On the first episode of the new Global News podcast Crime Beat, crime reporter Nancy Hixt takes you through the case, step by step.
Follow along as she reveals the shocking behind-the-scenes details of the Meika Jordan case and goes through the evidence as it was uncovered by investigators in their quest for justice for Meika.
WATCH (Nov. 14, 2011): A six-year-old girl who was rushed to Alberta Children’s Hospital on Nov. 13 has died of her injuries
Meika was a bright, cheery and playful six-year-old. When she was rushed to Calgary hospital with serious life-threatening injuries, her father and stepmother told police she had fallen down the stairs.
But the injuries didn’t match that explanation.
Meika later died in hospital.
That was the beginning of a lengthy investigation into her death led by the Calgary Police Homicide Unit.
The little girl was from a split family. She spent half of her time with her biological dad Spencer Jordan and her stepmother Marie Magoon. She spent the other half of her time with her biological mother Kyla Woodhouse and her stepfather Brian Woodhouse.
Early on, it became clear to detectives that two people had the sole opportunity to kill Meika: her biological father Spencer Jordan and stepmother Marie Magoon.
What wasn’t clear was a motive: why would anyone kill such a beautiful and innocent little girl?
The primary investigator assigned to Meika’s case, Calgary Police Homicide Det. Mike Cavilla, said his team worked around the clock trying to get the evidence needed to lay charges in the case.
“We code-named the operation ‘Operation SASH,’ which is short — an acronym for ‘Safe And Sound in Heaven,'” Cavilla said. “My wife actually coined that acronym.”
Police worked for nearly a year, using several undercover investigative strategies including a Mr. Big sting operation.
One month before the first anniversary of Meika’s death, Jordan and Magoon were arrested and charged with murder — but that was only the first step in a long road to justice for the little girl.
The case would go on and on in the courts for years, sending Meika’s mother and stepfather on an emotional rollercoaster.
“This one ranks probably right up there in relation to the emotional toll that it takes on you personally and as an investigator,” Cavilla said. “I’ll never forget it.”
On Nov. 27, 2017 — just past the sixth anniversary of Meika’s death — nine Supreme Court justices heard the case. It took them less than 10 minutes to uphold convictions against Jordan and Magoon of first-degree murder.
Follow all the twists and turns of this case in Episode One of Crime Beat.
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Contact:
Twitter: @nancyhixt
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyHixtCrimeBeat/
Email: nancy.hixt@globalnews.ca
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