Parents relive details of 6-year-old Meika Jordan’s torture during killers’ appeal

Almost five years since little Meika Jordan was brutally murdered, her mother and stepfather were taken back to the horror of her death during an appeal of the case Tuesday.

READ MORE: Crown appeals second-degree murder conviction in Meika Jordan case

After a full-day hearing, the panel of three justices with the Alberta Court of Appeal reserved ruling on the case.

“It’s stressful. It’s nerve-racking,” Meika’s stepfather Brian Woodhouse told Global News.

Last September, Meika’s father, Spencer Jordan and stepmother, Marie Magoon, were sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years.

“The last time we were down here we thought it was the last time we would have to be down here and yet again here we are. It’s the fear of the unknown that really gets us,” Brian said.

Watch below: Global’s ongoing coverage of Meika Jordan’s death

The Crown wants the Alberta Court of Appeal to find Meika’s killers guilty of first-degree murder instead of the original trial judge’s finding of second-degree murder. Jordan and Magoon want to be acquitted or face new trials.

Details of her torture and abuse were again described in court Tuesday. Brian and Kyla Woodhouse left before the hearing was finished—overwhelmed with emotion when the details became too much for them to hear.

“These are the hard times,” Brian said fighting back tears, “and it never seems to end.”

Appeal prosecutor Jolaine Antonio told a panel of three Appeal Court Justices the original trial judge erred by not finding the element of unlawful confinement in the conviction.

Antonio said the confinement began when Magoon burned Meika’s hand with a lighter and pointed to that as the start of days of torture.

Antonio said Meika was kept contrary to a custody order. She said Meika was kept from any kind of aid or support, while Jordan and Magoon covered for each other.

“The two adults had each other’s backs, just not Meika’s,” Antonio said.

Court heard Meika was forced to run stairs; she was repeatedly hit. Jordan also dragged her up and down the stairs by her ankles.

Jordan sat emotionless in the prisoner’s box as the graphic details were read.

Magoon was not present for the hearing. Her lawyer argued Meika was assaulted but not unlawfully confined.

There were tears in the courtroom throughout the proceedings.

“This won’t be the end,” Brian said. “Absolute best case scenario, all of their appeals get denied; they get told they are exactly where they are supposed to be and that’s where they are going to stay. There’s still an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada that’s possible.”

Half of the courtroom was filled with members of Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA), there to support the Woodhouses, who are members of the group.