WARNING: Details in this story may be considered disturbing to some viewers.
CALGARY – A judge has ruled that statements made by Spencer Jordan and Marie Magoon to police during a so-called ‘Mr. Big’ undercover operation will be allowed as evidence in their trial.
Jordan, 29, and Magoon, 25, are each charged with first-degree murder in the 2011 death of Jordan’s daughter, Meika.
The pair is accused of abusing and torturing the six-year-old girl for four days before she was rushed to hospital unconscious. She eventually died of blunt force trauma and abdominal injuries.
READ MORE: Court hears disturbing details in the Meika Jordan murder trial
On Thursday, a Court of Queen’s Bench Justice decided confessions made by Jordan and Magoon during a police sting operation are reliable enough to be admissible.
“For so long we’ve had fears and anxieties—and the overwhelming pain and anguish—and to finally come to a day that’s good news and positive news…It’s definitely taken a bit of that burden off of our shoulders,” said Meika’s mother, Kyla Woodhouse.
During the secretly-videotaped sting, both Jordan and Magoon made graphic confessions about abusing and torturing Meika.
Meika’s stepfather, Brian Woodhouse, said it was the “most rewarding day” they’ve had in court so far.
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“We do still have an uphill battle ahead of us,” he said. “Obviously this wasn’t the end of the trial, this wasn’t the only decision we’re waiting on…It was a very positive one, it’s a major step in the right direction.
“Now we have to really trust in the system and work toward that final justice.”
The sting was in danger of not being allowed as evidence, following a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada (SCOC) last year that stricter rules are needed in ‘Mr. Big’ police stings.
In 2014, the SCOC ruled that confessions extracted through ‘Mr. Big’ police sting operations tend to produce unreliable confessions, are open to abuses and must be presumed inadmissible in court.
Defence lawyers for both Jordan and Magoon told court Thursday they won’t be calling any evidence in the trial, after previously considering having their clients testify in their own defence.
The case is adjourned until closing arguments on April 27.
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