Adult trial for 12-yr-old killer

Updated on: 11 February,2010 08:28 AM IST |
Agencies |

Boy, who shot his father's fiancee, could be youngest murderer in US

Boy, who shot his father's fiancee, could be youngest murderer in US

Jordan Brown was only 11 years old when Pennsylvania prosecutors say he put a bullet in the head of his father's pregnant fiancee and shot her dead. The unborn child also died.

Now. a court will decide if Brown (12), couldu00a0 become the youngest murder defendants in the US to be tried as an adult. The next hearing is March 12.

Innocent mind? Jordon Brown's family wants him to be tried in the juvenile courtu00a0

Authorities say he shot 26-year-old Kenzie Marie Houk in their western Pennsylvania farmhouse last February.

A defense psychologist testified that an adolescent's brain does not control impulses in a "mature way."

Lawrence County Judge Dominick Motto continued the rest of the hearing to allow the prosecution's psychologist to examine Brown. That doctor will testify when the hearing resumes.

Family support

Brown's family wants the case tried in juvenile court and believe the "all-American boy", who loves to hunt with his father Chris Brown and play football, is innocent.

If Brown is tried and convicted as an adult, he faces life in prison. If convicted in juvenile court, he can only remain in detention until he is 21.

The suspect's father has not publicly discussed the case. "Our first step is decertification, because we feel like he is amenable to juvenile rehabilitation," said attorney Dennis Elisco of New Castle, Pennsylvania. "Not only do I know he's amenable, but alsou00a0 innocent."

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