this is "nightline." >> tonight, road to freedom. jordan brown once dubbed america's littlest monster. >> this is the mugshot that was taken. >> i was crying in the picture. i was crying that whole night. >> arrested and convicted for murdering his pregnant soon to be stepmom when he was just 11 years old. now his conviction overturned. me to our juju chang. a beloved classic gets the real treatment. a first look at the upcoming live action remake of "the lion king." "nightline" will be right back.

tonight, the heart-wrenching story of one man trying to clear his nature. at age 11, jordan brown was arrested and later convicted for murdering his pregnant soon to be stepmom. now 21 with his conviction overturned, he's talking publicly for the first time. here's my "nightline" coanchor juju chang. >> i was 11 years old when this all happened. i had no idea what was going on. i remember waking up, the police

taking me, and i was in jail. and that was it. it was really embarrassing, i feel like, being in front of people, not knowing what they're thing. that was a big thing that bothered me. >> because people thought you were a murderer. >> yeah. >> reporter: the headlines captivated the country. >> it happened inside this pennsylvania farmhouse. >> child killer accused of a shocking crime at the age of 11. >> reporter: an 11-year-old boy labeled america's littlest monster. accused of shooting his pregnant soon to be stepmom with a shotgun in cold blood. >> this is an execution-style killing. >> did you understand what you stood accused of? >> no, i didn't understand. >> reporter: the case tearing a family apart. >> jordan's a murderer and i'll say it. his father needs to look in the mirror and say, i am the father of a murderer. >> reporter: but nearly ten years later, a legal bombshell. jordan brown's murder conviction overturned. >> how do you explain to somebody what that's like, to be

accused of murder? >> accused of it, a horrible feeling, i can't explain it. >> reporter: the 21-year-old jordan says growing up, he remembers happiness. >> what kind of childhood would you say you had up until 11? >> normal. i had friends coming over, we used to always play. games, like video games. >> reporter: by the time jordan was in fifth grade, his dad, christopher, had gotten engaged to kensy houck. their families blended. 11-year-old jordan, kensy's daughter, 7-year-old janessa, and 4-year-old adaline, under one roof. >> what was your relationship like with your soon to be stepmom? >> strong. she was really nice, i liked her a lot. >> reporter: he called kenzie mom. the family had reason to rejoice -- kenzie was pregnant with a baby boy. >> i always wanted a little brother. it was a boy so that was what i was going to get.

>> reporter: february 20th, 2009, a cold, frigid morning, that happiness shattered. >> i remember getting up that morning, running a little late for work. she'd asked me to stay home that day, i didn't. that's something that's haunted me. >> what do you remember? >> it was just a normal morning. my sister janessa woke me up. >> reporter: 8 1/2 months pregnant, kenzie stayed in bed as they got ready for school. >> angie told us to go, because the bus is coming, we were going to be late. we hurried up, went out the backdoor, ran down the driveway, went to school. >> reporter: after they got on the bus at 8:15, it was just kenzie and addeline, asleep in her bed, inside the house. fin: 9:00 a.m., a crew of men arrived to cut trees on the property and spotted adaline at the door. she says her mom is dead. they call the police. >> the coroner as he started to

touch the body, "we have a problem." we realized it was a homicide. >> reporter: kenzie had been shot in the back of the head at close range. >> they told me that her and the baby were gone. i remember collapsing in the yard. i >> ror poleewedboth jordan and school. at first neither reported anything out of the ordinary that day. except one thing. jordan did notice a black truck parked near their farmhouse. >> in the very first interview with police, you mention that you saw a vehicle in the driveway. >> i didn't think anything of it. just a truck. i thought it was just some guy doing work or something. but that's what i told them. >> reporter: officers would interview the kids again later in the day. by 3:30 a.m. the following morning, police were pounding at the door with a warrant for 11-year-old jordan. >> they drug me -- put me in the back of the car. they took me to the police garrison. i was in there. they took me straight to county jail and i had no idea where i

was going. a bunch of strangers. >> i was mind blown. >> reporter: just 18 hours after kenzie's death, jordan stood accused of her murder. his mugshot shows the 11-year-old, face puffy from crying. >> this is the mugshot. >> i was crying in the picture. i was crying that whole night. i didn't understand what was happening. i didn't know where i was at, what was going on, anything. >> reporter: police say they believe the strongest piece of circumstantial evidence against jordan came from kenzie's 7-year-old daughter, janessa. police speaking to the girl again late the night of the murder say the 7-year-old had a startling new recollection, that she saw jordan moving his guns that morning. then -- >> she told me when he was waiting downstairs for jordan, she heard a big boom. and she identified it as the sound of a gun. >> do you remember doing anything with those guns that day? >> no. >> you never brought the guns downstairs? >> i never touched them. >> reporter: despite

arrested jordan that bombshell interview was never entered into evidence at trial. janessa never testified. >> does it occur to you maybe they didn't enter into evidence because it wasn't reliable? >> no way, shape or form. you're talking about a 7-year-old taking a stand in a courtroom. it had nothing to do with her being unreliable. >> reporter: but the defense says from the get-go there are huge issues with the case against jordan. >> all they arrested him on, largely, was the statement of janessa. as time went on, they completely abandoned that statement, which would have been the strongest evidence in the case, and rather, tried to pursue a prosecution based upon forensic evidence. >> reporter: the case worked its way through the legal system for years. while jordan was forced to grow up in a juvenile detention center. chris brown drove 230 miles round trip every day to see his son. >> looking back now, i don't know what i would have done without him. >> reporter: chris says he did consider the possibility that jordan may have shot kenzie.

>> i gave him every opportunity. jordan, listen, if something happened, accidents happen, buddy. if something happened, tell me, i'm not going to be mad at you, i'm your dad, i'm never not going to be your dad. i'm never not going to be here every day. >> what did he say? >> never, never changed his story. maintained his innocence throughout, from day one. >> obviously the police believe that you killed kenzie. did you kill kenzie? >> no. >> reporter: life on the inside was tough. but there were good moments, like his 12th birthday party. >> it was like the best day i ever had. because i hadn't seen my friends in so long. they all came up. we were there a couple hours. >> reporter: jordan attended classes but says he was mainly self-taught, reading books with a dictionary by his side. >> i would read something, come across a word i didn't know, look it up, that way i'd know what was trying to be said. that's how i read. >> reporter: two years went by as his lawyers battled to move jordan's case from adult court

to juvenile court. they succeeded. but in 2012, a devastating blow. when a judge found jordan, who was now 14, guilty, sentenced to remain in juvenile detention. his defense team quickly appealed, vowing to take the case to the state supreme court. >> an 11-year-old child can't make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and drink a glass of milk without leaving clues. >> reporter: investigators believe jordan used his child-sized shotgun to kill kenzie before leaving for school. when jordan was arrested, the prosecutor at the time told reporters that jordan's clothing showed some evidence of gun residue. >> i have a shotgun blast at the back of the head consistent with a .20 gauge shot begun shell, he has a .20 gauge in his room. >> reporter: his dad says the gunpowder came from a turkey shoot days earlier and it's

as likely the residue could have transferred to jordan's clothes. >> it's almost inconceivable a shotgun was fired at close range and it wouldn't deposit any tissue, any blood on the barrel of the gun or on his clothing which he wore to school. >> reporter: the prosecution's expert testified that the angle at which the gun was shot could have minimized the blowback. the defense wasn't buying it. >> i mean, i really was expecting this overwhelming evidence, forensics, witnesses. all the things that you typically see or would hope to see in a case of that magnitude, for them to be so sure that they're going to take this little 11-year-old boy through that process? it just wasn't there. >> reporter: if jordan did kenzdid? nnel vision and d -boyfrie of s years. ht ada ha >> she feared him. >> she was terrified many him?

>> she had protection orders. >> reporter: harvey denies all of the claims. >>her had a pfa against a gentleman who had been threatening to kill her, leaving threatening messages, to happened to drive a black truck. >> jordan brown described a black pickup truck. it's hugely significant. >> reporter: police say, based on the snow on harvey's truck, he could not have driven to and from kenzie's home that morning. >> there was a light coating of snow that we had on the ground. when his truck was pulled over a short distance from his house, it still had snow on the hood. >> reporter: police say adam harvey had an alibi and they also tested his hands for the presence of gunshot residue. there was none. >> as the interview progressed through the first half hour, maybe 40 minutes, i just got no orter: after the interview, harvey was cleared as a suspect. since his arrest in 2009, jordan spent seven summers behind bars.

his innocence throughout and was released on probation after he turned 18, a free man, but still determined to overturn the guilty verdict against him. >> the judges are being asked to rule jordan brown was wrongly found guilty on insufficient evidence. >> reporter: and finally, this summ summer, jordan hears the decision from the supreme court of pennsylvania. in a stunning victory, the court wrote that the prosecution failed to prove jordan brown guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. his conviction overturned. >> it is incredibly rare for a supreme court to say that there is simply not enough evidence here. it's not that the court is saying 100%, he's innocent. but the court is saying that there's certainly not enough evidence to convict. >> reporter: one of the things the supreme court pointed out, police were never able to prove jordan's shotgun was the murder weapon. >> the truth finally got out.

>> reporter: but not everyone believes it. we talked to the cops who say ass that t right the first morning in the house who has never spoken publicly before. the person who found kenzie's body. >> yeah, i remember everything. the mercedes-benz winter event is back, and you won't want to stop for anything else. lease the gla 250 for $359 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing.

whether you were borne for more dance-offs... more travels... or more touchdowns.port tt s you re airbormin-c thrgen..... vitamins, minerals and herbs. airborne. i'm missing out on our family outings because i can't find a bladder leakage product that fits. everything was too loose. but depend® fit-flex feels tailored to me. with a range of sizes for all body types. depend® fit-flex underwear is guaranteed to be your best fit. do i use a toothpaste that whitens my teeth, or one that's good for my teeth? now i don't have to choose. in with new spearmint and peppermint oil. it gently whitens, plus it has a fortifying formula to protect your enamel. crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life.

that cough doesn't sound so good. take mucinex dm. i'll text you in 4 hours when your cough returns. one pill lasts 12 hours, so... looks like i'm good all night! mucinex dm releases fast and lasts 12 hours, not 4. let's end this.

♪ ♪

connecting people... ...uniting the world. ♪♪ "nightline" continues. once again, juju chang. >> it's been nearly ten years since 26-year-old kenzie houck was brutally murdered in her bed, her unborn baby boy killed along with her. >> kenzie was real feisty. she was funny. she always had a beautiful smile. liked everybody.

she loved her children. >> that's all she ever said when you'd say, what do you want to be when you grow up? i want to be a mom, i want kids. >> reporter: since her death, kenzie's family has raised her daughters, jackie bradley jr.essa and adeline. >> we used to dance and sing on the fireplace. that was my favorite memory. i'm just like her. i am her mini me. >> reporter: kenzie's younger daughter, adaline, 4 then, now 13, coming forward publicly with an account that flies in the face of the prosecutor's timeline. remember, she was asleep upstairs at the time of the murder. >> the gunshot was what woke me up. i was so young, i did not know what the sound was. i was going to walk in to wake her up and her phone rang. i answered the phone. and i was like, hi. they were like, can i talk to your mom? i went to wake her up and her face was facing me. hey, mom, wake up.ov, i ed. >>eporter: shed mom wasad>> i i

matches the tree trimmers'. they spoke sometime after 9:00 a.m. by then, jordan and janessa, on the bus at 8:15, would have been long gone when kenzie was killed. >> i went back in the house. i remember a very nice cop sat me on the chair and told me everything was going to be all right. and i just sat there and cried with my little blanket. >> reporter: police and jordan's attorneys say they have never heard adaline's account. investigators say after so much time, it's not credible. yet some members of the houck family still believe jordan is guilty. >> i think it's a shame that one minute or two minute decision he made ruined so many lives and took away two lives. >> it's heartbreaking. i can't believe why someone would want to kill -- there's -- i stus still -- i just don't

know why. whoever did it, i'm not going to say who. >> reporter: furthermore, former trooper bobby mcgraw is still convinced jordan brown is guilty of first degree murder, the pennsylvania supreme court overturning his conviction, citing lack of evidence. >> this case was investigated by some of the police officers in this country. every trooper who investigated that case feels the same way. we did not get this wrong. we didn't get it wrong. >> if those troopers were standing right here, what would you say to them? >> shame on you. probably the most polite way to put it. you took an 11-year-old's childhood away from him. you've ruined his name. in essence. i mean, you google jordan brown, you get that mugshot picture that pops up. >> you think that this accusation led to a real killer getting away with murder? >> absolutely. and that's disturbing. there's a murderer walking amongst us.

that has been overlooked. >> reporter: jordan brown, meanwhile, is finally a free man. no longer a terrified 11-year-old boy. during jordan's long incars race, he says he maintained a 3.9 gpa. taught himself how to play guitar. he also became a pretty good basketball player. released from detention when he was 18. through it all, he says he harbors no ill will. >> i'm not angry. i think the whole, like what happened, the way it happened, is b.s. >> there's still some people who will never be convinced. kenzie's family. >> i'm heartbroken. my heart goes out to them. >> reporter: through years of bitter controversy, one truth never up for debate -- kenzie and her unborn child will never be forgotten. >> i still love her, miss her every day. >> reporter: today jordan brown is determined to leave his past behind, to focus on college and brighter days ahead.

>> this song is "she t bla tl e world about you? >> that i'm innocent. that's the only thing i really want people to know. ♪ >> our thanks to juju. next, a preview of something we're royally excited for. ok i'll admit. i didn't keep my place as clean as i would like 'cuz i'm way too busy. who's got the time to chase around down dirt, dust and hair? so now, i use heavy duty swiffer sweeper and dusters. for hard-to-reach places, duster makes it easy to clean. it captures dust in one swipe. ha! gotcha! and (new) sweeper heavy duty cloths lock away a twice as much dirt and dust. it gets stuff deep in the grooves other tools can miss. you know what? my place is a lot cleaner now. stop cleaning. start swiffering.

finally tonight, the first look at the remake tapping into childhood nostalgia for so many. disney releasing the first trailer for the highly anticipated live-action update to the 1994 animated blockbuster "the lion king." the teaser parallels the classic opening of the movie featuring that famous monologue from james earl jones. >> everything the light touches is our kingdom. >> the movie boasts a star-studded cast voicing those beloved characters. jones reprising his role as mufasa, beyonce, donald glover

as simba, and many others. "the lion king" is the third-longest running broadway show, with 25 productions around the world. full disclosure, "the lion king" is a disney production, abc's parent company. "the lion king" hits theaters next july. thanks for starting your weekend with "nightline." on those nights when you can't stay up with us, catch our full episodes on hulu. thanks for the company, america. have a good weekend.