Post by Melissa on Feb 1, 2011 18:54:04 GMT -5
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5785570.ece
Jordan Brown charged with murdering father's girlfriend and unborn child
Louise Cohen
A boy aged 11 has been charged with the murder of his father’s pregnant girlfriend in Pennsylvania.
Jordan Brown is alleged to have shot Kenzie Marie Houk, 26, in the head as she lay in bed on Friday morning, before putting his model 20-gauge shotgun back in his room and catching his school bus.
Police said that they found Ms Houk's body in the rented farmhouse in Wampum, northwest of Pittsburgh, after her four-year-old daughter told tree cutters on the property that she thought her mother was dead. Jordan was collected from school by state police on Friday.
When questioned, he told them that there was a black truck on the property that morning, sending investigators to follow a false lead for around five hours, said John Bongivengo, the Lawrence County district attorney. Inconsistencies in Jordan’s account led police to re-interview Ms Houk’s seven-year-old daughter, who said that she saw Jordan with what she thought was a shotgun and heard a loud bang.
Jordan was charged as an adult with criminal homicide and criminal homicide of an unborn child on Saturday, and was held in the Lawrence County Jail with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Thursday.
Ms Houk’s family and friends said that there had been difficulties with Jordan. “He actually told my son that he wanted to do that to her,” said Ms Houk’s brother-in-law, Jason Kraner. “There was an issue with jealousy.” Ms Houk's father, Jack Houk, said that there had been “some tension, in the beginning" but said that his daughter had been working hard to forge a relationship with Jordan.
Police said that they had no clear motive for the shooting. Dennis Elisco, his defence attorney, said that he is waiting to see physical evidence that ties his young client to the killing. “I don’t think he knows what’s going on,” he said. “I walked out of there thinking he was innocent. I believe Jordan did not do this.”
The incident comes after the case of a nine-year-old boy in Arizona who on Thursday pleaded guilty to negligent homicide after the fatal shootings of his father and father's roommate, and highlights increasing concerns about the access children have to guns.
The shotgun Jordan is alleged to have used was designed for children and has a shorter arm, Mr Bongivengo said. Such weapons do not have to be registered. Jack Houk said that Jordan and his father used to practise shooting behind their farmhouse and the two enjoyed going hunting together.
The boy’s father, Christopher Brown, is “a mess and had no indication his son had a problem with Houk", Mr Elisco said. “He’s in a state of actual shock and disbelief.”
Mr Elisco said that he plans to ask for the boy to be released on bail and for the case to be moved to a juvenile court.
Jordan Brown charged with murdering father's girlfriend and unborn child
Louise Cohen
A boy aged 11 has been charged with the murder of his father’s pregnant girlfriend in Pennsylvania.
Jordan Brown is alleged to have shot Kenzie Marie Houk, 26, in the head as she lay in bed on Friday morning, before putting his model 20-gauge shotgun back in his room and catching his school bus.
Police said that they found Ms Houk's body in the rented farmhouse in Wampum, northwest of Pittsburgh, after her four-year-old daughter told tree cutters on the property that she thought her mother was dead. Jordan was collected from school by state police on Friday.
When questioned, he told them that there was a black truck on the property that morning, sending investigators to follow a false lead for around five hours, said John Bongivengo, the Lawrence County district attorney. Inconsistencies in Jordan’s account led police to re-interview Ms Houk’s seven-year-old daughter, who said that she saw Jordan with what she thought was a shotgun and heard a loud bang.
Jordan was charged as an adult with criminal homicide and criminal homicide of an unborn child on Saturday, and was held in the Lawrence County Jail with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Thursday.
Ms Houk’s family and friends said that there had been difficulties with Jordan. “He actually told my son that he wanted to do that to her,” said Ms Houk’s brother-in-law, Jason Kraner. “There was an issue with jealousy.” Ms Houk's father, Jack Houk, said that there had been “some tension, in the beginning" but said that his daughter had been working hard to forge a relationship with Jordan.
Police said that they had no clear motive for the shooting. Dennis Elisco, his defence attorney, said that he is waiting to see physical evidence that ties his young client to the killing. “I don’t think he knows what’s going on,” he said. “I walked out of there thinking he was innocent. I believe Jordan did not do this.”
The incident comes after the case of a nine-year-old boy in Arizona who on Thursday pleaded guilty to negligent homicide after the fatal shootings of his father and father's roommate, and highlights increasing concerns about the access children have to guns.
The shotgun Jordan is alleged to have used was designed for children and has a shorter arm, Mr Bongivengo said. Such weapons do not have to be registered. Jack Houk said that Jordan and his father used to practise shooting behind their farmhouse and the two enjoyed going hunting together.
The boy’s father, Christopher Brown, is “a mess and had no indication his son had a problem with Houk", Mr Elisco said. “He’s in a state of actual shock and disbelief.”
Mr Elisco said that he plans to ask for the boy to be released on bail and for the case to be moved to a juvenile court.