WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
The trial of two Burlington, Ont., women accused of the death of a 12-year-old boy in their care heard from several people involved in the mental health treatment of the boy and his younger brother.
A social worker, therapist, psychiatrist and service coordinator told the court that Brandy Cooney and Becky Hamber said they struggled to care for the children, who they believed had experienced trauma, and told the court the women were seeking additional support.
One worker also testified that she registered “yellow flags” based on concerns about child care.
The older boy, known in court as LL, died in December 2022. The identities of LL and his younger brother, JL, are protected by a publication ban.
Crown alleges women ‘disparaged, deprived and abused’ children
At the time of LL’s death, Cooney and Hamber were in the process of adopting the two indigenous brothers. The couple pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
Cooney and Hamber also pleaded not guilty to charges of confinement, assault with a weapon (i.e. zip ties) and failure to provide the necessities of life to JL.
The Ontario Superior Court judge-only trial began last month and is being heard by Justice Clayton Conlan in Milton. It is scheduled to continue until December.
He The crown has argued Cooney and Hamber “belittled, deprived and abused” LL and JL, locking the children in their rooms, restricting food and using zip ties to keep them in their clothes.
The court was told that on the night of December 21, 2022, the couple called 911 after LL stopped breathing. Rescuers found him soaked and wearing a wetsuit. An expert witness said LL was severely malnourished when he died. His the autopsy did not identify a cause of death.
Social worker says she never saw behaviors reported by couples
Cross-examining the care providers, Crown attorneys Kelli Frew and Monica MacKenzie asked about their findings, their impressions of LL and JL, and their interactions with the defendants.
On Thursday, Halton-area social worker Stefanie Peachey testified about working with the children and the couple for about a year.
She said her sessions focused on self-esteem, identity and “who they wanted to be,” and that she was concerned about “the narrative around who they wanted to be.” [the boys] they were…focused on negative experiences” and “whether they were good or bad.”
Frew asked if Peachey witnessed the behaviors the couple told her occurred at home, such as tantrums.
“I never experienced any of those behaviors in the session or in the waiting room,” the social worker said, adding that she had a good relationship with LL and JL, and considered them polite.
At first, Peachey said, she met with children in person and often one-on-one, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced a switch to virtual appointments. He said he asked if they could use headphones for privacy, but it was obvious the adults were listening in as Hamber “sent an email during a session to let me know that one of the kids was lying to me.”
Peachey said Hamber and Cooney asked her not to ask the children “direct questions” and suggested stopping the sessions as punishment if the siblings lied.
In the summer of 2020, he said, Hamber and Cooney told him they didn’t believe the sessions were working. He later shared his files with a new care provider, along with what he called “yellow flags,” which included a note about witnessing JL zip-tied in his pajamas.
Peachey said JL told her it was so he wouldn’t urinate on things when he was angry, adding that it was a topic he had discussed with women.
Peachey said it made her “uncomfortable” and she didn’t think it was “a good parenting strategy,” but she didn’t find it worrying enough to report it to Children’s Aid.
“I thought it was something that just needed to be monitored,” he said.
The defense says the defendants were trying to get help for the brothers.
Defense attorneys representing Hamber and Cooney have suggested their clients were doing their best but struggling to control LL, whose behavior included binge eating, manipulation and violent outbursts, including harming animals, stabbing a child with a pencil and at one point breaking Hamber’s arm.
The defense has also suggested that LL and JL experienced significant trauma before coming into the care of Cooney and Hamber.
Lawyers have repeatedly asked witnesses whether they believed the couple diligently sought support and defended the children.
Peachey said they were “mostly good advocates,” even if he disagreed with them at the end of their working relationship.
“They certainly looked to the children for support.”
A therapist who worked with the brothers and a coordinator who helped connect Cooney and Hamber to services also said at trial that they thought the couple was seeking help.
Psychiatrist says LL probably had multiple disorders
On Friday, Dr. Alan Brown, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, testified about the care LL received in the hospital’s child and adolescent inpatient unit.
Based on his observations, Brown said, LL likely had disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reactive attachment disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Brown said that although Hamber asked him to admit LL for a longer stay in August 2019, he refused. LL was “pretty calm, collected, happy, logical, coherent” and was not at risk of self-harm, Brown said. He added that LL had access to support at home, including through children’s help.
Cooney’s lawyer, Kim Edward, asked Brown if he thought LL should have been admitted to a program for children with developmental and mental health needs in London, Ont. Brown agreed, noting that he recommended it at the time. The trial heard that the program refused to accept LL as a patient, determining that he was not suitable.
Brown said Hamber and Cooney were “obviously finding that not enough had been done yet” to help them manage LL. He said he understood they were “stressed and at times overwhelmed by the behaviors they described at home.”
Brown said he did not see LL have outbursts, as Hamber and Cooney described, at the hospital. Under cross-examination, he acknowledged that children may present differently at home than when they are in care.
Monte MacGregor, Hamber’s lawyer, questioned whether LL could have deliberately hidden behavior from hospital workers, saying there was evidence he was a skilled manipulator.
“I think we would see flashes and elements of extreme behavior,” Brown said.
He added that it was “possible” that an eight-year-old could fool his team for weeks, but “I don’t think based on our observations we’ve seen evidence to support that.”
If you are affected by this report, you can seek mental health support through resources in your province or territory.
