NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawyers for 11-year-old Jordan Brown -- who's accused of shooting his father's pregnant girlfriend to death -- wanted evidence to be thrown out because they say the child didn't fully understand his rights when police interviewed him at his school.
But on Thursday, Judge Dominick Motto refused the request to suppress statements Brown made to police and will allow them to be presented in the boy's upcoming trial on an adult charge of criminal homicide.
Motto also denied a motion to suppress key evidence that was obtained in a search warrant, which the defense claims is illegal because it wasn't signed by an officer.
But Motto agreed with the defense's request not to allow evidence that police obtained when searching the boy's school records.
Brown was too young to be questioned on the day that state police say 26-year-old Kenzie Houk was killed at her Wampum farmhome, defense attorney Dennis Elisco said after the motions hearing in August.
"The law is pretty clear," Elisco told Channel 4 Action News in August. "When you have a juvenile, you look at all the factors, including their age, experience with law enforcement and the absence or presence of a parental figure or an adult -- somebody who is aligned with their interest who can advise them on the consequences of a waiver of their rights and of voluntarily giving statements to the police."
District Attorney John Bongivengo argued against dismissing statements that the child made to police, saying that a guidance counselor filled the adult role which Elisco said was lacking in Brown's interview at Mohawk Elementary School.
The prosecution argued that Brown had gunshot residue on his shoulder and that his youth shotgun -- found in the boy's bedroom -- smelled as if it had been recently fired.
"They don't have any evidence that actually puts Jordan Brown in the house at the time of the death, whatever time that death might have been," said Elisco, who wanted the entire case to be dismissed.
Brown is being held without bail. If found guilty, he would face life in prison without parole.
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