Post by Melissa on Feb 1, 2011 19:08:01 GMT -5
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1152725/Boy-11-charged-fatal-shooting-fathers-pregnant-girlfriend-using-special-CHILDS-shotgun.html
Boy, 11, charged with fatal shooting of his father's pregnant girlfriend using a special CHILD'S shotgun
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 10:41 AM on 23rd February 2009
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Jordan Anthony Brown
Jordan Brown, 11, has been charged with the murder of pregnant Kenzie Houk
An 11-year-old boy shot his father's pregnant girlfriend in the back of the head while she was lying in bed, it has been claimed.
Jordan Brown used a shotgun especially designed for children to shoot Kenzie Mari Houk - then got on the school bus and went to school, authorities said yesterday.
A Pennsylvania District Attorney confirmed Brown was charged as an adult in the shooting death of Houk, who was 8 months pregnant.
Brown, the son of Houk's live-in boyfriend, was charged with criminal homicide and criminal homicide of an unborn child. He was being held in Lawrence County Jail.
The fifth-grader was picked up from school on Friday by Pennsylvania State Police, who found Houk's body after her youngest daughter, 4, told tree cutters on the property that she thought her mother was dead.
Police were thrown off the trail on when Brown told them there was a suspicious black truck on the property the following morning.
Prosecutors said investigators chased the false lead for about five hours.
But inconsistencies in his description of the vehicle led suspicious police to re-interview Houk's oldest daughter, 7 - at which point, they claimed, the truth came out.
Police charged Brown with murder later that day
'She didn't actually eyewitness the shooting. She saw him with what she believed to be a shotgun and heard a loud bang,' prosecutors claimed.
The weapon, a youth model 20-gauge shotgun, was found in what police said was the boy's bedroom.
The shotgun, which apparently belonged to Brown, is designed for children and such weapons do not have to be registered, Bongivengo said.
Brown's attorney, Dennis Elisco, admitted the evidence points to the gunshot wound being 'consistent' with the boy's hunting gun, but he wanted to see stronger proof that it was Brown's.
'I believe Jordan did not do this and I'm looking forward to seeing the physical evidence to see if it matches with what I think happened,' he said after meeting with the boy in jail.
The attorney also said he met with the boy's father, Christopher Brown, and planned to file a motion today to have the boy released on bail and move the case to juvenile court.
Jail warden Lawrence County Warden Charles Adamo said he would also ask for the boy to be moved to a juvenile detention centre.
Adamo said his 300-inmate jail cannot offer proper long-term care for the boy.
Elisco said Christopher Brown was 'in a state of actual shock and disbelief.'
He added there was no indication the boy had a problem with Houk.
'This is a tragic, extremely tragic situation, and it's way too early to have any substantive comment,' he said.
Kenzie Marie Houk
The 11-year-old shot Ms Houk in this farmhouse before catching the bus to school
But Houk's brother-in-law Jason Kraner said he believed there was an issue with jealousy.
Police said they had no motive for the shooting, and authorities would not say whether the boy confessed.
Prosecutors would not discuss the motive, but family experts said it wasn't unusual for children to feel anger and fury toward a parent's new mate.
A preliminary hearing is set for Thursday.
A neighbour, Cameron Tucker, said Houk was engaged and had been renting the house for no more than a year.
Tucker said he had never met Houk's fiance, but that both of them had children.
Tucker's wife sometimes drove Houk's younger daughter to the bus stop because she went to preschool with his 5-year-old.
'She was very protective of her kids,' he said, adding that she seemed very excited about her pregnancy.
The murder follows another shocking killing linked to a boy.
Last Thursday, a 9-year-old Arizona boy reached a plea deal with authorities who accused him of the fatal shootings of his father and his father's room-mate.
The boy pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in the death of his father's room-mate while the murder charge in his father's death was dropped.
Boy, 11, charged with fatal shooting of his father's pregnant girlfriend using a special CHILD'S shotgun
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 10:41 AM on 23rd February 2009
* Comments (0)
* Add to My Stories
Jordan Anthony Brown
Jordan Brown, 11, has been charged with the murder of pregnant Kenzie Houk
An 11-year-old boy shot his father's pregnant girlfriend in the back of the head while she was lying in bed, it has been claimed.
Jordan Brown used a shotgun especially designed for children to shoot Kenzie Mari Houk - then got on the school bus and went to school, authorities said yesterday.
A Pennsylvania District Attorney confirmed Brown was charged as an adult in the shooting death of Houk, who was 8 months pregnant.
Brown, the son of Houk's live-in boyfriend, was charged with criminal homicide and criminal homicide of an unborn child. He was being held in Lawrence County Jail.
The fifth-grader was picked up from school on Friday by Pennsylvania State Police, who found Houk's body after her youngest daughter, 4, told tree cutters on the property that she thought her mother was dead.
Police were thrown off the trail on when Brown told them there was a suspicious black truck on the property the following morning.
Prosecutors said investigators chased the false lead for about five hours.
But inconsistencies in his description of the vehicle led suspicious police to re-interview Houk's oldest daughter, 7 - at which point, they claimed, the truth came out.
Police charged Brown with murder later that day
'She didn't actually eyewitness the shooting. She saw him with what she believed to be a shotgun and heard a loud bang,' prosecutors claimed.
The weapon, a youth model 20-gauge shotgun, was found in what police said was the boy's bedroom.
The shotgun, which apparently belonged to Brown, is designed for children and such weapons do not have to be registered, Bongivengo said.
Brown's attorney, Dennis Elisco, admitted the evidence points to the gunshot wound being 'consistent' with the boy's hunting gun, but he wanted to see stronger proof that it was Brown's.
'I believe Jordan did not do this and I'm looking forward to seeing the physical evidence to see if it matches with what I think happened,' he said after meeting with the boy in jail.
The attorney also said he met with the boy's father, Christopher Brown, and planned to file a motion today to have the boy released on bail and move the case to juvenile court.
Jail warden Lawrence County Warden Charles Adamo said he would also ask for the boy to be moved to a juvenile detention centre.
Adamo said his 300-inmate jail cannot offer proper long-term care for the boy.
Elisco said Christopher Brown was 'in a state of actual shock and disbelief.'
He added there was no indication the boy had a problem with Houk.
'This is a tragic, extremely tragic situation, and it's way too early to have any substantive comment,' he said.
Kenzie Marie Houk
The 11-year-old shot Ms Houk in this farmhouse before catching the bus to school
But Houk's brother-in-law Jason Kraner said he believed there was an issue with jealousy.
Police said they had no motive for the shooting, and authorities would not say whether the boy confessed.
Prosecutors would not discuss the motive, but family experts said it wasn't unusual for children to feel anger and fury toward a parent's new mate.
A preliminary hearing is set for Thursday.
A neighbour, Cameron Tucker, said Houk was engaged and had been renting the house for no more than a year.
Tucker said he had never met Houk's fiance, but that both of them had children.
Tucker's wife sometimes drove Houk's younger daughter to the bus stop because she went to preschool with his 5-year-old.
'She was very protective of her kids,' he said, adding that she seemed very excited about her pregnancy.
The murder follows another shocking killing linked to a boy.
Last Thursday, a 9-year-old Arizona boy reached a plea deal with authorities who accused him of the fatal shootings of his father and his father's room-mate.
The boy pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in the death of his father's room-mate while the murder charge in his father's death was dropped.