New Castle Murder Suspect, Then 11, To Be Tried As Juvenile

A boy who was 11 when police say he murdered his father's pregnant girlfriend will be tried as a juvenile and not as an adult.

Jordan Brown's homicide case has been transferred to juvenile court on an order issued Tuesday by Lawrence County Common Pleas Court Judge Dominick Motto. The decision means that Jordan no longer faces the possibility of life in prison without parole, as he would if tried as an adult. In juvenile court, he faces incarceration only until he reaches age 21.

Jordan, now 14, was an 11-year-old fifth-grader when he was accused of the shotgun killing of his father's fiancée, Kenzie Houk, and her unborn son in February 2009. His case had drawn worldwide interest and criticism because he could have been the youngest person in the nation and possibly the world to be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

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• Kenzie Houk
• Jordan Brown
• Chris Brown
• tried as juvenile
• tried as adult