11 Year Old Shoots Father's Pregnant Girlfriend

[Sionnach Glic]

CNN) -- An 11-year-old boy is facing adult charges in the shooting death of his father's pregnant girlfriend, authorities said Saturday.

Police say the boy shot Kenzie Marie Houk, who was eight months pregnant, once at point-blank range in her farmhouse in western Pennsylvania.

The boy, whose name was withheld by CNN because he is a juvenile, was charged with one count each of criminal homicide and homicide of an unborn child in the death of Houk, 26, Lawrence County District Attorney John Bongivengo told CNN.

Houk's 4-year-old daughter found her in her bed Friday, according to police. The child alerted landscapers working near the home, who then called authorities.

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 homicide," Bongivengo said, according to CNN affiliate WTAE. "It's heinous, the whole situation."

Under Pennsylvania law, anyone over the age of 10 accused of murder or homicide is charged as an adult. If convicted, the boy faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, Bongivengo said.

Authorities said the boy is the son of the victim's live-in boyfriend at the home in Wampum, about 35 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

"At this point, we don't believe it's accidental," Bongivengo said.

The weapon was a youth model 20-gauge shotgun, designed for use by children, that belonged to the boy, according to investigators.

Bongivengo told reporters the household has no history of child abuse, but that an investigation is ongoing.

Calls to the boy's public defender, Dennis Elisco, went unanswered Saturday.

Okay, one thing:

The weapon was a youth model 20-gauge shotgun, designed for use by children, that belonged to the boy,

A gun designed for kids? WTF?!?

[USSEnterprise]

Shouldn't the father be somewhat responsible, who gives their 11 year old child a lethal weapon? Did the kid even know the consequences of his actions?

[shran]

At the age of 11 the concept of murder should be well known to people. They realize by that time that people can die and that people can do so. however, I await further information.

[stitch626]

Okay, one thing:
The weapon was a youth model 20-gauge shotgun, designed for use by children, that belonged to the boy,
A gun designed for kids? WTF?!?

I'm with you on this one. That makes less sense than Bush's presidency.

[USSEnterprise]

At the age of 11 the concept of murder should be well known to people. They realize by that time that people can die and that people can do so. however, I await further information.

Very True, the main word being "should." The parent is the one who needs to beat that into the child's mind, we need to remember that the same parent bought his 11 year old (or younger) son a fully functioning shotgun and left ammo in an easily accessible place.

[Sonic Glitch]

Okay, one thing:
The weapon was a youth model 20-gauge shotgun, designed for use by children, that belonged to the boy,
A gun designed for kids? WTF?!?

Many kids/families in that area of Pennsylvannia start hunting young. Perhaps some of you have heard, Pennsylvannia is Philadelphia and Pittsburg with Arkansas in the middle? We're talking about an area of the state where back in "the day" it was regular for kids to drive to school with their guns in the back of their pick-up because they were going hunting aftewards. I was outraged too but when thought about like that, it doesn't seem quite as unlikely.

[Tsukiyumi]

Yeah, I don't think the shotgun was "designed for kids" just because it's a 20-gauge. That's like saying a .25 is a "ladies gun".

I have no problem with a kid owning a gun, but he damn sure shouldn't have had access to it without his father's supervision. I guess the yahoo never heard of a GUN SAFE. You can get one for under $100.

[Lt. Staplic]

that's just terrable.

and even if he couldn't afford a gun safe (which is probably unlikely, but I don't know their economic situation), the kid is 11, put the ammo on top of the refrigerator or something where the kid can't reach it!

[Tsukiyumi]

I'd say if they can't afford a gun safe, they can't afford a gun for the kid. The father is certainly at fault here, but the kid is old enough to know what he was doing. What a mess.

[Aaron]

The weapon was a youth model 20-gauge shotgun, designed for use by children, that belonged to the boy,

A gun designed for kids? WTF?!?

Whats wrong with that? if you start them young enough then the concept of weapons handling and firearm saftey will be second nature by the time they are an adult. Of course, the weapon has to be stored properly, which it was obviously not in this case.

[Tsukiyumi]

My point exactly. The father should face charges as well.

[Lt. Staplic]

I'd say if they can't afford a gun safe, they can't afford a gun for the kid. The father is certainly at fault here, but the kid is old enough to know what he was doing. What a mess.

ya, that's why I said that I doubted the fact that they couldn't afford it. Unfortuneately I doubt the father will face any charges, there is no law yet that requires you to keep your guns locked up (that I know of, I may be wrong.). Common sence should have told him otherwise, however.

God must like stupid people.........He sure does make a lot of them.

[Tsukiyumi]

...there is no law yet that requires you to keep your guns locked up (that I know of, I may be wrong.)...

I'm fairly certain that there are laws about keeping guns inaccessible to children, and the 11-year old wasn't the only kid in the house.

I'll see if I can find any statutes.

[USSEnterprise]

Do we know if it was intentional or not? I really wouldn't put it past an 11 year old to play with guns as an attempt to act "cool" or something.

[Tsukiyumi]

Do we know if it was intentional or not? I really wouldn't put it past an 11 year old to play with guns as an attempt to act "cool" or something.

I doubt he "accidentally" walked into her bedroom and put it to the back of her head. Besides, they already mentioned that he went hunting with his father frequently. He knows how to use firearms, and he knew exactly what he was doing.

EDIT: Sorry, that was in this article -

NEW CASTLE, Pa. - An 11-year-old boy charged with killing his father's pregnant fiancee will be moved from a county jail to a juvenile facility under a court order issued Tuesday.

A judge agreed that it is in Jordan Brown's best interest to be housed in the Allencrest Juvenile Detention Center northwest of Pittsburgh. Brown remains charged as an adult in the shooting death of 26-year-old Kenzie Marie Houk, though his attorney said he will ask to have the case moved to a juvenile court.

"What we have learned is ... that under Pennsylvania law he can continue to be ... prosecuted as an adult and be housed in a secure juvenile detention center," defense attorney Dennis Elisco said.

Brown is accused of shooting Houk in the head Friday, killing her and her unborn baby boy.

He's in a cell isolated from the adult inmates in Lawrence County Jail. Elisco said his client will be moved to the juvenile center Wednesday morning.

A viewing and funeral for Houk and her baby boy, who was named Christopher after his father, was held Tuesday evening.

Hundreds of friends and family stood for hours in freezing temperatures to pay their respects to Houk at the viewing. They walked quietly past her body, which was dressed in a red sweater. Near her feet were two blue baby booties for the baby she was to deliver in just a few weeks and beside her was a red pillow with the words "Special Mom" embroidered in white.

Houk's immediate family was allowed to see the baby's body. Her uncle Willard Houk called it "a hard thing" knowing Houk was so close to giving birth.

At the funeral service, friends and family remembered Houk as a loving, joyful, stubborn woman who could never be persuaded to do something she was opposed to. One of her best friends, the Rev. Jamie Holmes, recalled a time when he and Houk went to a Pittsburgh Steelers game together and Hines Ward wanted to talk to her - and she refused.

"I was so angry," he said laughing at the memory.

Jordan Brown and his father lived with Houk and her two small daughters in a farmhouse in the rural western Pennsylvania town of Wampum.

Authorities believe Friday's killing was premeditated. They say Brown went downstairs with two guns but returned upstairs after Houk's 7-year-old daughter saw him; they believe he then hid a gun in a blanket and went back downstairs to Houk's bedroom and shot her in the back of the head.

Later, the 7-year-old girl told police she saw the boy drop something on the ground from his pocket before they got on the school bus. Police said they found a spent shotgun shell in the same spot.

Earlier Tuesday, Houk's mother said the boy had been threatening her daughter for at least two months and often gave her a hard time, especially when his father wasn't around.

"It's been at least two months that he's made the threats," Debbie Houk said, adding that Jordan "just bucked her (Kenzie) a lot when his dad wasn't around."

"Chris was good about it. He tried. He told him, 'Don't you ever disrespect her,'" Debbie Houk added.

Debbie Houk said Jordan, a hunter, knew a lot about guns and was a good shot. On Valentine's Day, he beat out many older and more experienced hunters at a turkey shoot.

"I'll never cook that turkey. It's the same gun that killed my daughter," she said. "So he knew what a gun did. He knew the dangers of a gun."

Source.