VAN BUREN -- A man charged in connection with the death of a 2-year-old girl in 2018 was acquitted Monday in Crawford County Circuit Court.
A jury found Jordan Michael Shreeve, 36, of Van Buren not guilty of both first degree murder, a class Y felony, and second degree murder, a class A felony, according to court records. Kristen Edwards, court administrator for the Crawford County Circuit Clerk's Office, said the trial began before Circuit Judge Mike Medlock on June 22.
Shreeve was arrested Feb. 15, 2019, court records state.
Shreeve told Van Buren police on Nov. 8, 2018, he believed Olivia Soto, 2, fell out of her crib and injured her head at 2210 Granite Circle, according to court documents. Sgt. Jonathan Wear, Van Buren police spokesman, identified Olivia as the daughter of Eva Mae Millard, 29, of Van Buren, who Shreeve had recently married.
However, rather than go to the Police Department the following morning to discuss the autopsy report on Olivia as they were supposed to do, Shreeve and Millard went to Michigan. They remained out of the department's reach for about three months. Doctors who did the autopsy showed Olivia died from severe head trauma with injuries inconsistent with Shreeve's version of events, according to police.
Chad Atwell and Chris Carwile of the Fayetteville-based Atwell Law Firm represented Shreeve in the case, court records state. Atwell said while they had been trying to get in front of a jury since the day Shreeve was arrested, his heart "still breaks for the Soto family."
"I hope the Soto family gets some answers somewhere else, but regardless, I think the jury got it accurate," Atwell said.
Atwell noted the jury came back with its verdicts after less than two hours of deliberation. He also expressed his belief Shreeve has always been innocent "not in a legal way, but in a factual way and a pragmatic way and all those things."
Millard will be tried on one charge each of first degree endangering the welfare of a minor, a class D felony, and permitting abuse of a minor, a class B felony, in relation to the case, court records show.
An order for continuance signed by Crawford County Circuit Judge Marc McCune on May 7 pushed the start date for her trial to Sept. 10. Millard was arrested Aug. 6.
