That way I know what was trying to be said, and then thats how I read, he said. Obtained by ABC News Police determined that Houk had been shot in the back of the head. The trial lasted three days. Chris Brown said he drove every day, 230 miles roundtrip, to see his son at the center. 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. 2023 Cox Media Group. 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 lawsuit claims the only evidence against Brown was a coerced and fabricated statement of his soon-to-be stepsister, who was 7-years-old at the time. 2016) (In re J.B. III), the Superior Court affirmed the juvenile court, and rejected claims that the juvenile court had improperly reassessed the evidence and made new credibility determinations in ruling on Brown's post-dispositional motions. 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. Police are still confident Jordan Brown did it.. 11 is pretty young to straight up plan and commit a murder like that, perhaps though some here know of other instances. Its frustrating that they gave up so easily on Kenzies ex, Adam, so quickly. "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. Police called Chris Brown at his job in the shipping department at a local tableware company and asked him to come home immediately. 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 her phone rang.. Even with the relationship they had, Adam was still in love with Kenzie. Kenzie Houks family is speaking out against the decision. He was almost 21 when Pennsylvanias highest court said prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to support a conviction. The blow back argument is hard, but he may have shot her from an angel and spot (door entrance) that may have hid it. Justices said in their 2018 decision that prosecutors presented largely circumstantial and insufficient evidence, saying among other things in trial testimony that a 20-gauge shotgun in Browns bedroom was the murder weapon actually supported an equally reasonable conclusion that it was not used in the murder. 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. A state police spokesman, Ryan Tarkowski, declined to comment on pending litigation. On July 18, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction in a 50 decision. 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. Adalynn Houk is seen here in the undated family photo. 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.. 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?" I didn't think anything of it. 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. She leaned against the Formica island, her sandy blond hair done up in a bulbous, frizzy ball. That's where the case took us. So that's what I was going to get.. Were going through hell. While the decision did not declare him innocent of the charges, he cannot be retried. [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. Her partner and Arthur's father, 29-year-old Thomas Hughes, was found guilty of. This was way beyond shoddy police work! Wright alleges in the lawsuit that investigators failed to follow protocols for interviewing children when they talked to Houks two young daughters and when they interviewed Jordan. This is my first comment on Reddit. -, Press J to jump to the feed. He also claimed he didnt know where Houk lived. When he was just 11, Brown was charged with the murder of 26-year-old Kenzie Houk, who was eight months pregnant at the time. Just a fifth grader at the time, he said he didnt understand of what he was being accused. Despite this, prosecutors excluded the ex-boyfriend as a suspect during their initial investigation. A 7 year old will remember that. Attorney Katherine Burdick, another member of Browns defense team, discussed her reaction to the decision with local CBS station WKBN. Those law enforcement officers who said that they smelled [that the gun] was recently fired, they conceded that they had no expertise or training, said Jordans attorney Dennis Elisco. This is precisely what would have had to have happened, Colafella added. Cinnamon confessed to fatally shooting her step-mother and was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison. The report also revealed that Houks ex-boyfriend had learned he was not the biological father of Houks youngest daughter just two weeks before the murder. The Jordan Brown case. 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. It's kind of a bittersweet feeling, you know. After Pennsylvania's Superior Court ruled that Judge Motto violated Brown's Fifth Amendment rights, Judge Motto recused himself from the case, and Judge John W. Hodge granted the decertification petition and ruled that Brown should be tried as a juvenile.[6]. 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. This is final piece of the puzzle really providing him of his true feeling of innocent, closure put this behind me, Wright said. 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.. Now 21, Brown, who spent more than. 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? On the morning of Feb. 20, 2009, Chris Brown was running a little late for work. Jordan Brown was charged Saturday as an adult in the shooting death of 26-year-old Kenzie Marie Houk, who was 8 months pregnant, Lawrence County District Attorney John Bongivengo said at a news . After researching the case more, in particular the testimony of the 7 year old Jenessa. Bongivengo said police found a spent shotgun shell in the yard. By Joe Mandak - News.yahoo.com. Chicago Bulls' Michael Jordan serves his father, James, a slice of birthday cake as his mother, Doloris, watches during a party for Jordan's 26th birthday in Chicago, on Feb. 17, 1989. In her first interview, the girl said she did not hear or see anything unusual, according to the lawsuit. Channel 11s Amy Marcinkiewicz reached out to Houks family. [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. Have you been living under a rock? They also found a 20-gauge shotgun that belonged to Jordan Brown. This is a really interesting case. Elisco said that moniker fueled the media frenzy and the presumption of guilt that stayed with the case throughout.". He shot his father's fiancee in the back of her head, killing her and her unborn child. Emma Tustin, 32, murdered the boy by . I came across a blog which claims that Kenzie's abusive ex had threatened to kill her or have her killed. Brown said his fiance Kenzie Houk, who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant at the time, had asked him to stay home with her that day, but he decided to go to work. Now 21, Brown, who spent more than seven . They had a warrant for Jordan's arrest. 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. Youve, you know, ruined his name in essence. They found Houk in the bedroom, he said, and thought at first that shed had a medical emergency. Jordan was interviewed by Pennsylvania State Police twice that day and arrested before sunrise the next morning. [2][3] He was subsequently arrested. [I'd say,] Jordan, listen, if something happens. 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.". Under Pennsylvania law, an adjudicated juvenile offender cannot be held in custody past his 21st birthday. Two years later that resulted in the July 18, 2018 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling. Police also said they found a 20-gauge shotgun shell casing in pristine condition next to the familys driveway the next day. Authorities said Harvey cooperated during the investigation and agreed to take a polygraph. They routinely shot on that property. Police said she told them she saw Jordan moving his guns that morning. We must demand to know how the Pennsylvania State Police could establish policies that would allow this tragedy to occur, and, even more to the point, encourage the occurrence of tragedies like this one.. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://people.com/crime/jordan-brown-case-murder-kenzie-houk-interview-after-prison/. 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. >>PREVIOUS STORY: Man convicted at 11 of pregnant stepmoms 2009 murder exonerated of crime. Brown, who initially was charged as an . Brown was found guilty of first-degree murder and homicide of an unborn child in connection with the death of his fathers fiance Kenzie Houk. Jordan Brown's age is 25. Houk's 4-year-old daughter alerted nearby tree cutters roughly 45 minutes after Jordan Brown and Houk's 7-year-old daughter got on a school bus. Janessa Houk is seen here in this undated family photo. Nearby tree cutters roughly 45 minutes after Jordan Brown & # x27 ; s age 25... 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