PA - Kenzie Houk, 26, pregnant, murdered, Wampum, 20 Feb 2009

[passionflower]

--Father's pregnant fiancee was killed from gunshot

NEW CASTLE — The clothing of an 11-year-old accused of killing his father's pregnant fiancee had gunshot residue on it, a state trooper testified Tuesday at his preliminary hearing, where the boy was held for trial.

found this article tonight in paper........

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Update:


NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) -- The clothing of an 11-year-old accused of killing his father's pregnant fiance had gunshot residue on it, a state trooper testified Tuesday at his preliminary hearing, where the boy was held for trial.
Trooper Troy Scott Steinheiser testified the clothing was taken from Jordan Brown the evening of Feb. 20, the day Kenzie Marie Houk, 26, was found dead in the bedroom of the farmhouse in Wampum, where she lived with her two daughters, Brown and his father, Christopher Brown.
Tests revealed the residue, Steinheiser testified. Another trooper, Sgt. Kenneth Markilinski, testified that he found a 20-gauge shotgun in Brown's upstairs bedroom and it smelled as though it had recently been fired.

way way more at link
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PA_PREGNANT_WOMAN_KILLED?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

This DA knows his business imo and is direct and gets on with it.

"I have a shotgun blast to the back of the head that's consistent with a 20-gauge shotgun shell, I have a 20-gauge youth-model in his room which smells like it's recently fired and he's got gun residue on him. I think at this point, that's more than enough," Bongivengo said."

 

[Fairy1]

Thnx for the link Linda. The gun provided opportunity. Why was there an unsecured 20 gauge shotgun in a household where children lived? If he did it the troubled eleven year old killed her quickly and easily. The child's source of pride that he shared with his father was his ability to aim and shoot well. The shotgun should have been locked away and used only by him when he was supervised. If that gun was not available his future stepmother and brother might be alive today. That old hackneyed saying that it's not the gun, but the person who did it, imo, doesn't apply when the shooter is a child. The problem with this is that the person is an eleven year old boy who was isolated with no counseling and was being ignored. His father should have locked the gun away if he was paying attention to his child. He was a very fearful boy.

ITA chiperoni! Hmmmm, my son is troubled, should I get him some help or should I give him a gun? I don't care if hunting is a way of life in some parts of the country, DO NOT LEAVE UNSECURED WEAPONS IN A HOME WITH CHILDREN!!! There were 3 young children and another about to be born in this home. If this hadn't been a deliberate murder (which I believe it was), it could very well have been an accidental killing. Common sense is in short supply anymore....

 

[Bobbisangel]

I have to agree that all guns should be kept locked up and only the parents know where the key to the gun cabinet is kept. At least with the guns locked up if a child murders someone it will be known that it wasn't because there were guns laying around. With so many kids killing their parents or parent it seems that we should make our homes as kill proof as possible for our own safety.

I wonder if this boy is still being tried as an adult?

 

[Boyz_Mum]

Aside from keeping guns locked up, it doesn't hurt to put the ammo in an entirely different place.

This story is heartbreaking.

 

[Fairy1]

I am not a fan of placing blame. However, where children are concerned, there are factors to be considered. Shooting someone is relatively easy in terms of killing. Particularly if someone has a hunting background. You really have to wonder if a gun hadn't been so readily available to this child, would this ever have happened? If his parents had been more sensitive to his fears and feelings, would it have happened? He may have pulled the trigger, but others in his young life played a major role and should be held accountable. IMHO.

 

[Tonia]

Pennsylvania Boy, 11, Pleads Not Guilty in Pregnant Slaying

An 11-year-old western Pennsylvania boy has pleaded not guilty to adult charges that he fatally shot his father's pregnant fiancee at their home Feb. 20.
Wednesday's formal arraignment for Jordan Brown was the first step in moving the case through Lawrence County Common Pleas Court. But Brown's defense attorneys say they still plan to ask a judge to move the case to juvenile court, where a judge would have jurisdiction over the case only until Brown is 21.

If he's convicted as an adult, Brown could face up to life in prison.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,519312,00.html

 

[kittenish]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"To many people, the idea of a child psychopath is almost unthinkable. But the fact is, true psychopaths are born, not made. Oh, indeed, there is the psychopath that is "made," but they are generally different from the born psychopath in a number of ways.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The fact is, clinical research clearly demonstrates that psychopathy does not spring unannounced into existence in adulthood"[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"The last decade has seen the emergence of an inescapable and terrifying reality: a dramatic surge of juvenile crime that threatens to overwhelm our social institutions. Children under the age of ten who are capable of the sort of mindless violence that once was reserved for hardened adult criminals. At this writing, a small town in a western state is frantically searching for ways to deal with a nine-year-old who allegedly rapes and molests other children at knife point. He is too young to be charged and cannot be taken into care because "such action may only be taken when the child is in danger, not his victims," according to a child protection official. ~Dr. Robert Hare[/FONT]

ITA about psychopathy being biological, but as with most mental disorders, the environment is what triggers it or allows them to think it is okay. Don't get me wrong, I like horror and gory movies, but if I had children I wouldn't let them watch. Too many times the messages get mixed - i.e., a bully is picking on a 'loser', at the end of the movie, the 'loser' prevails and beats up the bully. In that situation it makes it seem okay to beat up the bully, cause he was a big jerk in the first place. I can't say that I would shelter my non-existent kids to the extreme, eventually someday they'll see violence, but they need to understand that it is not okay.

BTW, isn't it interesting, America's fascination with violence? Really, did we need 5 Saw movies?

 

[Tonia]

Judge Allows Key Evidence Against 12-Year-Old Murder Suspect

A judge has denied a motion to throw out statements a 12-year-old murder suspect made to police before he was charged with killing his father's pregnant girlfriend.

http://www.wfmj.com/Global/story.asp?S=11242872

 

[Texas Mist]

Judge weighs ‘adult’ status of murder suspect, 12

Published: Fri, January 29, 2010 @ 8:54 a.m.

NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) — A judge is scheduled to hear arguments today about whether a 12-year-old boy should be tried as a juvenile or an adult on charges he killed his father’s pregnant fiancee.
...
If Lawrence County Judge Dominick Motto determines Brown can be tried as an adult, he’ll face up to life in prison if convicted. If he’s tried as a juvenile, the longest he could be incarcerated or on probation is until he turns 21.

The boy’s attorney, Dennis Elisco, says the judge is not expected to rule on Jordan’s status at Friday’s hearing.


http://www.vindy.com/news/2010/jan/29/judge-weighs-8216adult8217-status-of-mur/

 

[ohiogirl]

Update on this case.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/10/pennsylvania.young.murder.defendant/index.html?hpt=C2

 

[ohiogirl]

Judge Allows Key Evidence Against 12-Year-Old Murder Suspect

A judge has denied a motion to throw out statements a 12-year-old murder suspect made to police before he was charged with killing his father's pregnant girlfriend.

http://www.wfmj.com/Global/story.asp?S=11242872

I wonder what those statements were? Haven't seen anything about what he may have said.

 

[ohiogirl]

http://blogs.discovery.com/bizarre/2009/10/jordan-brown.html#more

This link states they have agreed to suppress evidence from school records. Wonder what that is about.

 

[Texas Mist]

12-Year-Old Boy Jordan Brown Should Be Tried as an Adult for Murder, Doctor Argues

March 15, 2010 3:29 PM

NEW CASTLE, Pa. (CBS/AP) A boy who was 11-years-old when he allegedly murdered his father's pregnant fiancee with a shotgun has a "very limited" likelihood of being rehabilitated through the juvenile court system, a psychiatrist hired by state prosecutors said.

A judge will now weigh that in deciding whether Jordan Brown, now 12-years-old, will be tried as an adult or have his case moved to juvenile court.

The 12-year-old faces up to life in prison if he's convicted of the Feb. 20, 2009 murder of 26-year-old Kenzie Houk and her nearly full-term son as she lay in bed in their New Galilee farmhouse. If the case is moved to juvenile court, the longest Brown could remain incarcerated or on probation would be about nine years - just until he's 21-years-old.

Under Pensylvania law, in order to move the case Brown's attorneys must prove he would be more "amenable" to rehabilitation in the juvenile system.

Dr. John O'Brien, hired by state prosecutors, said Brown's "amenability to rehabilitation, in my opinion, is very limited." Brown was jealous of the son of his father's girlfriend before Houk, O'Brien said. And Brown may have resented plans to make him move out of his room to make space for the son Houk was expecting, O'Brien said.

more here

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20000481-504083.html

 

[trofanji]

12-Year-Old Boy Jordan Brown Should Be Tried as an Adult for Murder, Doctor Argues

March 15, 2010 3:29 PM

NEW CASTLE, Pa. (CBS/AP) A boy who was 11-years-old when he allegedly murdered his father's pregnant fiancee with a shotgun has a "very limited" likelihood of being rehabilitated through the juvenile court system, a psychiatrist hired by state prosecutors said.

A judge will now weigh that in deciding whether Jordan Brown, now 12-years-old, will be tried as an adult or have his case moved to juvenile court.

The 12-year-old faces up to life in prison if he's convicted of the Feb. 20, 2009 murder of 26-year-old Kenzie Houk and her nearly full-term son as she lay in bed in their New Galilee farmhouse. If the case is moved to juvenile court, the longest Brown could remain incarcerated or on probation would be about nine years - just until he's 21-years-old.

Under Pensylvania law, in order to move the case Brown's attorneys must prove he would be more "amenable" to rehabilitation in the juvenile system.

Dr. John O'Brien, hired by state prosecutors, said Brown's "amenability to rehabilitation, in my opinion, is very limited." Brown was jealous of the son of his father's girlfriend before Houk, O'Brien said. And Brown may have resented plans to make him move out of his room to make space for the son Houk was expecting, O'Brien said.

more here

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20000481-504083.html

The expert by the prosecution was paid by the prosecution. Interesting, the expert by the defense is working pro bono and came to a complete other conclusion.
Read the comment “by anotherlawyer March 16, 2010 12:20 PM EDT”

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20000481-504083.html#addcomm

 

[oceanblueeyes]

The expert by the prosecution was paid by the prosecution. Interesting, the expert by the defense is working pro bono and came to a complete other conclusion.
Read the comment “by anotherlawyer March 16, 2010 12:20 PM EDT”

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20000481-504083.html#addcomm

Now this is strange.

"But Brown's attorneys disagree. A defense expert who testified in January said Brown was a "low risk" for future violent behavior, but didn't consider the criminal allegations in reaching that conclusion.":waitasec:

imo

 

[trofanji]

It’s also strange that the prosecution expert came to his conclusion because the boy didn’t confess to the crime that he probably didn’t do.:waitasec:

 

[Linda7NJ]

Now this is strange.

"But Brown's attorneys disagree. A defense expert who testified in January said Brown was a "low risk" for future violent behavior, but didn't consider the criminal allegations in reaching that conclusion.":waitasec:

imo

That's LAUGHABLE!

 

[oceanblueeyes]

It’s also strange that the prosecution expert came to his conclusion because the boy didn’t confess to the crime that he probably didn’t do.:waitasec:

I am not sure what you mean. He doesn't have to confess to a crime for there to be evidence against him that he committed the crime.:waitasec: Since when is a lack of a confession means a person didn't do the crime?

Are you saying the little girl lied about seeing him with the shotgun that morning, which he had covered up with a blanket trying to conceal it, and when she said he threw the shell down outside and LE found the shotgun shell where she said he tossed it she was also lying about that too?

For any expert to omit this violent crime from their evaluation sounds like a fruit loop imo.

imo

 

[trofanji]

If he does it or not is not the problem, if he is able for rehabilitation is the problem. One expert that worked pro bono said he is, the other paid by DA said he isn't! one of the reason's he said: He doesn't confess. Would I confess to something that brings me at the age of 12 for the rest of my life behind bars, well I don't. And huh yes this case gets international now, people are shocked about the crime and also shocked about the possibility that in the US minor children can be send to LWOP. I personal think every kid is able for rehabilitation, the minimum they can do is to try it.
And did he really do the crime? I'm not sure.
IMO
http://www.endjlwop.org/the-issue/stats-by-state/pennsylvania/