Jayde McDonnell died July 22 or before, her death sparking a police hunt and murder charges that could land two people — including her mother — in prison for life.

On Wednesday, Jayde’s father attended a Harrisville court hearing for Aaron Trout, a man police believe killed Jayde and then drove her and her mother, Adrienne Pavelka, to MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena.

Police arrested Trout on July 22 and Pavelka the following week. Both face charges of felony murder during the commission of child abuse, which carries a mandatory life sentence.

During Wednesday’s hearing, attorneys asked for more time to prepare for another hearing, at which witnesses will share some of the details surrounding the girl’s death.

News Photo by Julie Riddle At the Alcona County courthouse on Wednesday, Gannon McDonnell holds a photo of his daughter, Jayde McDonnell, killed two weeks ago in an alleged murder in Alcona County.

After the hearing, father Gannon McDonnell, from the Detroit area, said he was furious that his daughter had been taken away from him and determined to fight to make the world safer for other children.

Most of all, he said, he missed his little girl.

“Don’t take it for granted,” he said of the smiles and hugs now absent from his life. “Any of it.”

With proud-father enthusiasm, McDonnell gushed about his daughter’s sweetness and intelligence, sharing stories of infant accomplishments and toddler affections.

Fond of car rides and fidget toys, Jayde enjoyed all the loves of little girls, from cartoons “Paw Patrol” and “Bluey” to popular children’s songs, he said.

“She loved ‘Baby Shark,'” McDonnell said. “I think that’s because I hated it.”

Jayde was the spitting image of her dad, he said, both in looks and in temperament, either super-serious or all-out funny, words running in a jumble as she talked a mile a minute.

The rambunctious youngster liked to give fist bumps with a hearty, “Boo-yah!” McDonnell said, his voice affectionate, then tight with emotion.

“I don’t like looking at the good times,” he said after a pause. “It’s hard. And it’s literally all good times.”

Naturally compassionate, Jayde paid close attention to her siblings, a 7-month-old sister and a 4-year-old sister with whom Jayde was best friends, McDonnell said.

Police have not said whether Jayde’s sisters were in Alcona County when Jayde was killed, or how they believe Trout and Pavelka caused the girl’s death.

Pavelka, with whom McDonnell had been in and out of a relationship downstate in the past, recently was in a romantic relationship with Trout, who McDonnell knew and who, at least at one point, also lived downstate, the father said.

McDonnell had been trying to secure more custody time with his daughter for several months when, he believes, Pavelka left the downstate area and came north to Glennie, where Trout has been living at least part-time for several years, according to Glennie residents who say they knew him.

Multiple police agencies responded after Pavelka and the child arrived at the hospital — briefly sending the hospital into lockdown status for reasons neither police nor MyMichigan Health have released — and traced Trout to his Alcona County home, near Glennie, where they arrested him.

McDonnell said he doesn’t know if Child Protective Services investigators checked on Pavelka and her child when they were in Alcona County — but they should have, he said.

He expressed frustration with a system he believes kept him away from the daughter he said loved everybody and would willingly have forgiven the person who killed her, if she had the chance.

“I like to think that I have a huge heart,” McDonnell said. “But that little girl was all heart.”

He and family members are planning a candle-lighting ceremony on Aug. 20 in the Alpena or Alcona County area, to remember the girl who died there and to thank the Up North community he said has supported him during an unimaginably difficult time.

Jayde’s death should remind parents and communities to look out for their little ones, he said.

“There are so many kids out there that are getting hurt,” McDonnell said. “There are so many kids out there who are being overlooked. There are so many kids that need help and are being denied. And it ends with Jayde.”

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693 or jriddle@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jriddleX.