Teen Accused In Shooting Death Of Father's Fiancée Released
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - An 18-year-old man, who was convicted of killing his father's fiancée and her unborn child when he was still a minor, has been released from a juvenile detention center.
Jordan Brown spent nearly seven-and-a-half years in juvenile detention. His lawyer says he graduated high school last week from the juvenile system and was planning to attend college.
Brown was 11 years old when he was accused of killing Kenzie Houk. The 26-year-old was in the final month of her pregnancy and her unborn son did not survive.
Prosecutors said Brown used his father's shotgun to shoot Houk in the back of her head in the family's home in New Beaver.
Brown was originally charged as an adult, but his case was ultimately moved to juvenile court.
In April of 2012, Brown was found delinquent. That's the equivalent of guilty in adult court.
Brown's attorneys contested the ruling and in 2014 requested a new trial.
"When you look at the weight of the evidence that Jordan was denied a fair trial and justice mandates that he have a new trial, a retrial," Dennis Elisco said at the time.
The state supreme court upheld the appeal for a new trial, but it was denied in 2015 by the same Lawrence County judge who issued the 2012 delinquency.
In court, Houk's sister testified how the tragedy has devastated their family.
"A nightmare for all involved, and I let them know how my family suffers every day, how I suffer every day, how this has just changed our lives," Jennifer Kraner said.
Brown could have remained in juvenile detention until he was 21. His release on Monday came after a dispositional hearing with his defense attorney, the Lawrence County juvenile probation officer and a representative from the state attorney general's office.
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