ABC News correspondent Juju Chang interviews 21-year-old Jordan Brown. At the age of 11, Brown was convicted of murdering his father’s 8-months pregnant fiancée Kenzie Marie Houk, 26, in February 2009. She was shot in the back of the head while sleeping in their New Beaver, Pennsylvania home. At trial, prosecutors claimed Houk was shot with Jordan Brown’s youth-size 20-gauge shotgun which was a gift from his father Christopher Brown. After more than seven years in juvenile detention, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned Jordan Brown’s conviction in July 2018. The court said prosecutors did not provide enough evidence to support that the boy’s gun was the murder weapon. The double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment means Brown cannot be retried.
[Sidebar: The attorneys who took on Jordan Brown’s case did so on a pro bono basis. Attorney Dennis Elisco says had it been a “regular” case, “The cost would be in the seven figures.”]
During the 20/20 interview, Chris Brown, who drove 230 miles round-trip every day to visit his son at the facility, says while “I suffer from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) over this” he is also proud of his son “for being able to able to adapt and overcome and persevere.” He also reveals a giant tattoo on his arm which is Jordan’s name and birth date, 8-20-97. The police and Houk’s family tell 20/20 they still believe Jordan Brown killed Houk and her unborn son. 20/20 airs Fridays at 10 pm on ABC.
