Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (KDKA) – Now that Jordan Brown’s murder conviction has been overturned, his father and attorneys are hopeful that the case will be reopened by authorities in an effort to identify the genuine murderer.
2009 saw Brown accused with the 2009 shooting death of Kenzie Houk, the father’s fiancée who was expecting a child. Brown at the time was eleven years old.
While Houk was asleep at the Brown family’s house outside of New Castle, she was shot in the back of her skull. According to reports, Jordan Brown’s bedroom had a shotgun.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously reversed Brown’s conviction last Thursday, finding insufficient evidence to establish the shotgun’s role as the murder weapon.
“The exoneration is largely unprecedented but it speaks volumes to the insufficiency of the evidence in the case,” Dennis Elisco, the defense counsel, said. “How he does it, I don’t know, but he harbors no ill feelings or malice.”
“I cannot tell you how pleased I am with the review that was conducted by the Supreme Court and the thoroughness of their opinion and their analysis of the facts and the lack of evidence in the case,” Steve Colafella, an attorney, said. “The theory of the case is, to me, patently absurd in terms of the way it was suggested that Jordan Brown could have committed this crime.”
Jordan was present when his father and the lawyers discussed the matter on Monday. Speaking together, Brown’s father and lawyers expressed their hope that the case will be reopened to identify the true murderer.
“We are proud with the result we obtained, we are heartbroken for the loss, we are mystified as to why the true killer has not been investigated or apprehended and we would hope that the commonwealth, despite the delay in time, would reopen the investigation so that this family can have some justice,” Elisco stated.
Additionally, Elisco stated that it is not the defense’s responsibility to look into the matter and present a different suspect.
“The Supreme Court points this out, it’s not a duty on the defense to point to an alternative possible defendant,” Elisco stated.
In agreement, Jordan’s father expressed his desire for the case to be reconsidered.
“There are persons engaged in this matter who have sworn to conduct an investigation; it is not our responsibility to do so. All I could hope is that they will. Chris Brown expressed his hope that the case would be reopened and that the real murderer—who has been on the loose for nine years—would be apprehended.
According to Elisco, Jordan and his father Chris are also victims of this situation.
It is a reality that this terrible, horrifying, wicked crime has also affected Jordan and his father, Chris. Chris, Jordan’s brother, went to work that morning with the full expectation that he would return home and spend time with his family. “Obviously, his day turned out to be the most tragic in his life,” Elisco said.
Chris Brown expressed his happiness at his son’s return home, despite the bittersweet nature of his exoneration.
It’s been a hard path, as any parent might understand, and it’s something I wouldn’t want onto any other parent.” Regarding the news of the exoneration, Chris Brown remarked, “It was kind of bittersweet, full of joy but also sorrow knowing we really won’t have closure with our loss.”
Jordan was urged by his attorneys not to participate in the news conference or respond to inquiries.
“We believe that there was a rush to judgment, and we also believe that he was the casualty of a system that broke down,” Elisco stated.
Attorneys Elisco and Colafella said that because the case involved a minor, the public was never given all the information, which caused a misunderstanding of Jordan.
Since not much was made public at the time, like many of you and the majority of viewers, all I knew about Jordan Brown and the case against him was essentially limited to headlines, innuendo, and a few articles that only skimmed the surface of the story,” stated Colafella, who was brought into the case by Elisco.
Furthermore, Chris Jordan and the attorneys are bothered by how long it took for the truth to be revealed following the state Supreme Court’s ruling.
Nine years later, here we are. He has lived in this system for half of his life in order to reach this final day. I think that’s a problem. It’s a problem,” Brown remarked. “If anything positive comes out of this, I would hope that it’s maybe the higher-ups take a look at this juvenile system and how broken it is.”
The family and their attorneys would not rule out filing a civil complaint in this case, given what transpired with Jordan.
Elisco stated, “That is definitely something that is going to be looked into and possibly pursued,” in answer to a query from Jon Delano of KDKA. “I think it would be incumbent upon me, in conjunction with Jordan and Chris, to look into that.”
Regarding Jordan Brown, he plans to be a sophomore in college and is majoring in information systems.
He will undoubtedly contribute positively to society. He will accomplish amazing things. “He has great things ahead of him,” his dad remarked.
