Dad faces 1st-degree murder charges in death of 6-year-old daughter; girl in "sole custody" of father, gal pal at time of injuries (Calgary, Canada)

So what does the reporter mean when she says that the murdered girl was in the "sole custody" of her father SPENCER LEE JORDAN> 

That she was merely in his sole "care" at the time she received her fatal injuries?

Or did this father have court-ordered sole custody of this girl? \

Earlier articles have referred to girl's grieving mother and stepfather, so the "girlfriend" is not the mother. Lest there be some mistake about that. 

So what was the custodial arrangement? Why did these apparently violent thugs have access to this child at all? Who gave it to them? If this situation was court-ordered, was there previous evidence of child abuse and/or domestic violence that was ignored or dismissed as unimportant?

http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/father-faces-first-degree-murder-charge-in-death-of-daughter-1.1371117

Father faces first-degree murder charge in death of daughter 

Colleen Schmidt, CTV Calgary
Published Wednesday, July 17, 2013 11:57AM MDT
Last Updated Wednesday, July 17, 2013 12:02PM MDT

Charges against a Calgary man and his spouse in connection to the death of six-year-old Meika Jordan have been upgraded to first-degree murder.

Spencer Lee Jordan and Marie Eve Magoon were originally charged with second-degree murder in the death of the little girl almost two years ago.

Police were called to a residence in the 6700 block of Temple Dr. N.E on November 13, 2011 for reports of a child injured in the home. Spencer Jordan and Marie Magoon were arrested in October 2012.

Meika was taken to hospital and died from her injuries the next day.

An autopsy confirmed that she died from multiple blunt-force trauma and investigators say she was in the sole custody of Jordan and Magoon at the time of her injuries.

The Crown upgraded the charges against the pair during a brief court appearance on Wednesday.

The upgraded charges carry the same life sentence but the time spent behind bars increases from a minimum of ten years to an automatic 25 years.

Jordan and Magoon were arrested in October 2012 and remain in custody.