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 deaths of his fathers fiance and unborn child. And that made me happy. Her family says Adalynn shared bits of her story over the years, but its something neither police nor Jordans defense team have ever heard. 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. They attempted CPR, but it was too late. On the morning of Feb. 20, 2009, Chris Brown was running a little late for work. Jordan Brown said he has mixed feelings about what happened to him. When his mug shot was taken, Jordan Brown said he had been crying the whole night. Charles . You know, if something happened, tell me. On July 18, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction in a 50 decision. A state police spokesman, Ryan Tarkowski, declined to comment on pending litigation. Dr. Todd Grande 1.26M subscribers Subscribe 394K views 1 year ago This video answers the question: Can I analyze the. The ruling in particular objected to the assumption, made by the juvenile court, that no one else but Jordan could have shot Houk. 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. I believe that testimony, further more with: "She told officers she asked Jordan Brown about the source of the sound, but he would not answer. She leaned against the Formica island, her sandy blond hair done up in a bulbous, frizzy ball. After researching the case more, in particular the testimony of the 7 year old Jenessa. 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.[1]. In a rare move, the highest court in Pennsylvania ruled that "there was insufficient evidence" to prosecute the case. On May 1, 2011, hours after a meeting of the neo-Nazi group at Hall's house in Southern California, the boy took his father's revolver from the upstairs bedroom where his stepmother was sleeping. Eleven year-old shot and killed his father's pregnant fiancee, setting off a debate about trying him as an adult or a juvenile. 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. 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. The father-son duo was as close as possible and often spent their weekends hunting in the nearby woods. That's where the case took us. Simpson became the immediate suspect, and seemingly fled from . Just a fifth grader at the time, he said he didnt understand of what he was being accused. 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.. The farmhouse in Wampum where Chris Brown lived with his fiance Kenzie Houk, his son Jordan Brown and her two daughters, Janessa and Adalynn. 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 . Now I can see an adult sticking with their story for a long period of time, but a young kid? I don't think the kid did it and I honestly do think the cops jumped on him and didn't do their homework. Sometime shortly after, one of the tree trimmers spotted little Adalynn in the doorway, sobbing and saying her mother was dead. The tree trimmers saw Adalynn sometime after 9 a.m. that morning. The shooting happened at their home in Wampum, Lawrence County. Jordan Brown (Shooting of Kenzie Houk) | Did an 11-Year-Old Commit Murder? Wright says more than that, the evidence investigators gave to prosecutors was improperly gathered, mischaracterized or fabricated to support a theory that the then 11-year-old had committed the murder something he would have had to do and clean up without missing anything in the space of about 120 seconds. 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. In my 25 years, I believe it was the only one in that area that I can remember.. I don't think the kid did it. Pay for the crime that you did, Deborah Houk said in a phone interview Wednesday. 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. The Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected an appeal by three area newspapers (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and New Castle News) to overturn Hodge's ruling and open the hearing to the public. Nearly two years after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court cleared him, Mr. Brown is suing an ex-state police commissioner and former troopers. We had a youth model shotgun in the house that had smelled like it recently had been fired, Martin said. What happened to me is so horrible, even though when I was young I would say I didnt understand what was happening I look back and see all the blatant injustices, and that angers me, he said. In response, he allegedly confronted Houks parents in a nightclub the night before Houk'sdeath. I am very curious to see if the 7 year old step sister will ever speak out on what she saw/heard that morning now as an adult. 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. I just want to graduate college, you know, get a job in my major and, I dont know, just be successful, Jordan Brown said. And I went outside, and I had asked the tree men that were cutting down trees, Do you guys know my grandmas number? And they were like, No. she said. CLICK HERE to find out how. Now 21, Brown, who spent more than seven . When Jenessa was re-interviewed, police said she had a startling recollection. Brown, who initially was charged as an . TPD says they have arrested 21-year-old Jordan Brown for first degree murder. I wasn't with anybody. Finally, the truth finally got out, Jordan Brown said. Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Jeffrey Martin, now retired, says he was one of the first responders on the scene. But now Im kind of, like, I go back and forth sometimes, I think, he said. It's the totality of the circumstances. Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, was murdered at her Los Angeles home on June 12, 1994, along with friend Ronald Goldman. His father backed up his alibi, confirming Harveys story that he was home with them. 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. It was just a bunch of strangers dragging me around.. And none of us wanted to put handcuffs on an 11-year-old. I can't even imagine all the pain Jordan Brown and his family went through :/. Jordans defense lawyers say her timeline means Jordan wasnt there when Houk was killed, but Martin, who worked the case, says after so many years he doesnt find Adalynns account credible. I miss her every day, he said. But omg! She remembered picking up her mothers phone and answering it. But as far as his guiltiness, I know he is. 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. I just want to be successful. 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. And her phone rang.. At all. 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. Jordan Brown, 11, is pictured following his arrest in the Feb. 20, 2009, shotgun slaying of his father's pregnant fiancee, Kenzie Marie Houk. Youve, you know, ruined his name in essence. I would not bet that she can recall time and detail to provide evidence for the case. [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. A never-ending shadow of shock and grief embarked upon the Brown family in February of 2009, after the lady of the house, Kenzie Marie Houk, was shot dead and their 11-year-old son, Jordan Brown, was held accountable for the murder. 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. Two years ago, Howard County State's Attorney Rich Gibson decided not to charge a Woodbine homeowner who shot and killed a drunken man at his door.The stranger had come to the wrong house . I feel if we win the lawsuit itll shed a light of (my) innocence on people that they cant really ignore, Brown said, noting that even after he was exonerated, people still expressed mixed feelings about his innocence, which hes maintained since he was 11. 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. She was interviewed four times in 14 hours after her mothers death, according to the lawsuit. 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. I was so young. Interviewing those involved, with the goal of finding out who killed Jordan and why? Police said she told them she saw Jordan moving his guns that morning. TACOMA, Wash. Jordan Brown was killed on March 19 at the World of Weed Cannabis Dispensary during an armed robbery. This is precisely what would have had to have happened, Colafella added. 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. But then I got to the point where it didnt bother me at all. But the prosecutions expert witness said that the angle in which the gun was shot could have minimized whats referred to as blowback. Police say 23-year-old Jordan Brown was witnessed firing a handgun from inside a vehicle. Jordan battled the fear that she would turn out to be like her mother. I'm never not going to be here every day, Chris Brown said. And his father needs to get in the mirror every morning and look in that mirror and say, I am the father of a murderer.. Jordan Brown juvenile court disposition is treatment. Everything is gone. [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. Meanwhile, officers also went to Mohawk Elementary School to speak to Jenessa and Jordan. They played a big [role] in, like, keeping my head straight, he said. He knew the doors were unlocked. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. -, Press J to jump to the feed. Its my belief, especially after watching 20/20 that the police had tunnel vision. Emily's Death: Died September 18, 1979. According to the 20/20 episode, there was no blood or tissue on the gun, and the police didn't even dust for fingerprints on the door to the house. It was a whole different world. It's saying that I have a charge in front of me in juvenile court, and I am finding that you are responsible for that crime, ABC News Chief Legal Analyst Dan Abrams said. They had a warrant for Jordan's arrest. Within a day, Harvey was cleared as a suspect. 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.. Jordan Brown said he has "mixed feelings" about what happened to him. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. [7][8][9][10] Judge Hodge held that Brown's juvenile hearing would not be open to the public or to the news media. I lost it.. You took an 11-year-olds childhood away from him. When first responders arrived, Renee claimed her back gave out while she was bathing Lily, causing her to drop the child. 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. Retired Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Bobby McGraw said he is still confident that Jordan Brown committed the murders. The arrest of an 11-year-old for murder quickly gained wide media attention, and suddenly Wampum, Pennsylvania, a town with a population of roughly 600 people, had millions of eyes on it. Inside the family's farmhouse, police had found handguns, rifles, several rounds of ammunition and a child-sized shotgun that belonged to Jordan. She wanted financial support payments for Adalynn but he had refused, saying he first wanted proof that the child was his. She had cheated him of his money and cheated on him by sleeping with another man. As the years passed, Jordan Brown said he spent much of his time absorbed in the books his father brought him, reading with a dictionary next to him. And I'll say it. Kenzie Houk is seen here with one of her daughters in this undated family photo. They literally said because he cried in the interview he was still in love with her & because the car had snow on it? He was almost 21 when Pennsylvania's highest court said prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to support a conviction. Cinnamon confessed to fatally shooting her step-mother and was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison. 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. Brown could be held in a juvenile rehabilitative treatment facility only until he turned 21 in August 2018. At that point, we're trying to maintain the integrity of the scene.. I didnt care. 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. Feb. 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. 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. ". I have been on the fence after seeing the 20/20 (originally thought he was innocent). You have to be sure enough to charge him, Bongivengo told 20/20., At a time when headlines called Jordan America's littlest monster, he was at an age where he still believed in Santa Claus. Another issue Jordans attorneys raised was that there was no blood or tissue found on the gun or Jordan Browns clothing that day. 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). They are also not smart enough to leave no traces. April 13, 2012. Two years later that resulted in the July 18, 2018 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling. Went to school.. He is one. 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