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WARNING: This story references allegations of child abuse.
An Ontario Superior Court judge has found Burlington couple Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney guilty of all charges in the death of a 12-year-old boy and torture of his younger brother who were both in their care.
The judge read his decision in Milton court Tuesday morning.
The murder trial for Brandy Cooney, 44, and Becky Hamber, 46, who are from Burlington and pleaded not guilty to all charges, began in mid-September in Milton.
For the live updates from Superior Court in Milton, click on the following link:
Superior Court Justice Clayton Conlan previously indicated he would read his decision over about half an hour, starting at 9 a.m. ET, and later release it in writing to further explain his reasoning. He only spoke for a few minutes Tuesday.
Conlan said Hamber and Cooney unlawfully confined L.L., failed to provide him the necessaries of life, assaulted him with a weapon and “they committed first-degree murder.”
Conlan said his decision was 300-pages long. He suggested court will reconvene on May 15 for sentencing.
Only initials — L.L. and J.L. — are being used for the Indigenous boys, whose identities are protected under a standard publication ban.
Couple, younger brother testified
L.L., the older boy, was 12 when he died after he was found wet and malnourished in the basement of the family home. The Crown has also accused the couple of torturing and confining J.L.
L.L. was from the Ottawa area but had lived with Hamber, Cooney and J.L. since 2017. The couple had been aiming to adopt the boys.
The trial heard from dozens of witnesses, including social service workers, health professionals, educators and police.
Hamber, Cooney and J.L., now 14, also testified over multiple days. Evidence included thousands of deleted text messages that police accessed, hours of audio recordings and hundreds of images, including from security cameras the women used to surveil the boys.
The Crown argues Hamber and Cooney hated the brothers, pointing to text messages in which they used vulgar and dehumanizing language to describe them. In her closing argument, lawyer Kelli Frew said the pair “abused, tortured and starved these boys.”
She contends the couple isolated the boys from their community and medical professionals as L.L. became increasingly unhealthy — ultimately dying from malnutrition and hypothermia.
In October, Ontario’s deputy chief forensic pathologist testified, saying the autopsy he performed on L.L. was unable to determine a cause of death, but he could not rule out possible causes including hypothermia or cardiac arrest linked to severe malnourishment.
L.L. was 12 when he was found unresponsive in the basement of the couple’s home on Dec. 21, 2022. (Name withheld)
The defence argued the women never intended to harm the boys and did all they could to help them, with insufficient guidance from the Children’s Aid Society and medical professionals.
In her closing arguments, Kim Edward, Cooney’s lawyer, acknowledged her client “probably” should have taken L.L. to hospital the night he died but didn’t. However, she said, if they wanted him gone, the couple would not have called 911 for help when they did.
Hamber’s lawyer, Monte MacGregor, described the brothers as “broken” in giving closing statements, saying they had violent outbursts and harmed themselves. He said Cooney’s and Hamber’s parenting tactics, such as tying the brothers into wetsuits, were “questionable,” but children’s aid workers knew about them.
MacGregor and Edward suggested L.L. likely died from an electrolyte imbalance caused by a rare eating disorder.
Closing arguments are underway in the case of two would-be adoptive parents facing first-degree murder and other charges. The case in Milton, Ont., has raised questions about why the boy and his brother remained in their care despite numerous red flags raised by professionals. The case has advocates calling for urgent changes to the child welfare system.
‘Healing is not over’
Last week, L.L.’s biological mother shared a statement with CBC Hamilton, saying she wants people to understand her family is “not just a case or story.”
“We want everyone to remember L. for L. beyond this tragedy. He mattered and his life had meaning.”
She said “healing is not over for families after court is over.”
“L. doesn’t get to grow up, have friends, graduate, he doesn’t get to feel the sunshine, feel the rain, enjoy a sunset. J. and his sibling have to grow up without their older brother.”
If you’re affected by this report, you can look for mental health support through resources in your province or territory . If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.