Custodial dad, step found guilty of 2nd-degree murder in beating death of 6-year-old daughter (Alberta, Canada)

The custodial dad is identified as SPENCER JORDAN, and he is on the Killer Dads and Custody list for Canada. According to this earlier post, Daddy had primary custody and had cut off the mother's access. Very typical scenario....

http://www.calgarysun.com/2015/06/03/meika-jordan-murder-trial-verdict-live-blog

Updated: Meika Jordan's father, stepmother guilty of second-degree murder

First posted: Wednesday, June 03, 2015 12:05 PM MDT
  | Updated: Wednesday, June 03, 2015 06:43 PM MDT

The beating and torture of little Meika Jordan over the course of four days amounted to murder, a judge ruled Wednesday, in convicting her father and stepmom.

But Justice Rosemary Nation said the couple didn’t unlawfully confine Spencer Jordan’s daughter during that period, which would have elevated the girl’s death to first-degree murder.

Nation found Jordan, 29, and Marie Magoon, 25, guilty of second-degree murder in the six-year-old’s Nov. 14, 2011 death.

More than 100 people packed a small Calgary courtroom to hear Nation’s decision, which followed a five-week trial in March and April. Many in the crowd — including the girl’s mother and stepfather, Kyla and Brian Woodhouse — quietly wept as Nation handed down her ruling.

Nation said while neither Jordan, nor Magoon, intended to cause the girl’s death, they were reckless whether she died, or not, meeting the intent to commit murder.

“Each accused persisted in committing assaults against Meika,” the Court of Queen’s Bench judge said, noting the abuse began days before Meika’s death when Magoon burned the girl’s hand with a lighter.

“Her condition deteriorated,” Nation noted, of Meika’s slow descent into unconsciousness the night before she died at Alberta Children’s Hospital. Emergency Medical Services wasn’t called until Meika was in dire condition, the judge said.

“No medical attention was ever entertained until Meika was in complete cardiac arrest and respiratory failure, meaning death was inevitable unless she was immediately resuscitated,” she said. “This is clearly reckless as to whether death ensued by both Mr. Jordan and Ms. Magaoon.”

Neither accused showed any outward emotion as Nation read a summary of her written ruling.

The large, standing-room only crowd included a large contingent of Bikers Against Child Abuse, complete in their leather vests. Outside court, Crown prosecutors Susan Pepper and Hyatt Mograbee addressed the Woodhouses and their supporters in the hallway.

Pepper explained that despite the acquittal on first-degree murder the ruling was a victory for the Crown as both offenders face automatic life sentences, leading to a round of applause for the prosecutors.

Pepper said she will push for a period of parole ineligibility for both near the maximum of 25 years, but would have to review Nation’s decision before deciding on an exact number of years.

A conviction for second-degree murder carries a parole ineligibility of anywhere between 10 and 25 years.

At defence lawyer Allan Fay’s request, Nation ordered a psychiatric assessment on Magoon.

He later said the results of that testing could impact her ultimate punishment. “There are certain features of my client’s upbringing that may have contributed to her being in this situation,” he said.