Lawyers for Jordan Brown, the 11-year-old Pennsylvania boy charged as an adult with double homicide, filed motions to dismiss the charges and suppress certain statements and search warrants.
A handful of witnesses took the stand, including the boy's father Christopher Brown and the trooper who questioned Jordan at Mohawk Elementary School the day of the murders.
Brown's lawyers want a statement made during that interview thrown out, since they say Jordan wasn't read his Miranda rights, but the D.A. says Brown wasn't in custody. He was questioned as a student, not as a suspect.
"I think she even said that. At that point, I didn't even think that he was present or witnessed the actual homicide. She just wanted to know if something happened, which would be typical. I mean, they spoke to neighbors and everything else as well," says Lawrence County District Attorney John Bongivengo.
The family of the victims, Kenzie Marie Houk and her unborn child, wore their daughter and sister's face around their necks on a hologram, confused by the testimony and the reasons for the hearing.
"I mean, if he's not guilty and you feel that he's not guilty, make him talk, you know. You need to say what happened that day. Why would you be contradicting and worried about what they took and why they took it?" says Debbie Houk, Kenzie's mother.
The judge made no decisions on any of the motions Thursday. Instead, another hearing will be scheduled so both sides can present more oral arguments. For Kenzie's family, they say all they can do is wait and pray.
"It's horrible. There's no need for this. I mean, they did their investigation. The evidence is there. I mean this-- it's horrible. It's evil," says Jennifer Kraner, Kenzie's sister.
Brown's family maintains his innocence. He's still being held at a juvenile detention center in Erie, Pa.
