A boy of 12 accused of killing his father's pregnant fiancee will be tried as an adult, a U.S. judge ruled has ruled.
Jordan Brown, aged 11 at the time of the shooting, is charged with blasting Kenzie Marie Houk, 26, in the back of the head with a shotgun.
Ms Houk was found dead in her bed in the family farmhouse in western Pennsylvia on February 20 last year. She was eight-and-a-half months pregnant and the unborn child died after she was shot because of a lack of oxygen.
Cynthia Orr, president of the National Association of Criminal Defence Attorneys, said she's never heard of someone as young as Brown charged with foetal homicide.
The child's attorneys are expected to appeal.
'It's simply inappropriate to put a 12-year-old child in the adult prison system, it won't work,' said Mrs Orr. 'It won't benefit society or this child.'
However, Lawrence County Judge Dominick Motto, outlining his refusal to move the case to a juvenile court, said: 'This offence was an execution-style killing of a defenceless pregnant young mother. A more horrific crime is difficult to imagine.'
Prosecutors have said they will seek a conviction on first-degree murder charges, for which Brown could face up to life in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors have suggested the boy was jealous of Ms Houk and her unborn son.
Police had said Brown hid the weapon under a blanket so her seven-year-old daughter would not see it as he entered her mother's room.
Later, authorities say, he threw the spent shell casing along a path on his way to a bus and went to school.
A state trooper testified that tests showed the shell was fired from Brown's youth-model 20-gauge shotgun, the gun he is believed to have received as a Christmas present.
Houk's body was only found when her four-year-old daughter told workers outside the house that she thought her mother was dead.
Brown's lawyers argued that the boy was too young to realise the full import of his actions and that he would best be dealt with in juvenile court.
Jordan Brown shortly after being charged with the murder of his father's fianceé. Police believe he may have been jealous of his Ms Houk and her unborn son
Chris Brown, Jordan's father, leaves the Lawrence County courthouse in Pennsylvania after a hearing earlier this month
The boy could be convicted of anything from involuntary manslaughter to first-degree murder under Pennsylvania's homicide law.
Prosecutors have said they will seek a conviction on first-degree murder charges, for which he could face up to life in prison if convicted.
Brown's lawyers argued that the boy was too young to realise the full import of his actions and that he would best be dealt with in juvenile court.
Cynthia Orr, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, said she's never heard of someone as young as Brown charged with foetal homicide.
The child's attorneys are expected to appeal.
'It's simply inappropriate to put a 12-year-old child in the adult prison system, it won't work,' said Orr, a Texas attorney. 'It won't benefit society or this child.'
Brown's attorneys, Dennis Elisco and David Acker, have argued the boy's case would best be dealt with in juvenile court, where he could receive treatment and incarceration specifically aimed at younger offenders.
Under state law, the attorneys had to convince the judge that he was more 'amenable' to rehabilitation in the juvenile system - which would have jurisdiction only until he is 21 - than as an adult.
But the judge said the testimony of defence psychologist Kirk Heilbrun didn't convince him that Brown was best tried as a juvenile.
Motto focused on findings by a prosecution psychiatrist, Dr John O'Brien, who found that Brown tended to 'minimise' the allegations against him. Brown denied killing Houk when examined by both doctors.
Kevin Harley, spokesman for the Pennsylvania attorney general, said prosecutors agree with the decision but stressed that prosecutors could still decide to move the case to juvenile court themselves if he admits he committed the crimes.
'Our position is he isn't amenable (to juvenile court rehabilitation) because he didn't admit he did it and hasn't accepted responsibility for his actions,' Harley said.
Orr said Harley's comments show that Pennsylvania's system is flawed if a child must, for all practical purposes, admit guilt to have a chance to be tried as a juvenile.
'That means this whole process is inappropriate and, certainly, unconstitutional,' she said.
Debbie Houk, the victim's mother, said she doesn't understand why there would be debate about the decision.
'There was no reason for uncertainty in our eyes,' Houk said. 'We're pleased.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1262271/US-boy-Jordan-Brown-tried-adult-killing-fathers-pregnant-fiance.html#ixzz0jh1kDS0R
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