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Feb 22, 2009 2:00 pm US/Central
Pa. Community Shocked By Pregnant Woman's Slaying
NEW BEAVER BOROUGH, Pa. (CBS) ―
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The investigation continues after an 11-year-old was arrested and charged in the shooting of his father's pregnant girlfriend.
AP
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Police say 11-year-old Jordan Brown has been arrested and charged in the shooting death of 26-year-old Kenzie Houk in Lawence County.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/KDKA
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Kenzie Houk, 26, was found shot to death in her New Beaver Borough home.
KDKA
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Police say Kenzie Houk was found dead in a bedroom of her farm house in Wampum.
KDKA
A Pennsylvania community is searching for answers after a young boy was arrested in the shooting death of a pregnant woman.
Police held a press conference Saturday afternoon to discuss the details in the ongoing investigation, CBS station KDKA-TV reported.
"This is something that you wouldn't even think of in your worst nightmare, that you'd have to charge an 11-year-old with the homicide of a pregnant woman," said Lawrence County District Attorney John Bongivengo.
According to investigators, Kenzie Houk, 26, was at home Friday morning with her 7- and 4-year-old daughters and her boyfriend's son, 11-year-old Jordan Brown.
Police Houk was shot in the back of her head and killed in her bedroom between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m Friday. She was eight months pregnant at the time of her death. The unborn child died from lack of oxygen.
Authorities say Houk's 4-year-old daughter found her mother's body and alerted several tree trimmers who were working near the family's house. The workers called police.
Meanwhile, officials say Houk's 7-year-old daughter and Brown caught the bus to school. The boy and girl were later taken from the school for questioning by state police.
Investigators say Brown's story changed during the questioning, and the 7-year-old explained to them what she heard.
"The mother's daughter, the 7-year-old, implicated him," Bongivengo said. "She's not an actually eyewitness, but her statement, we believe, is very credible."
In Houk's neighborhood, residents are still trying to deal with the tragedy. Neighbor Michael Meyers said he used to take his kids to the same bus stop as Houk and he can't believe what has happened.
"It's amazing. I can't even believe it. I mean, how anybody can do something like that is just beyond me," said Meyers.
"It's tragic because a woman lost her life, a baby lost her life and you have an 11-year-old that's well on track to spend the rest of his life in jail," Bongivengo said.
"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.
Brown was arraigned and was being held in the Lawrence County Jail, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Thursday.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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