Videotaped statement from Calnen presented to jury on day 4 of second-degree murder trial

HALIFAX – The court heard from the officer who originally took the missing persons complaint about Reita Jordan and was looking into her disappearance on Thursday, as the second-degree murder trial for Paul Trevor Calnen continued.

Retired Det/Cst. Paul Trider, who worked for more than 35-years with the Halifax Regional Police took to the stand said that he interviewed many people after receiving the missing persons report, including Calnen.

He said Calnen was cooperative with his efforts to gather information.

READ MORE: Paul Calnen pleads guilty to committing an indignity to human remains as murder trial opens

The jury also saw a three hour videotaped statement that Calnen gave to police shortly after Jordan was reported missing.

“This videotape shows him prior to his arrest, so this is when it’s just a missing person. So he says she left on her own, didn’t know where she was. We’re gonna see evidence later on that contradicts everything he says here,” said Rick Woodburn, one of the Crown Attorney’s on the case.

The trial also saw new evidence. Female clothing that Det/Cst. Trider found in Calnen’s home and a pair of brown boots that belonged to Jordan were officially entered into evidence.

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Calnen is accused of killing Reita Jorda, his live-in girlfriend, in the Hammonds Plains home they shared in March of 2013. Calnen has pleaded not guilty to Jordan’s murder but has pleaded guilty to burning her body.

Despite an extensive search, the remains of Reita Jordan were never located.

On Wednesday, the court was presented with hundreds of text messages that were deemed crucial evidence in the murder case. 

The trial is scheduled to last for nearly five weeks. Friday, the Crown will continue with it’s case. It’s expected another videotaped statement Calnen gave to police following his arrest will be played.