Father Says 12-Year-Old Jordan Brown Innocent Of Shooting Fiancee
POSTED: 10:31 am EST March 11, 2010
UPDATED: 7:11 pm EST March 12, 2010
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A Lawrence County judge says he'll decide by April 1 whether to try 12-year-old Jordan Brown as an adult on charges that the boy killed his father's pregnant fiancee and her unborn son.
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Watch Bob Mayo's ReportAfter a hearing Friday, Judge Dominick Motto gave lawyers on both sides a week to submit written arguments about Brown. The defense wants the child to be tried as a juvenile but prosecutors are pushing for an adult trial.
The original hearing was postponed to give a psychiatrist a chance to examine Brown for the prosecution. That doctor -- John O'Brien -- testified Friday and said Brown is not a good candidate for treatment as a juvenile and is evasive, resentful and refuses to accept responsibility.
Jordan Brown was 11 when his soon-to-be stepmother, Kenzie Houk, was shot to death in their Wampum farmhouse in February 2009. Prosecutors said the boy fired at the 26-year-old with a youth shotgun while she lay sleeping in her bed, then got on his school bus and went to class. Less than a day later, he was arrested.
"I'm hoping and hoping and hoping that he'll be charged as an adult, because that's what he is. He did an adult crime," Houk's father, Jack, said outside the courtroom. "He did a double homicide and worked his way down to do everything. Everything he did was like clockwork and it's horrible how he did it."
Brown's father, Chris, did not speak as he left court after the hearing.
The defense and Brown's father have said that the boy is innocent.
"I think children are best treated in the quiet, they're best treated by professionals, and out of the frenzy that he finds himself in. I'd much rather see him in the juvenile system," defense attorney David Acker said.
If tried as an adult, Jordan Brown would face the possibility of life in prison. But if tried as a juvenile, the court's jurisdiction would end when he turns 21 and he would be released. He continues to be held in a juvenile facility pending the trial.
"He's the only one that knows, and he can sit there with no remorse," Jack Houk said. "Every time we go in the trial, not even look around like he's a kid. Everybody's seen there's not a tear down his face."
Father Proclaims Son's Innocence
On Thursday, for the first time, Chris Brown spoke to the media about his son's case.
"Just an all-around good kid. Big into sports. A lot of friends in school," Chris Brown said of Jordan to ABC's "Good Morning America."
Chris Brown said his son was "scared, frightened, crying" when he was taken away by police.
"Jordan's never been away from me for any length of time since he was born. He was terrified, terrified," Chris Brown said, adding that he believes his son is innocent.
"He looked like a baby. He looked like a baby in an orange jumpsuit in an adult jail," Chris Brown said about the first time he saw his son incarcerated.
Former District Attorney John Bongivengo, who is no longer prosecuting Jordan Brown's case, has speculated that the boy was jealous and angry as the new woman in his father's life was about to have a son. But the defense has dismissed that motive and said there's no evidence of it.
When asked if his son understands the magnitude of what he's been accused of, Brown said, "He seems to understand it. But he doesn't appreciate the magnitude of it. He's simply too young."
Even if the judge decides Jordan Brown should be tried as a juvenile, his father said there's still the real battle ahead.
"Obviously happy. But then, you know, we still have to prove his innocence at the trial," said Chris Brown.
Brown told ABC that he's drained his life savings, spending $900 a week on gas to make the daily four-hour round trip to visit his detained son. Despite the loss of his family, he's trying to keep his spirits up.
"I have no choice. I have to stay strong for my son," Chris Brown said.
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