JUSTICE’‘ FOR MEIKA
Meika Jordan’s stepmother, father will serve at least 10 years in prison
Brian and Kyla Woodhouse react to the verdict in the murder trial of their daughter, Meika Jordan, 6. The stepmother and father were found guilty of second- degree murder.
The mother and stepfather of Meika Jordan were initially disappointed that her killers — her father Spencer Jordan, 28, and stepmother Marie Magoon, 25 — were convicted of second- degree murder, instead of first- degree murder, on Wednesday.
But it didn’t take long for them to realize justice was nevertheless realized for the six- year- old girl, who sustained five significant blows to the head and abdominal injuries after being severely beaten on the Nov. 10- 13, 2011, long weekend. She died the following day at Alberta Children’s Hospital.
“The biggest road for us, which was if it was first- degree or seconddegree — regardless — as long as it came down to a guilty verdict we got her justice. That’s what we’ve been striving for nearly four years,” the girl’s mother Kyla Woodhouse said outside court after Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Rosemary Nation delivered her verdict.
“We’re not gonna let them ever forget about this, the public is not gonna let them forget, and the people inside ( prison) are not gonna let them forget. As long as they spend every day thinking about what they did, regretting it or not, as long as they can feel that, it’s good enough.”
Both Jordan and Magoon face automatic life sentences without a chance of parole for 10 to 25 years.
Court heard the girl cried and pleaded for mercy during the numerous beatings, including having her hand severely burned by Magoon with a lighter.
Brian Woodhouse, who blurted out “child murderers” as the packed courtroom of some 50 friends departed after the decision, said they had been pushing for first- degree.
But, he added, “ultimately, guilty is guilty. They lose a few years of their life, we lost her.
“The judge pointed out what each was responsible for and it was nice to hear the words being said, ‘ that is what you did, I find you responsible,’” Woodhouse said.
Nation said although the couple clearly overstepped any authority they had to discipline Meika, she did not find that her mere presence in the house at the time of the assaults occurred means the Crown had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Meika was confined, and was thus statutorily elevated to first- degree murder.
“The Crown has failed to demonstrate that ... the underlying crime of domination and the crime of unlawful confinement and murder were part of the same transaction,” she said.
However, she said both of the killers were angry and frustrated about their financial situation and the fact Meika was not complying with their commands to run stairs and other inappropriate forms of punishment for allegedly lying, and they both inflicted injuries that led to her death.
“On the medical evidence and the facts as I have found them, the actions of either Mr. Jordan or Ms. Magoon could have caused the fatal blow, or it may have been a combination of more than one blow,” Nation said. “On the evidence, it cannot be said beyond a reasonable doubt which party administered the fatal blow or blows to the head.”
Nation said that even without an express common intention, because their actions were directed to the same victim, the co- accused are co- participants.
She said the couple had the necessary intention and directly participated in the assaults that led to Meika’s death, and that is sufficient to find causation.
“It does not matter that it cannot be said which blow or blows were the fatal blows and who delivered them; it is sufficient that each Ms. Magoon and Mr. Jordan delivered a blow that was capable of being the fatal blow or one of the fatal blows according to the medical evidence.”
Crown prosecutor Susan Pepper said although the first- degree murder conviction was not achieved, getting the murder conviction at all was a result of hard work by everyone in her office, as well as an incredible investigation and undercover operation by the Calgary Police Service.
Magoon and Jordan both confessed in great detail to the various assaults in an eight- month Mr. Big sting operation that culminated in their arrests.
Pepper said she and co- prosecutor Hyatt Mograbee will be seeking the higher end of the parole ineligibility — close to 25 years — for both killers, because of the “heinous nature of the acts.”
“Often in domestic homicides, where children are victims, we don’t know what happened to the child,” Pepper said outside court. “Because of this undercover operation, we found out what happened to Meika.”
Defence lawyer Allan Fay, who had argued for manslaughter and now will seek a parole ineligibility closer to the lower end of 10 years, sought and was granted a psychiatric-psychological report to be prepared for Magoon.
“A psychiatric evaluation will show certain factors of my client’s upbringing that may have contributed to her being in this situation,” Fay said. “Suffice to say, she had a very tough upbringing.”
He said the Crown was disappointed it wasn’t first- degree murder and he was disappointed in the conviction, but added: “How could anybody be happy in this process?”
Lawyer Mitch Stephensen, who represents Jordan, did not make any comment following the verdict.
The judge adjourned the case to return to court on Aug. 28 to ensure the reports are prepared for victim impacts statements and sentencing on Sept. 18.