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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