Dad on trial for torture-murder of 6-year-old daughter had PRIMARY CUSTODY; mom says he cut her off from visitation (Calgary, Canada)

This is the first time I have seen it acknowledged that dad SPENCER JORDAN had PRIMARY CUSTODY not just joint custody. And that he shut off Mom's visitation with total impunity,  partly so she wouldn't see the girl's injuries. Very typical. Moms who do this lose custody and are punished immediately for "depriving" their children of their fathers. Fathers who shut out mothers are ignored, if not tacitly encouraged to do as they like.  

Notice that the judge who set up this murder manages to keep his/her name out of the paper. Typical judicial cover up. Nor is their any explanation as to why the judge gave custody back to the mother. only to reverse. Even apart from the abuse and his propensity to shut off contact, why was a father with such residential instability favored over the mother? I suspect some entrenched fathers rights corruption here, but of course, the reporter won't touch that. For similar cases, see the Killer Dads and Custody list for Canada.  

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/meika-jordan-s-mom-testifies-in-calgary-girl-s-beating-death-1.3007805

Meika Jordan's mom testifies in Calgary girl's beating death
Warning: This story contains descriptions of child abuse that some may find disturbing

By Meghan Grant, CBC News
Posted: Mar 24, 2015 3:06 PM MT| Last Updated: Mar 24, 2015 3:06 PM MT

Meika Jordan died in November 2011 of blunt force trauma while in the care of her father and stepmother.

Kyla Woodhouse, the mother of a six-year-old Calgary girl who was beaten to death, testified that she and the child's father were in a bitter, year-long custody battle leading up to her death.

Meika Jordan died of blunt force trauma on Nov. 14, 2011.

She had been in the care of her father and stepmother, Spencer Jordan and Marie Magoon, at the time. Both face a charge of first-degree murder.

Woodhouse testified that she and Jordan broke up in 2009. By July 2010, Marie Magoon was living with Jordan and it was late August when the custody battle began.

A judge granted Jordan primary custody with Woodhouse awarded weekends with the children, but he and Magoon disappeared in August 2011 with Meika and her little brother for three weeks. Police were called and the family was found living at Inn From the Cold, a local homeless shelter.

In early September 2011, Woodhouse was granted custody but a Calgary judge reversed that order a few weeks later and the children went back to Jordan.

Crown alleges torture

The Crown alleges Meika was essentially tortured in the days leading up to her death.

In her opening statement, prosecutor Susan Pepper said Magoon held a lighter under Meika's hand causing a third-degree burn.

Knowing Meika's mother would question the burn, Pepper said the couple refused to return Meika and her brother.

That's when she alleges they began beating her by punching the girl, forcing her to run up and down their stairs, pushing her down the stairs and dragging her by her hair.

The fatal blows occurred when Meika's head was smashed against the tile floor in the kitchen, says Pepper.

The medical examiner identified five significant areas of severe head trauma. The couple wasn't charged until about a year after Meika's death.

Pepper says that's because they were the subjects of a lengthy undercover police operation, which eventually led to both admitting their roles in her death.

During her testimony today, Woodhouse described her daughter as "extraordinary, happy-go-lucky and outgoing."