Preliminary hearing evidence

[Melissa]

Evidence presented at March 24th, 2009 preliminary hearing:

- State trooper testified that the 20-gauge gun smelled as though it had been freshly fired

- The shotgun blast to the back of Kenzie's head was said to be consistent with one made by a 20-gauge shotgun

- A small amount of gunshot residue was found on Jordan's shirt.

Acker pointed out the lab report states the residue could have gotten on the clothes by being in close proximity with a recently fired gun or by being in contact with a surface that was contaminated with residue. Guns at the house were used for hunting and target practice, they said.

Acker also said the pants the lab tested were not the pants the boy had on at school that day — he’d changed later at his grandmother’s house. Acker said that as soon as they realized that, they turned the right pair of pants over to the state police. Those pants have not been tested.

www.vindy.com/news/2009/mar/25/11-year-old-suspect-in-killing-can-stand-trial/?newswatch

- Kenzie's father Jack Houk testified that Jordan Brown was a "good shot", which only proves that Jordan has been shooting on multiple occassions and helps to explain the gunshot residue particles on his shirt.


Janessa's first two statements to police were that nothing unusual had happened. Prosecutors eventually said that she heard the sound of a gun go off before she and Jordan boarded the school bus.


Though no physical evidence clearly linked Jordan Brown to the murder of Kenzie Houk and her unborn son, District Magistrate David Rishel ordered Jordan to stand trial in adult court beginning May 1st, 2009.

D.A. John Bongivengo said that the gunshot residue on Jordan's clothes was the strongest evidence against him.

www.post-gazette.com/pg/09084/958103-455.stm

[graceness]

I love how a sniff test is part of the evidence of the prosecution.

[abram]

One would think Kenzie's daughter would have awakened upon hearing something as loud as a shotgun blast in the house. A shotgun is loud and four year olds don't habitually sleep late and if they do, its probably a light sleep, easily awaken from. If the gunshot was around 8:00am and Adalynn didn't cry for help until about 10:00am, something is amiss. Neither does it seem natural that Janessa, who was awake, didn't run to her mother to find out what happened or what was going on - young children normally run to their parents when something out of the ordinary occurs.

[abram]

“Bongivengo said Brown was not a suspect and was not in police custody at the time of the initial questioning by Wilson and Miranda-type protections such as the right to have a parent present during the questioning of a child did not apply.”

Wouldn't this open the door for suspects to be interviewed as witnesses and without inherent rights as a suspect?

[Melissa]

Well get this...the four year old apparently heard a "muffled" sound while she was upstairs. Was this after Jordan and Janessa went to school? I would love to see the notes based on what this girl said...

Here's the article and the quote:

"The next morning, authorities said, the 4-year-old girl was upstairs when she heard a "muffled" sound from the first floor. She later told a tree-trimming crew working on the property that her mother was unresponsive. The workers called 911 about 10 a.m."

www.post-gazette.com/pg/09053/950921-52.stm

[abram]

That is very interesting news, Melissa.
A 20 gauge shotgun blast is much more than a muffled sound. Considering only 26 pellets were fired and a typical bird-shot shell has 180 pellets, whether the 20 gauge shotgun was the actual weapon should be reconsidered. A silencer, another gun and a bullet loaded with 26 pellets? Another suspect?

This also implies the Houks may have jumped to conclusions and thought that they had good reason to couch Janessa so her story more matched Adalynns.

[Melissa]

Yes, Abram. Exactly.

[abram]

Excuse me if I write too much but I'm adamant about this case.
The fact that Adalynn heard a muffled sound that morning makes sense of where the the hour and a half or more went without Adalynn looking for her mom. If Adalynn got up after the sound (probably) she most likely went looking for her mother and that indicates a sound made closer to the time of her crying out for help than 8am.

[Melissa]

Yes. I think she heard a sound and went to find her mom, found her unresponsive, and went to find help. Something exactly along those lines.

Don't worry about writing too much. The intent of the forum is too put as much information and ideas out there as possible. I appreciate your help and your thoughts.