Dad, stepmother charged in death of Calgary girl

Calgary police have charged Meika Jordan's father and stepmother with second-degree murder in the death of the six-year-old.

Spencer Lee Jordan, 26, and Marie Eve Magoon, 22, have been charged with one count each of second-degree murder, police announced Monday morning. The pair werearrested on Sunday. Jordan was found in a hotel roomand Magoon in the downtown Calgary area, said Staff Sgt. Doug Andrus.

They will appear in court on Tuesday, nearly a year after the girl's death in a northeast home.

The girl's biologicalmother, who shared custody,was relieved to hear about the charges, Andrus said during a news conference on Monday.

"Infant deaths tend to strike a special chord with our investigators, an emotional chord, some of whom have children of their own, and I think this investigation also struck an emotional chord with the community."

Long police investigation

Police andfamily service authoritieshad never been involved with Jordan or Magoon, however since the girl's death, the couple's other children were "placed in a safe environment," he said. Andrus wouldn't comment on the motive in this case, saying it was before the courts, but did say Jordan and Magoondid notco-operate with the investigation.

"Caregivers do not harm their children for reasons typically found in adult sudden death investigations, such as revenge, greed or robbery. Caregivers harm their children for reasons such as crying, bed wetting or out of frustration or resentment. One of the reasons that these investigations are so complex is that caregivers are reluctant or embarrassed to discuss these reasons with investigators."

Police said earlier that the girl's injuries sustained last Novemberat her home onTemple Drive N.E.were not consistent with what family members claimed when they saidshe fell down a flight of stairs. The death was declared a homicide when an autopsy discovered she died from multiple blunt force trauma.