Jordan Brown is 13 years old.
In 2009, he was charged with
murder when he was only 11.
This is his story.
On February 20th, 2009, Kenzie
Houk was murdered in her bed.
Police would later say she was
shot at close range and killed
"execution-style" while she slept.
She was 2 weeks away from
delivering a baby boy.
The morning of the murders, 11
year old Jordan and 7 year old
Janessa got ready for school. They
left to catch their bus at about
8:15am.
Chris Brown, Jordan's father had
left for work at about 7am that
morning.
4 year old Adalynn remained in the
home.
Just before 10am, tree trimmers
working on the property heard 4
year old Adalynn crying.
They approached the house to see
what was wrong.
Adalynn told the men she believed
her mother was dead. They tried to
call the landlord, but were
unsuccessful. They then called 911.
Chris received a call on his cell
phone and returned to the home.
Though he encountered the state
trooper who would soon leave to go
to Mohawk Elementary to interview
Jordan and Janessa, the trooper did
not ask his permission to speak to
the children.
Jordan and Janessa were both
questioned at the elementary school.
Claims were later made that there
were attempts to contact Chris to ask
permission to speak to the children,
but Chris would eventually testify
that he never received such a call.
The school guidance counselor
stepped into the role of adult in his
father's absence.
Jordan told the police of a black
truck he saw on the property
earlier that morning.
Janessa claimed not to have seen
or heard anything unusual during
her initial interviews.
The media described the police as
spending five hours on the truck lead.
Trooper Janice Wilson interviewed
Jordan at his grandmother's house at
10pm on the 20th and due to what she
deemed inconsistencies in his story
police reinterviewed Janessa.
Janessa's story then changed...
Janessa's story changed to include
having seen Jordan carrying what
appeared to be a shotgun the morning
of the murders. She also claimed to
have heard a loud bang.
She also said that while she and
Jordan were outside she saw him take
something and toss it into the bushes.
Police said this was where they found
a spent shotgun casing in "pristine"
condition.
Police found a youth-model 20-gauge
shotgun in Jordan's room. He had
recently won a turkey shooting
contest on Valentine's Day with the gun.
He and his father used the shotgun and
other guns on the property for target
practice regularly. According to his father,
the gun had been used the day before for
target practice.
Jordan was subsequently arrested for
the murders of Kenzie and her
unborn son.
Police executed a search of the family
residence.
One particle of gunshot residue was
found on Jordan's shirt and one particle was
found on a pair of pants taken from the home.
No blood was recovered from Jordan's
clothes as would be expected from a close
range execution-style murder.
Jordan and his father were in the practice of
shooting guns regularly, accounting for the
very small amount of residue.
After Jordan's arrest, he was taken to the
Lawrence County Jail.
The county jail is a 300-person adult
facility that is not equipped to house
juveniles.
The warden, Charles Adamo, recommended
that Jordan be moved immediately.
Jordan could only receive visits from his
attorney as visits with anyone else would
mean he would have contact with other
adult inmates.
Jordan's attorney, Dennis Elisco, filed a
request to have his client moved to a
juvenile facility. On February 24th, 2009, the
request was approved.
The following day, Jordan was moved to the
Allencrest Juvenile Detention Center,
despite still being charged as an adult for
two counts of homicide.
On March 2nd, Jordan was moved to the
Edmund L. Thomas Adolescent Center
because officials felt it would be cheaper to
house him there.
On March 24th, 2009, the preliminary hearing
took place.
The prosecution presented its best evidence
against Jordan:
1) a state trooper testified that the 20-gauge gun
smelled as though it had been freshly fired
2) a small amount of gunshot residue was
found on Jordan's shirt
3) the shotgun blast to the back of Kenzie's
head was said to be consistent with one made
by a 20-gauge shotgun
Not a single piece of evidence
ties Jordan Brown directly to the
murders of Kenzie Houk and her
unborn son.
Despite the lack of physical evidence
linking Jordan brown to the murders,
District Magistrate David Rishel
ordered Jordan to stand trial in adult
court beginning May 1st, 2009.
On May 6th, 2009, Jordan was
arraigned and charged with two counts
of first-degree homicide. He pled not
guilty.
On January 29th, 2010, Judge
Dominick Motto heard arguments
about whether or not Jordan Brown
should be tried in an adult court.
On March 29th, 2010, the judge denied
the request to have the case moved to
juvenile court.
The decision was promptly appealed.
On January 25th, 2011, a three-person
Superior Court panel overheard
arguments from prosecutors and from
Jordan's attorneys pertaining to
whether he should be tried in adult or
juvenile court.
It could be months before a decision
is made.
Jordan remains in the Edmund L.
Thomas Adolescent Center in the
meantime.
If Jordan is tried as an adult and
convicted he will be the youngest
person sentenced to life without parole
in America.
He will be housed in an adult facility
with adult inmates.
His conviction will not have been
based on any physical evidence
connecting him to the murders.
The police spent five hours looking
into other possible leads.
Information eventually began to
surface about Kenzie's ex-boyfriend,
Adam Harvey.
Adam had repeatedly made threats
to harm and/or kill Kenzie.
Kenzie filed a protective order against Adam
in February of 2008. In the order she said he:
“…has left several messages threatening to
hurt me and my family. I am in fear of him
hurting me physically or my family. He has a
drinking problem that is uncontrollable. He
has threatened to hire someone to hurt me
several times. I have been talking to
Shenango Police and they have listened to
the messages on my mother’s cell phone and
suggested me to get a PFA.”
Despite these alarming threats against
Kenzie's life, police insist Adam had a
"solid alibi".
He was sleeping at his parents house
20 miles away, where his black truck
was described as being covered in
snow. It is unknown if police checked
Adam's cell phone or bank records in
the five hours they investigated the
truck lead, or if they checked his
hands/clothes for gunshot residue.
The police said they knew Jordan and Janessa
were the only ones to leave the residence
because theirs were the only footprints in the
snow.
No one ever thought to question what
happened to Chris Brown's footprints from
when he left the house at 7am...
Or the tree trimmer's footprints from when
they encountered little Adalynn and came to
her aid.
And what about rescue personnel who came to
scene?
Someone out there knows
something more about these
murders.
And a young boy's life is on
the line...
If you think this case does not affect you...
THINK AGAIN.
Jordan is a child without a criminal record
or any history of violence.
His human rights were violated and
nothing has been done to correct the
situation.
It could happen to anyone's child until
someone changes the system.
If you know information that could
help Jordan, or if you want to get
involved in the cause to save his life
come here:
freejordanbrown.proboards.comor
www.jordanbrowntrust.org