12 year old to be charged as adult in double homicide
 

NEW CASTLE - Since being charged with the murder of his father's fiance, Jordan Brown, through his defense attorneys, has asserted his innocence.

Largely because of those denials, a Lawrence County judge ruled Monday that Brown, now 12 years old, will stand trial as an adult.

Brown, formerly of New Beaver, is accused in the murder of Kenzie Houk, 26, and her unborn child on Feb. 20, 2009. Houk was engaged to be married to Brown's father, Christopher, and her unborn son would have been Jordan Brown's half brother.

At the time of the murder, Brown was 11 years old, which makes him one of the youngest people in U.S. history to be charged with homicide in adult court. For more than a year, he has been held at the Edmund Thomas Adolescent Center in Erie.

Brown's trial is scheduled to begin in May after Lawrence County Court Judge Dominick Motto denied the defense's petition to decertify the boy, which would have moved his case to the juvenile system.

"We believe that Judge Motto made the correct decision based on the law and the facts before him," said Kevin Harley, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Anthony Krastek took over prosecution of the case in January after Lawrence County District Attorney Joshua Lamancusa withdrew because he had given legal advice to Christopher Brown before taking office.

Defense attorney David Acker said he was disappointed in the decision, although he couldn't have predicted which way the ruling would go.

"I'm very optimistic, but I didn't know which way he was going to roll," he said.

Under state law, homicide charges against juveniles must be filed in the adult system, and defense attorneys have the burden of proving that the prosecution must be moved to juvenile court by establishing the defendant can be rehabilitated and that he offers a low risk to the public upon his release.

Had the decertification petition been successful, the case would have moved to the juvenile system, and Brown could have been held in detention for no longer than August 2019, when he turns 21.

In his 17-page decision, Motto ruled that the defense failed to meet its burden, in large part because Brown's continued denials in the crime show an unwillingness to take responsibility for his actions, a necessary factor in rehabilitation.

Motto said that point was established by both forensic psychologists in the case - John O'Brien, who testified for the prosecution, and Kirk Heilbrun, the defense's expert - who testified in de-certification hearings Jan. 29 and March 12.

During his testimony, O'Brien said Brown's possible motive for killing Houk was that she threatened the boy's relationship with his father. Admitting the crime, O'Brien said, would have the same effect, which gives him an additional motivation to avoid taking responsibility for the murder.


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Wait. They are prosecuting him as an adult, purely because he is protesting his innocence? Wtf?

I felt some type of way after reading that too. I honestly thought that even IF you did it, unless you're accepting a plea, you're supposed to plead "not guilty" and maintain your innocence. Then again, I'm no legal expert. I'm sure one of the resident Lawyers will fill us in.

Isn't protesting his innocence what he's supposed to do? Also he is TWELVE! He might not have the sense/understanding to face what he has done even if he did do it!

That's insane. How the hell can they expect an 11 year old kid to have the same mental capacities as an adult, and try him as such?

The way I heard it on the news is not that he protested his innocence, but feels absolutely no remorse that his father's fiance and the coming baby are dead. He had made many negative remarks to friends that he didn't want a baby in the house.

I admit that I'm very much on the fence about this, and about other children who (presumedly) kill. There needs to be a facility for them to get treatment, away from the standard juvenile delinquent, but not with the prison general population. If he is guilty, the court may be doing the population at large a huge favor - one example being that Ted Bundy first killed someone when he was either 12 or 13. If he's innocent, he shouldn't have to be in a prison with adult felons.

Ahhh, that makes sense.

It varies on a state by state basis, but I believe that in most places he would be held in a juvenile detention center until 18 and then housed with the other adult felons.

I know that in FL children charged as adults are housed with adults and do get abused. It is disgusting. I don't care if they did "grown up" crimes. They're still babies and can't defend themselves against hardened adult criminals! No one even looks out for them there.

Max, he's a white kid.

This has been in our papers since it happened last winter. It happened about halfway between Youngstown and Pittsburgh.


Forgive me, I forgot to say thank you!

I thought he went on those rallies because Mumia was framed.

Keep in mind that this kid did allegedly kill a pregnant woman. That's a capital crime and he should count himself lucky that he won't be on death row. If this "baby" is found guilty, he brutally killed someone. Who looked out for her?

How is it a capital crime? Also does Penn have a death statute?