Duluth man found guilty of second-degree murder in 2020 death of then-fiancee's 3-year-old

DULUTH — Jordan William Carter, described by witnesses as a father-figure to 3-year-old Cameron Gordon, was found guilty Tuesday afternoon of second-degree murder in the child's death in 2020 — a decision that hit heavily for families on both sides of the packed courtroom.

The verdict was delivered swiftly by St. Louis County Judge Theresa Neo, who heard the case in early January and last week took the written closing statements under advisement.

Carter, who had waived his right to a jury trial, was immediately taken into custody; a sentencing date for the 32-year-old is still to be determined.

Cameron's mother, Heather Bouchard, cried quietly as her husband comforted her. She recently posted to Facebook that the verdict would come 900 days after her son's death.

"My heart hurts so bad every single day," Bouchard wrote. "I would do anything to have him back. But unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. What I can do, though, is be his voice."

She did not comment after the verdict was read.

Carter was regularly charged with watching Cameron while Bouchard, his then-fiancee, was at work. Cameron was in Carter's care on Sept. 4, 2020, when the boy was found unresponsive in his bedroom. The previous day, Cameron had fallen down the basement staircase. He later threw up twice and didn't eat much. Carter's mother, Donna Goeb, a nurse, checked him for a concussion and, while the boy was responsive, she told Carter to monitor him. The next day, Cameron seemed back to his high-energy self.

That evening, Carter sent the 3-year-old to clean his room and just more than 30 minutes later found him lying unconscious on the floor. Carter told authorities that he shook Cameron and splashed water on his face. But the boy never regained consciousness — not at Essentia Health in Duluth or at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, where he was taken by life-flight.

Doctors said Cameron had suffered a traumatic brain injury and that bruising on his back was consistent with abuse.

In his closing statement, defense attorney Eric J. Olson wrote that Carter was described — even by Bouchard — as a father-figure who built a railing after Cameron fell off the deck and eased the child's fear of water. Other witnesses said he was a good father to his own son and patient in his work with severely disabled adults.

"Does it make any sense whatsoever that a man with Mr. Carter's character and reputation for being calm and peaceful would live the first 30 and [a half] years of his life without ever committing a criminal act of violence, only to suddenly descend into a fit of homicidal violence against a child with whom he had, by all accounts, an excellent and loving relationship?" Olson wrote.

A medical expert testifying for the defense said pneumonia likely caused Cameron's death — an explanation that was rebuffed by the prosecution.

"Every doctor of every specialty in every medical facility that Cameron was at, found that the injuries to Cameron's brain and eyes were caused by an acceleration-deceleration force with a rotational component and that this is a force that is not found in nature," prosecutor Victoria Wanta wrote. "It does not occur accidentally."

Carter, who has spent two years on conditional release, took a deep breath as he entered the courtroom. Once at his seat, he put his elbows on the table and lowered his head.

His family members could be heard weeping as the verdict was delivered.

"Oh my god, this isn't happening," Goeb wailed.

Wanda Crittenden, the grandmother of Carter's son, was angry about the verdict and described Carter as a good father.

His attorney did not comment.

Bouchard's family, some wearing sweatshirts with #justiceforcameron on the front, gathered on the fifth floor of the courthouse.

"Justice is finally served, after two and a half years," said Joseph Bouchard, who described himself as Cameron's grandfather — until he was corrected.

"His papa," he said.