The blended family seemed to be bonding. 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. In Season Two of Guilt Ryan travels to Waiuku New Zealand in an attempt to . Houks father, Jack Houk, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he and his wife Debbie, who have raised Houks two daughters since her death, are distraught. She leaned against the Formica island, her sandy blond hair done up in a bulbous, frizzy ball. 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 didnt care. 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. 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. 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. 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. The work on this case like so many unsolved cases was shoddy. The system is very, very wrong.. I hope the state police reopen their investigation and actually try to take their blinders off and find out whoever did this so that that family can have some closure and some justice.. Double jeopardy has attached under the Fifth Amendment, and Brown, now 21, cannot be retried. At that time, in March 1997, Krause filed a. Police determined that Houk had been shot in the back of the head. He has repeatedly stated in interviews that while he suffers from PTSD, he is committed to turning his life around. Finally, it felt like a big weight had been lifted off of me. They noted there was no eyewitness, no DNA or fingerprint evidence and no blood or biological material on Browns clothing. As for Chris, he still mourns the loss of Houk and their unborn son. During his incarceration, Jordan taught himself to play guitar and said he became a pretty good basketball player. 6 New Details About The Woman Who May Have Falsely Accused Emmett Till. When Jenessa was re-interviewed, police said she had a startling recollection. They literally said because he cried in the interview he was still in love with her & because the car had snow on it? Police also confirmed he had been at work during the shooting, so they quickly eliminated him as a suspect. After Brown had spent more than three years in a juvenile detention facility in Erie, Pennsylvania, while Pennsylvania courts deliberated his status, Brown was tried as a juvenile and found guilty of being delinquent by a judge on April 13, 2012. 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. After some research I do believe he killed her. I think the ex boyfriend did it. As for whether or not an 11 year old could commit this crime, I absolutely believe it is more than possible. Elisco said that moniker fueled the media frenzy and the presumption of guilt that stayed with the case throughout.". She stood by her confession and . 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. [5], Jordan Brown was initially charged as an adult. Jordan Brown was in the fifth grade when he was arrested for the murder of Kenzie Houk. 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. I went in to wake her up. I would not bet that she can recall time and detail to provide evidence for the case. 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. 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. The 5-0 supreme court ruling exonerated Brown of all charges, overturning earlier findings by a Lawrence County Juvenile Court Judge that were upheld by the states appellate court. 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. That day, she said she remembered being woken up by the sound of a gunshot. 2023 Cox Media Group. I just want to graduate college, you know, get a job in my major and, I dont know, just be successful, Jordan Brown said. The teen was killed on Tuesday around 12:30 . Meika's mother and stepfather, Kyla and. [He] never changed his story. And I had no idea where we were going. She said the person on the other end of the line asked to talk to her mother so she went into the downstairs bedroom to get her. I also signed up to comment. Her partner and Arthur's father, 29-year-old Thomas Hughes, was found guilty of. He knew the doors were unlocked. Jordan Brown said he has "mixed feelings" about what happened to him. State Police Corporal Troy Steinheiser, now retired, interviewed Chris Brown at the state police barracks. Dr. Stiles helped her overcome this fear and realize she wasn't like her mother. I didn't understand what was happening. Accidents happen, buddy. [4] A petition signed by nearly 4,000 people protested what it termed as denial of Brown's fifth and sixth amendment rights. I can remember just looking at Jordan and feeling like we had failed him. It's ridiculous. I saw a gentleman in front of me that was crying, said Martin. I just did & dont understand the grounds they dismissed her ex as innocent. Houks mother Debbie Houk told 20/20, Jordan's a murderer. The farmhouse in Wampum where Chris Brown lived with his fiance Kenzie Houk, his son Jordan Brown and her two daughters, Janessa and Adalynn. Its my belief, especially after watching 20/20 that the police had tunnel vision. I agree, the more I think about the more unlikely it seems. 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.". They discovered Mrs. Borden's body a short time later. But that's why I told them.. Houk, who was eight months pregnant at the time. Authorities said they also tested Harveys hands for the presence of gunshot residue and found none. Yet we are supposed to believe that an 11 year old kid left no physical evidence while committing a murder and hiding evidence within a few minutes while his sister sits in the other room waiting for him. 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. Jordan's mother, Mildred Krause, was just four months pregnant with him when she first entered a courtroom to battle his father, Christopher Brown. 20 A pregnant Kenzie Marie Houk, 26, is killed in the New Beaver Borough farmhouse she shared with her daughters Jenessa, 7, and Adalynn, 4 her fianc, Chris Brown, and his son,. The rounds struck a victim's vehicle and an unoccupied apartment building. When we interview someone, you expect them to give their account, wait a little while, we interview them again, and they should give the same account. He was granted transfer of his case into the juvenile court system. 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. They also found a 20-gauge shotgun that belonged to Jordan Brown. You know, if something happened, tell me. 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. On July 18, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction in a 50 decision. I was hard pressed to believe it back then & now Im even more convinced they had tunnel vision. 5 Theories Explain HowCayleeAnthony Really Died. You dont just win a lawsuit over injustice for no reason.. Pay for the crime that you did, Deborah Houk said in a phone interview Wednesday. I didn't think anything of it. 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. 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. 5 Theories Explain HowCayleeAnthony Really Died, pointed out the lack of an eyewitness or credible forensic evidence, Who Is Carolyn Bryant Donham? 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. 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. My wife is so much in shock I think Im gonna have to take her to the hospital. [17], Another possible suspect is Adam Harvey, an ex-boyfriend of Houk. By then, Bongivengo had been replaced by a different prosecutor. It's such a small window and such an unlikely set of circumstances that one, he found out where she lived. Jordan Browns father speaks out after sons murder conviction overturned Jordan Browns father speaks out after sons murder conviction overturned. 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. Convictions of first-degree murder against a father and stepmother who killed six-year-old Meika Jordan have been upheld by Canada's top court. The ruling in particular objected to the assumption, made by the juvenile court, that no one else but Jordan could have shot Houk. 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. They also pointed out the lack of an eyewitness or credible forensic evidence as reasons for the decision. I can't even imagine all the pain Jordan Brown and his family went through :/. 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. Houks younger daughter Adalynn, whom tree trimmers found sobbing when she discovered her mothers body, has never spoken publicly about this. Both children were interviewed and, according to police, neither said anything out of the ordinary had happened that morning. >>PREVIOUS STORY: Man convicted at 11 of pregnant stepmoms 2009 murder exonerated of crime. On July 18, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction in a 50 decision. Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, was murdered at her Los Angeles home on June 12, 1994, along with friend Ronald Goldman. 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.". 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. 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. Officers responded to a report of a person shot in the 3600 block of Vine Street at 9:16. 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. Still, a juvenile court judge found Jordan Brown, then 14, delinquent in the case. Both lawyers also discussed key details about Browns whereabouts. Now 21, Brown, who spent more than. Jordan Brown, who is attending college and studying computer science, is determined to leave his past behind. 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 rest of their story: https://people.com/crime/jordan-brown-case-murder-kenzie-houk-interview-after-prison/. If in fact the blanket was shot through then there would have been fibers in the victims hair or embedded in her skull. I was just going to walk in to wake her [Kenzie Houk] up. 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. Youve, you know, ruined his name in essence. On June 13, 2016, more than seven years after his arrest, Jordan Brown was released from juvenile custody, two months before his 19th birthday. I'm not going to be mad at you. 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. Naturally, I hugged her . I have never expected to have the murder weapon to be a shotgun, Martin said. I mean, Mary Bell was only 11 when she killed two young kids. Thats blood-boiling, seeing-red motive. 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. 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