Four-year-old girl and her father fell from cliff to their deaths in suspected murder-suicide

The girl’s mother tried to warn the courts about her husband’s behaviour, a coroner’s analysis found

Keira Kagan, who died in a fall from a cliff with her father. (Jennifer Kagan)

A four-year-old girl in Ontario and her father who were found dead at the bottom of a cliff in 2020 likely died in a murder-suicide, according to a recent report ordered by the Ontario coroner.

The remains of Keira Kagan and her father Robin Brown were located in 2020 at the Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area at the base of a 100-foot cliff. The discovery ended a frantic search for the duo after the father stopped answering his calls and text messages with the child still in his care.

At the time, police were unclear on a motive and the cause of death was inconclusive, according to CTV News Toronto.

The Office of the Coroner asked for experts on spousal murders to investigate the family and the nature of the death. That team found at least 22 risk factors of intimate partner homicide when they examined Brown's relationship with Keira's mother, Jennifer Kagan. According to the report the team produced, only seven risk factors need to be present in order for a death to be considered "predictable and preventable."

Some of Brown's risk factors included a history of domestic violence, misogynistic attitudes, exerting control of the mother's daily routines, prior forcible confinement or hostage taking, and prior violence toward family pets, among others.

Brown and Ms Kagan had been separated for four years at the time of Keira's death, but litigation had reportedly dragged on for years.

The report ultimately found that the girl's death "may have been retribution on the part of the father against the mother for terminating the relationship."

For Ms Kagan, these revelations are simply confirmation of something she always believed — that Brown killed their daughter.

“We would have hoped that this could have been decided three years ago,” she told CTV News Toronto. “My daughter was my best friend and the opportunity to see her grow up has been taken away from me. With that said, we have to move forward and continue helping other victims and children.”

The court notes that Ms Kagan had warned the courts about her husband's behaviour while she was trying to win custody over Keira.

The Chief Coroner for Ontario, Dr Dirk Huyer, announced that an inquest will take place to investigate the circumstances surrounding Keira's death and to make recommendations for how to prevent future deaths.