzy ball. Aired on 05/06/1991 | CC tv-pg. A 7 yaer old probably wont be able to put 2+2 together. Jordan Brown, now 14, was found delinquent by Lawrence County Judge John Hodge - the juvenile court equivalent of a guilty verdict. She told WKBN that Brown has maintained his innocence from the beginning and expressed hopes for his future. In another allegation, the lawsuit provides a transcript of an interview with a former girlfriend of Browns father, a woman who said at least twice that she was absolutely not afraid of Jordan Brown. >>PREVIOUS STORY: Jordan Browns father speaks out after sons murder conviction overturned. Dr. Todd Grande 1.26M subscribers Subscribe 394K views 1 year ago This video answers the question: Can I analyze the. I liked her a lot, Jordan Brown told 20/20. I was happy [about the baby] I always wanted a little brother. You took an 11-year-olds childhood away from him. At first I thought "sure an 11 year old can carry and shoot a shotgun, but can they really get away with all that physical evidence?" Elisco disclosed to WPXI that Brown is attending college at an undisclosed location under another name. 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. [2][3] He was subsequently arrested. I just want to be successful. Its my belief, especially after watching 20/20 that the police had tunnel vision. This is final piece of the puzzle really providing him of his true feeling of innocent, closure put this behind me, Wright said. The human-rights organization Amnesty International opposed the effort to try Jordan as an adult, citing the mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole penalty as a violation of international law. I didn't think anything of it. Now 21, Brown, who spent more than. 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. Jordan, who had a bedroom upstairs, had already moved his clothes into that downstairs bedroom. I just watched the 20/20 episode. Investigators on the case told "20/20" in that rural area of Pennsylvania, Its fairly common, most especially young males would grow up with learning to shoot firearms.. It's so insane to me how these cops and detectives handled the case. 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. She wanted financial support payments for Adalynn but he had refused, saying he first wanted proof that the child was his. 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. 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. Tacoma Police say. The coroner determined Lily had died at least two hours before her stepmother . I think the ex boyfriend did it. But Houks family remains convinced that Jordan is guilty, and that he should receive the maximum punishment and be tried as an adult. Chris Brown said he drove every day, 230 miles roundtrip, to see his son at the center. "She was yelling, 'You killed my father! Multiple members of Browns legal team have spoken out about the supreme courts decision. It was one of a half dozen incorrect characterizations in the summary that were not in the transcript, Wright said. Another issue Jordans attorneys raised was that there was no blood or tissue found on the gun or Jordan Browns clothing that day. I just did & dont understand the grounds they dismissed her ex as innocent. 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. They told me that her and the baby were gone, and I remember collapsing in the yard, Brown said. It's more of a weapon of opportunity. Jordan Brown was in the fifth grade when he was arrested for the murder of Kenzie Houk. Kids that age dont just up a kill without there having shown resentment and previous hostility toward their victims. 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. People will believe what they want to believe, but Jordan was innocent. Under Pennsylvania Law, those who are under 15 and being tried as an adult are sentenced to life with parole after 25 years. And I'll say it. 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. Our website services, content and products are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Directed by Kyle Saylors, the true crime story is based on 20 years of research by Simpson's former business associate and friend, Norman Pardo. Her unborn son died as well. 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). Authorities said they also tested Harveys hands for the murder of Kenzie Houk killed... Their driveway issue Jordans attorneys raised was that there was no blood tissue.: / shotgun shell in the back of the head team have spoken out about the were. 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