Pa. boy, 11, accused of killing dad's girlfriend

[Nagishkaw 510]

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.

"He actually told my son that he wanted to do that to her," said Houk's brother-in-law, Jason Kraner. "There was an issue with jealousy."

Pennsylvania State Police found Houk's body in the rented farmhouse after her 4-year-old daughter told tree cutters on the property she thought her mother was dead, Bongivengo said.

The boy told police there was a black truck on the property that morning — possibly the man who feeds the cows — sending investigators to follow a false lead for about five hours, Bongivengo said. Inconsistencies in Brown's description of the truck led police to re-interview Houk's 7-year-old daughter, who implicated the boy in the killing, Bongivengo said. State troopers went to get the boy at school.

"She didn't actually eyewitness the shooting. She saw him with what she believed to be a shotgun and heard a loud bang," Bongivengo said. The gun was found in a "location we believe to be in the defendant's bedroom."

Brown was arraigned and was being held in the Lawrence County Jail, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Thursday.

"An 11-year-old kid — what would give him the motive to shoot someone?" said Houk's father, Jack Houk. "Maybe he was just jealous of my daughter and the baby and thought he would be overpowered."

Defense attorney Dennis Elisco said he plans to ask Monday for the boy to be released on bail and for the case to moved to juvenile court. Elisco and police said they had no clear motive for the shooting.

Elisco said he is waiting to see physical evidence that ties his young client to the killing.

"I don't think he knows what's going on," he said. "I walked out of there thinking he was innocent. I believe Jordan did not do this."

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.

Wampum is about 45 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090222/ap_on_...nt_woman_killed

[Yoink 7]

why does an 11 year old have his own gun in his own room unlocked, unsupervised, and with live ammunition.

Father should go to jail and the kid to juvy

[amberdima 6]

tragic.

[Nagishkaw 510]

why does an 11 year old have his own gun in his own room unlocked, unsupervised, and with live ammunition.

Father should go to jail and the kid to juvy

I was thinking along those lines, too.

[Jasman0717 9]

why does an 11 year old have his own gun in his own room unlocked, unsupervised, and with live ammunition.

Father should go to jail and the kid to juvy

I grew up with guns but never shot anyone. I believe it is the way we are raising our children. This ####### about child abuse for spanking a child is stupid. Growing up 50 years ago was a damn sight safer than now days.

[Nagishkaw 510]

No such thing as the woodshed anymore.

[Jasman0717 9]

No such thing as the woodshed anymore.

Too bad, when I was growing up life was much safer and you never heard of any kids doing things like this. I grew up in a rural area and everyone had guns. Heck, you would see regular people walking down the main street with a pistol in a holster. Do that these days and you will get shot

[Peikko 1,575]

As we have no idea in which way this kid was disciplined when he did something wrong prior to this horrible and tragic event, I can't see how one can possibly say it's all down to a lack of a good spanking. Things are different these days, not less there are a lot more people living in communities where no one knows one another and cares less. That is probably more of a contributory factor than a lack of spankings and brutal punishment.

Regardless, it's a horrible, horrible tragedy for the whole family involved.

As this is a rural community and the father believed in taking his kid hunting, this may very well resemble the kind of family you grew up in.

[Jasman0717 9]

As we have no idea in which way this kid was disciplined when he did something wrong prior to this horrible and tragic event, I can't see how one can possibly say it's all down to a lack of a good spanking.

I'm not really saying that, I am saying parenting has changed from when I was a kid and to me the results are far from perfect. Discipline was a part of my childhood but so was the way my parents raised me. That is the exception to the rule now. How many latch key kids are in this country now with no supervision? When I was a kid I was never home alone. My parents worked but my grandparents were right across the street and that is where I spend my afternoons after school and in the summers.

[Peikko 1,575]

Fair enough, but I still think it's a reach for response when faced with something tragic like this. My experience is that parents very much do parent today. Those who are left to fend for themselves are still the exception, and not the rule. However, even if you were right, and there is a problem with latch key kids, how does this example fit that hypothesis? We don't know that it does in the same way we don't know how this child was disciplined before this incident. I guess I am saying that there is no magic formula to prevent things like this happening however fortunately these are very, very rare events despite what the media might lead one to believe.

[Jasman0717 9]

Fair enough, but I still think it's a reach for response when faced with something tragic like this. My experience is that parents very much do parent today. Those who are left to fend for themselves are still the exception, and not the rule. However, even if you were right, and there is a problem with latch key kids, how does this example fit that hypothesis? We don't know that it does in the same way we don't know how this child was disciplined before this incident. I guess I am saying that there is no magic formula to prevent things like this happening however fortunately these are very, very rare events despite what the media might lead one to believe.

I believe the breakdown in our society is do to the breakdown of the basic family unit. Latchkey kids may be an exception to the rule but I know it is a lot high ratio that when I was a kid. The kids who did have both parents working had a place to go to with adult supervision that now seems to be missing. My brother was a psychologist for many, many years and would often comment about the breakdown of the basic family stucture over the past few decades and what it has done to our society.

I, myself, think there is a magic formula, if you are going to be a parent be responsible

[lostinblue 1,989]

When I was 14 years old I could walk out of the house with a loaded shot gun or . 22 Never ever did I think to shoot anyone.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/02/20...tml?_r=2&hp

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Friday struck down a California law that sought to ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors.

Of course I never had any video game that glorified killing another human. Now the lawyers in this case CLAIM there is no link to violence and murder in video games and the real world . Who paid them to find a study to support this claim.

http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/familyres...ameviolence.htm

The authors final conclusions are best stated by quoting the article. They state:

The present research demonstrated that in both a correlational investigation using self-reports of real-world aggressive behaviors and an experimental investigation using a standard, objective laboratory measure of aggression, violent video game play was positively related to increases in aggressive behavior. In the laboratory, college students who played a violent video game behaved more aggressively toward an opponent than did students who had played a nonviolent video game. Outside the laboratory, students who reported playing more violent video games over a period of years also engaged in more aggressive behavior in their own lives. Both types of studies–correlational—real delinquent behaviors and experimental—laboratory aggressive behaviors have their strengths and weaknesses. The convergence of findings across such disparate methods lends considerable strength to the main hypothesis that exposure to violent video games can increase aggressive behavior. (Anderson & Dill, 2000)

You can pull up many studies that challange this. The fact remains that it is a debate that goes on forever.

In this case a gun was used to kill. Who is to say that he would not of had picked up a base ball bat and tried to hit a home run with her head. How many people can kill someone and go about their life as nothing has happened. (maybe just like in a video game).What part of the culture is gloryifing this behavor. Rap music , movies. More for the debate. While a gun was a instrument of choice in this crime. The fact is IF someone wants to kill you there is nothing you can do about it unless you know about it in advance.

[Peikko 1,575]

Fair enough, but I still think it's a reach for response when faced with something tragic like this. My experience is that parents very much do parent today. Those who are left to fend for themselves are still the exception, and not the rule. However, even if you were right, and there is a problem with latch key kids, how does this example fit that hypothesis? We don't know that it does in the same way we don't know how this child was disciplined before this incident. I guess I am saying that there is no magic formula to prevent things like this happening however fortunately these are very, very rare events despite what the media might lead one to believe.

I believe the breakdown in our society is do to the breakdown of the basic family unit. Latchkey kids may be an exception to the rule but I know it is a lot high ratio that when I was a kid. The kids who did have both parents working had a place to go to with adult supervision that now seems to be missing. My brother was a psychologist for many, many years and would often comment about the breakdown of the basic family stucture over the past few decades and what it has done to our society.

I, myself, think there is a magic formula, if you are going to be a parent be responsible

Even responsible parents end up with messed up kids. Of course responsible parenting is essential but my point is, I don't believe that there has been a dramatic shift away from responsible parenting. A trip down memory lane is not the best evidence that this is so. The 'basic family structure' that your brother is talking about only really took root in the 60's. Kids in the 1920's pretty much always fended for themselves.

That's not to say society hasn't changed, it has, it has fragmented because there is this culture of isolationism. "I can/must manage on my own, I don't need help from my neighbours". That sort of isolationism has created communities where no one knows anyone else and it's extremely easy to 'disappear' from view.

[_Simpson_ 250]

A kid doesnt just pickup a gun one day and shoot somebody in the back of the head. There had to have been signs that the father addressed wrong or didnt address at all, sure he would of never thought in a million years his son could do such a thing but he left a loaded gun in the house and from the article it sounds like it was the kids gun. The kid must of showed some serious behavioral problems, I think this has a big part to do with bad parenting. That said this kid is a few fries short of a happy meal, wow what 11 year old does that.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

More domestic violence.