Post by Melissa on Feb 8, 2011 13:01:24 GMT -5
Tried and convicted in the media: why 13-year old Jordan Brown remains incarcerated (Part I)
www.digitaljournal.com/blog/10682#ixzz1DODGgnDE
Part I of III
Part I: The Murders and The Arrest
On February 20th, 2009, Steve Cable was trimming trees on a property in Wampum, PA when he heard crying coming from the residence located on the grounds. He saw 4-year old Adalynn, daughter of Kenzie Houk, and went to her aid. When he asked the girl what was wrong she informed him that she thought her mother was dead. He attempted to call the owner of the property to obtain permission to enter, but when he was unable to reach anyone, he called the authorities.
It was just after 10 o’clock that morning when police arrived on the scene and the discovery was grissly. 26-year Kenzie Houk appeared to have been shot to death in her bed. She was two weeks from delivering a baby boy and it was quickly determined that her son had died as a result of the shooting. Perhaps the most harrowing aspect of the crime was the fact that Kenzie’s 4-year old daughter had been the one to find her mother in that condition, left completely alone in the home to frantically try to attract help.
Police contacted Chris Brown, Kenzie’s fiancé, and asked him to return to the property. He had left the home early that morning for work, shortly after a light dusting of snow had sprinkled the area. Trooper Janice Wilson was dispatched to the house to watch Adalynn until Chris or Childrens Services arrived. She put on Spongebob for the little girl to watch while they waited.
Though Chris and Wilson crossed paths that morning, there was no discussion relating to the trooper’s intention of going to Mohawk Elementary School to speak to the two other children in the family – Jordan, age 11, and Janessa, age 7. Wilson did not obtain Chris’s permission to speak with the children, but instead proceeded to the school and informed the administrators that the children could potentially provide vital information to the case as they were in the home until about 8:15 a.m. that morning.
Later claims were made that the school attempted to contact Chris to obtain his permission to interview the children; however, Chris has denied that any such attempts have occurred. In their father’s absence, a guidance counselor was asked to observe as the two children were questioned.
Initial questioning yielded little information from Janessa. She stated that she had not seen or heard anything unusual that morning. Jordan, on the other hand, reported that he had witnessed a black truck on the property, occupied by a male. The police would later admit to spending five hours investigating this lead before abandoning it in favor of what they deemed a much more promising one: 11-year old Jordan Brown.
At about 10 p.m., Trooper Wilson questioned Jordan once again. This time the interview took place at his grandmother’s house. It came out in Jordan’s preliminary hearing that because his description of the vehicle had changed, Wilson felt that Janessa should be interviewed again. Though Janessa had originally claimed not to have any critical information, her story changed dramatically to include having seen Jordan carrying a shotgun from his upstairs bedroom to the downstairs location where her mother was later described as having been shot. She said that she did not see him use the gun, but she heard a loud bang.
What is unknown is why Janessa did not have any further interaction with her mother before leaving school, especially since she claimed to see Jordan carrying a gun and heard a sound that could be attributed to such a gun. Additionally, the children likely left out a door of the residence that went right by the bedroom where Kenzie was later found murdered in her bed. When Trooper Harry Gustafson described entering the residence he stated that he could see Kenzie in the bedroom to the right of the front door. It stands to reason that if he could see her this easily walking into the residence, the children would have seen her while exiting the home.
The police found Janessa’s newest statements to be very compelling. A shotgun was located in Jordan’s room. The gun was opened up and it was noted that it smelled as though it had recently been fired. His father advised that he and Jordan had used the gun to shoot at targets on the property the day before and that the gun had also been used to win a turkey shooting contest the prior Valentine’s Day. In addition to finding the gun, the police found a shotgun shell on the property in a location where they stated Janessa said she saw Jordan drop something on their way to catch the school bus.
Jordan was arrested and taken to Lawrence Country Jail. His clothing was seized and tested for gunshot residue and blood. Results of testing revealed a single particle of gunshot residue on the shirt that Jordan was wearing when the police requested his clothing, and another particle of gunshot residue on a pair of pants taken from his bedroom. In Jordan’s preliminary hearing, no blood evidence was reported as having been found on the gun or on any of Jordan’s clothing as would be expected from what police described as a close-range “execution-style” murder.
Continued in Part II.
Read more: www.digitaljournal.com/blog/10682#ixzz1DOLJ3QrR
www.digitaljournal.com/blog/10682#ixzz1DODGgnDE
Part I of III
Part I: The Murders and The Arrest
On February 20th, 2009, Steve Cable was trimming trees on a property in Wampum, PA when he heard crying coming from the residence located on the grounds. He saw 4-year old Adalynn, daughter of Kenzie Houk, and went to her aid. When he asked the girl what was wrong she informed him that she thought her mother was dead. He attempted to call the owner of the property to obtain permission to enter, but when he was unable to reach anyone, he called the authorities.
It was just after 10 o’clock that morning when police arrived on the scene and the discovery was grissly. 26-year Kenzie Houk appeared to have been shot to death in her bed. She was two weeks from delivering a baby boy and it was quickly determined that her son had died as a result of the shooting. Perhaps the most harrowing aspect of the crime was the fact that Kenzie’s 4-year old daughter had been the one to find her mother in that condition, left completely alone in the home to frantically try to attract help.
Police contacted Chris Brown, Kenzie’s fiancé, and asked him to return to the property. He had left the home early that morning for work, shortly after a light dusting of snow had sprinkled the area. Trooper Janice Wilson was dispatched to the house to watch Adalynn until Chris or Childrens Services arrived. She put on Spongebob for the little girl to watch while they waited.
Though Chris and Wilson crossed paths that morning, there was no discussion relating to the trooper’s intention of going to Mohawk Elementary School to speak to the two other children in the family – Jordan, age 11, and Janessa, age 7. Wilson did not obtain Chris’s permission to speak with the children, but instead proceeded to the school and informed the administrators that the children could potentially provide vital information to the case as they were in the home until about 8:15 a.m. that morning.
Later claims were made that the school attempted to contact Chris to obtain his permission to interview the children; however, Chris has denied that any such attempts have occurred. In their father’s absence, a guidance counselor was asked to observe as the two children were questioned.
Initial questioning yielded little information from Janessa. She stated that she had not seen or heard anything unusual that morning. Jordan, on the other hand, reported that he had witnessed a black truck on the property, occupied by a male. The police would later admit to spending five hours investigating this lead before abandoning it in favor of what they deemed a much more promising one: 11-year old Jordan Brown.
At about 10 p.m., Trooper Wilson questioned Jordan once again. This time the interview took place at his grandmother’s house. It came out in Jordan’s preliminary hearing that because his description of the vehicle had changed, Wilson felt that Janessa should be interviewed again. Though Janessa had originally claimed not to have any critical information, her story changed dramatically to include having seen Jordan carrying a shotgun from his upstairs bedroom to the downstairs location where her mother was later described as having been shot. She said that she did not see him use the gun, but she heard a loud bang.
What is unknown is why Janessa did not have any further interaction with her mother before leaving school, especially since she claimed to see Jordan carrying a gun and heard a sound that could be attributed to such a gun. Additionally, the children likely left out a door of the residence that went right by the bedroom where Kenzie was later found murdered in her bed. When Trooper Harry Gustafson described entering the residence he stated that he could see Kenzie in the bedroom to the right of the front door. It stands to reason that if he could see her this easily walking into the residence, the children would have seen her while exiting the home.
The police found Janessa’s newest statements to be very compelling. A shotgun was located in Jordan’s room. The gun was opened up and it was noted that it smelled as though it had recently been fired. His father advised that he and Jordan had used the gun to shoot at targets on the property the day before and that the gun had also been used to win a turkey shooting contest the prior Valentine’s Day. In addition to finding the gun, the police found a shotgun shell on the property in a location where they stated Janessa said she saw Jordan drop something on their way to catch the school bus.
Jordan was arrested and taken to Lawrence Country Jail. His clothing was seized and tested for gunshot residue and blood. Results of testing revealed a single particle of gunshot residue on the shirt that Jordan was wearing when the police requested his clothing, and another particle of gunshot residue on a pair of pants taken from his bedroom. In Jordan’s preliminary hearing, no blood evidence was reported as having been found on the gun or on any of Jordan’s clothing as would be expected from what police described as a close-range “execution-style” murder.
Continued in Part II.
Read more: www.digitaljournal.com/blog/10682#ixzz1DOLJ3QrR
