Sunday, February 22, 2009

WAMPUM, PA: JORDAN BROWN, 11, MURDERS WOMAN, GOES TO SCHOOL

WAMPUM, PENNSYLVANIA

Eleven-year-old Jordan Anthony Brown. (Lawrence County Prison via Beaver County Times/AP)

The farmhouse where Kenzie Marie Houk was killed on Friday, is shown in Wampum, Pa., Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009. Eleven-year-old Jordan Brown is charged in the shooting death of the 26-year-old pregnant mother of two. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
(Kevin Lorenzi/Beaver County Times/AP) Police said that they found Ms Houk's body in the rented farmhouse in Wampum, northwest of Pittsburgh

Boy Shoots Dad's Pregnant Fiancee Before School, Police Say
Sunday, February 22, 2009 / ASSOCIATED PRESS

WAMPUM, Pa. — Fifth-grader Jordan Brown boarded the bus and headed to school like he did most other mornings in this rural western Pennsylvania community.

But before he left home on Friday, authorities say, the 11-year-old boy had shot his father's pregnant fiancee in the back of the head as she lay in bed. He then put his youth model 20-gauge shotgun back in his room before going out to catch his bus, police say.

Brown was charged Saturday as an adult in the death of 26-year-old Kenzie Marie Houk, who was eight months pregnant, Lawrence County District Attorney John Bongivengo said. Houk's fetus died within minutes due to a lack of oxygen, Lawrence County Coroner Russell Noga said.

Houk's family and friends, who gathered at her parents' house Saturday night, told The Associated Press that there had been past problems with the boy.

(snip)

The boy's father, Christopher Brown, is "a mess" and had no indication his son had a problem with Houk, Elisco said.

"He's in a state of actual shock and disbelief," he said.

The shotgun used is designed for children and has a shorter arm and such weapons do not have to be registered, Bongivengo said. Jack Houk, 57, said the boy and his father used to practice shooting behind their farmhouse, and the two enjoyed going hunting together.

WHY DID JORDAN BROWN, AGE 11, KILL?