Post by Melissa on Feb 1, 2011 22:12:14 GMT -5
www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/world/boy-11-charged-with-killing-dads-fiancee/story-e6frev00-1225698582017
Pittsburgh boy, 11, to be tried as adult for shotgun murder
Will be tried as adult for murder Allegedly used shotgun given as gift Faces mandatory life sentence
AN 11-year-old US boy accused of shooting and killing his father's pregnant fiancee was given a shotgun as a Christmas present.
Police say Jordan Brown shot Kenzie Houk, 26, in the back of the head while she slept at her home in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
They claim Brown went downstairs to Houk's bedroom with two guns but returned after her daughter saw him. He then hid a gun - a youth model 20-gauge shotgun he received for Christmas - in a blanket and went back to shoot Houk.
Brown returned and caught the morning bus to school on time with his eight-year-old stepsister.
Workers on the property called 911 after Houk's four-year-old daughter came out of the house in tears.
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At a preliminary trial today, it was decided Brown be tried as an adult answering first-degree murder charges.
If convicted, he will serve a mandatory life sentence.
Brown stared ahead in silence throughout the hearing, his hands and feet in cuffs. His lawyer still hasn't ruled out the boy being tried in a juvenile court, insisting he is "thriving" under treatment at the juvenile detention centre where he is being held.
Houk's father, Jack, also appeared in the witness stand to testify that Brown was a good shot. He said he and the boy had fired guns together in the past.
Prosecutors claim Brown's motive was jealousy.
Police allege the boy might have tried to throw them off his trail by claiming to have seen a mysterious truck at the family's property on the day Houk was killed.
Pittsburgh boy, 11, to be tried as adult for shotgun murder
Will be tried as adult for murder Allegedly used shotgun given as gift Faces mandatory life sentence
AN 11-year-old US boy accused of shooting and killing his father's pregnant fiancee was given a shotgun as a Christmas present.
Police say Jordan Brown shot Kenzie Houk, 26, in the back of the head while she slept at her home in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
They claim Brown went downstairs to Houk's bedroom with two guns but returned after her daughter saw him. He then hid a gun - a youth model 20-gauge shotgun he received for Christmas - in a blanket and went back to shoot Houk.
Brown returned and caught the morning bus to school on time with his eight-year-old stepsister.
Workers on the property called 911 after Houk's four-year-old daughter came out of the house in tears.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
At a preliminary trial today, it was decided Brown be tried as an adult answering first-degree murder charges.
If convicted, he will serve a mandatory life sentence.
Brown stared ahead in silence throughout the hearing, his hands and feet in cuffs. His lawyer still hasn't ruled out the boy being tried in a juvenile court, insisting he is "thriving" under treatment at the juvenile detention centre where he is being held.
Houk's father, Jack, also appeared in the witness stand to testify that Brown was a good shot. He said he and the boy had fired guns together in the past.
Prosecutors claim Brown's motive was jealousy.
Police allege the boy might have tried to throw them off his trail by claiming to have seen a mysterious truck at the family's property on the day Houk was killed.