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WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
A child and family therapist said she suggested serving smoothies and possibly bottle feeding as ways to help two children deal with trauma, but never recommended that their prospective adoptive parents consistently puree the children’s food.
The question of what and how much Brandy Cooney and Becky Hamber fed two Indigenous siblings in their care has been a key issue in their first-degree murder trial.
The brothers are known as LL and JL for CBC’s coverage of this trial, as their identities are protected under a standard publication ban. LL was 12 years old when he died in the care of Hamber and Cooney on December 21, 2022.
The Burlington, Ont., women pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in LL’s death in the trial that began in mid-September at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Milton. They have filed the same plea related to charges of confinement, assault with a weapon (bridles), and failure to provide JL with the necessities of life.
On Friday, the Crown called Terra Bovingdon to testify about her work with Cooney, Hamber and the children in 2018 and 2019. She is one of several mental health workers the trial has heard from.
Bovingdon described her practice as “helping families learn what the brain does, why it does it, and how to regulate it from the bottom up,” using techniques such as play and repetition.
She said that while many children may respond to the immediate consequences of certain behavior, such as being sent to their rooms, that can be harmful for children who have experienced trauma.
Upon learning that the children suffered childhood trauma, Bovingdon said she recommended rhythmic, repetitive activities such as riding a bike, jumping on a trampoline or coloring to calm them down.
jl previously witnessed that at some point during his five-year stay with the couple, he was confined to his room more than 90 percent of the time and fed only puree. The defense has said the couple used pureed foods on Bovingdon’s recommendation.
On Friday, Bovingdon recounted telling the women that for children who act younger than them in certain circumstances, it can be helpful to interact with them at that younger level in 10- to 15-minute increments, two or three times a day.
For example, he said, one could play hide-and-seek with a 10-year-old, or snuggle and watch a children’s show. He said he tells parents not to be surprised if children who are treated this way ask for bottle feeding, but he only recommends doing what both the child and the parent agree to.
When questioned by Crown prosecutor Monica MacKenzie, Bovingdon said she did not recommend that women treat children like toddlers on an ongoing basis. He also said he didn’t recommend climbing stairs for 45 minutes or more at a time. The Crown alleged the couple forced the children to exercise and played videos of them climbing stairs in the house.
The Crown argues Hamber and Cooney abused and neglected the children.
The trial has been told that paramedics found LL unconscious, soaked and lying on the basement floor of his room, which was locked from the outside. Witnesses said he was so severely malnourished and emaciated that he appeared to be six years old, although he was twice that age. He died shortly after in the hospital.
The women’s respective lawyers argue that the couple were doing their best to care for children with high needs and significant behavioral problems, with little help from the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) and service providers.
Witnesses, including first responders, medical experts, teachers, therapists, doctors and JL, have testified in the judge-only trial, which is expected to continue until at least early December.
A therapist said sleeping tents can be therapeutic
JL testified that the women forced him to sleep in a tent over his bed that they would zip up before locking him in his room.
The defense has argued that the couple confined him to prevent him from fleeing, which he had attempted.
On Friday, Cooney’s attorney, Kim Edward, asked Bovingdon if the tents could be therapeutic. The therapist said they can create a “pleasant, cozy, contained feeling.”
He also said he heard that the children were having trouble urinating in the house.
JL has denied it, but the defense has argued that it was a problem. The trial heard that the woman tied the children up in wetsuits and that they had to ask to be untied to go to the bathroom.
Youth worker quit because of ‘parents like Becky and Brandy’
A child and youth worker with Burlington-based Woodview Mental Health and Autism Services also testified about her work with the siblings.
Chelsey Harding, who had online sessions with the children in 2020, said she found it difficult to work with the family and eventually left her job “because she was no longer working with parents like Becky and Brandy.”
Harding said she liked children and continued working with them for a while after leaving Woodview because she cared for them and felt they couldn’t have much fun at home.
However, he said it was difficult because Hamber and Cooney wouldn’t let him work in private, ending sessions without warning and telling him how to do his job.
The trial previously heard that CAS workers rarely met with children in private. although it was a requirement. TO the social worker has also said she couldn’t hold private meetings because at least one of the women was always present.
The trial before Judge Clayton Conlan will resume on Monday.
If you are affected by this report, you can seek mental health support through resources in your province or territory.
