2 Ontario women on trial, accused of 1st-degree murder of boy they were trying to adopt | CBC News

WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.

A horrific trial underway in Ontario has seen two women plead not guilty to the first-degree murder of a 12-year-old boy they’d planned to adopt.

Burlington residents Brandy Cooney and Becky Hamber are also charged with confinement, assault with a weapon — namely zip ties — and failing to provide the necessaries of life to the boy’s younger brother. 

The boy who died on Dec. 21, 2022, is referred to in court as L.L. as his identity is protected under a publication ban to protect the name of his younger brother, known as J.L. The exact cause of death of the 12-year-old hasn’t yet been established in court. 

The judge-only trial, under Justice Clayton Conlan, began in Superior Court in Milton last month with Crown attorney Kelli Frew’s opening statement. 

“Brothers [L.L. and J.L.] needed a forever home where they’d be appreciated, loved and taken care of,” the lawyer said. “Instead, they were placed with the accused parties, where they came to be despised, deprived and abused.” 

2 boys initially in Ottawa foster home

The Children’s Aid Society (CAS) moved the Indigenous boys from their long-term foster home in Ottawa to live with Cooney and Hamber in Burlington in October 2017, according to some of the information in the agreed statement of facts. 

The two women were potential adoptive parents and never fully cleared by CAS, both sides agree. Cooney and Hamber received financial assistance through a provincial adoption program to care for the boys. 

The boys continued to be the wards of Ottawa CAS, but the family was under the supervision of Halton CAS. 

The older boy was six years old, about two years older than J.L., when they went to live with Cooney and Hamber where, according to the Crown, they were abused and neglected. 

The Crown argues Cooney and Hamber locked the boys in their rooms, surveilled them on cameras, forced them to wear wetsuits, zip-tied their clothes and shoes on, causing injuries, restricted food and forced them to exercise. 

People in the boys’ lives — including a therapist and teacher — saw red flags and, deeply concerned, alerted CAS, Frew said. But the boys stayed in Cooney’s and Hamber’s care for years.  

On the night of Dec. 21, 2022, Hamber called 911 to report L.L. had stopped breathing, said Frew. 

Many of the firefighters, police officers and paramedics who responded thought the small, “emaciated” boy lying on the ground of a small basement room was about six years old, said Frew. 

He was actually 12. 

L.L. was unresponsive in a puddle of water and “left to die,” said Frew. 

A camera was in the corner of the room and a lock was on the outside of the door. The only things in the room were a small mesh cot and garbage can, she said. 

He was rushed to hospital with a hypothermic body temperature and died shortly thereafter. 

Frew said the women had “clear hatred” for the brothers, L.L. in particular. 

The respective defence lawyers for Cooney and Hamber did not make opening submissions. 

CAS denied boys counselling, says foster mom

One of the most important witnesses called by the Crown was Heather Walsh, who along with her husband were foster parents starting when L.L. was two years old and J.L. was 11 months. CAS put them in her care after they had concerns about the home environment of their biological parents. The boys had been living with their grandparents. 

The older brother was “a very enthusiastic, social little guy,” even though his speaking was delayed, and his teeth were rotting and causing him discomfort, Walsh said. He received extensive dental work to repair them. 

He was clearly “very intelligent” and taught himself to read novels by six years old, Walsh said. 

But he also could be aggressive, hitting, kicking and biting teachers, and other children at daycare and kindergarten, and be “really rough” with his younger brother, sometimes deliberately, said Walsh. 

On a camping trip, the older boy mutilated and killed a snake, and Walsh was concerned about leaving him around family pets like fish and rats. On one occasion, L.L. had threatened to kill her and her family, court heard.

Walsh advocated for years for psychological counselling for the boys, but CAS denied her requests multiple times. She said she loved the boys and kept them in her care for a long time so they wouldn’t be shuffled from foster home to foster home. 

An attachment therapist eventually worked with them leading up to their adoption and after they had moved. 

By the end of Grade 1, before L.L. went to live with Cooney and Hamber, “he was settled and doing much better,” Walsh said. 

J.L. was shy, smart, and loved animals and sports, excelling at soccer, Walsh said. He had trouble sitting still, was a picky eater and had occasionally hit adults. 

But generally, he was doing well until the summer of 2017, when he learned he’d leave Walsh and her husband, who he called “mama and daddy,” and was being moved to Burlington to live with Cooney and Hamber. 

J.L. “was really, really thrown by it,” Walsh said. “He was worried about leaving his friends and us behind.” 

Defence asks witness about boy’s behaviour

Walsh said she made sure Cooney and Hamber knew everything about the boys — good and bad — including behavioural problems, that L.L. sometimes still wet the bed and had a history of aggression. 

As part of the adoption plan, she’d continue to visit them every couple of months. But, Walsh said, the last time she saw them was on Dec. 10, and then the women cut off communication with her. 

In cross-examination, the defence lawyers focused on L.L.’s behaviour, that he and J.L. didn’t want to live with Cooney or Hamber and the lack of CAS support. 

Hamber’s lawyer, Monte MacGregor, in his questioning of Walsh, described L.L. as “extraordinarily challenging” even for her. He noted Walsh had fostered children for years and worked with children who had experienced trauma. 

“Yes, that’s fair,” Walsh said. “But, honestly, I think there were kids that were more difficult.” 

She also believed he and his brother could have been successfully adopted by the right family.

“I think if someone else had adopted them, [L.L.] would be alive today,” Walsh said. 

If you’re affected by this report, you can look for mental health support through resources in your province or territory.