WARNING: This article details allegations of child abuse.
In a note written six months after the baby died in her care, Becky Hamber said she was not to blame for his death, a court in Milton, Ont., heard Friday.
Instead, she blamed decisions made by the Children's Aid Society (CAS) and an alleged eating disorder for leading to the 2022 death of a 12-year-old girl who lived with Humber and her wife Brandi Cooney in Burlington, Ont.
The note was discussed in court Friday among other messages Hamber and Cooney made before and after the boy's death, all of which were discovered during the investigation by Holton police Sgt. Julie Powers.
Powers' dacha ended Friday. She was the Crown's final witness in the trial of two women accused of first-degree murder of a boy they were trying to adopt.
The two women also face charges of deprivation of liberty, assault with a weapon (bracelets) and failure to provide the necessaries of life in connection with his younger brother. They pleaded not guilty to the charges.
CBC News' coverage of the trial refers to the brothers as LL and JL because their identities are protected by a standard publication ban. LL died in the care of Humber and Cooney on December 21, 2022. His brother JL is now 13 years old.
The women were first arrested on January 17, 2023, on charges related to JL, and then arrested again on February 29, 2024, for the alleged murder of LL.
Their trial in Ontario Superior Court began in mid-September.
“Every day is a battle,” Humber said.
The court heard Powers all week. On Thursday, Assistant Crown Attorney Monica McKenzie showed the court a video recording of the statement Humber gave to Halton police after her arrest.
In it, she denied some of the allegations made against her and her wife and said the detective shouldn't believe JL because she said he was dishonest.
The court heard more from Humber on Friday through a note and video found on a computer at the home where she lived after her arrest and release in 2023, and before her re-arrest in 2024.
The June 14, 2023 entry was about a group therapy session where she talked about how traumatic LL's death was for her and her wife, how she struggled with and missed LL, and why she thought he died.
Powers read Humber's note in which she said she and her wife were not the cause of his death, but rather why he survived so long, and says that if she were to “place direct blame” it would be the Children's Aid Society, and she said it was their shortcomings – such as “ignoring” eating disorders due to the child's age – and inconsistent decisions made by their offices in Ottawa and Halton.
“How do children stay in foster care where they are abused for almost their entire lives without being noticed?” she said in the note.
Also in the note, Humber said that LL was never able to overcome the trauma he experienced in his relationship with his biological family.
She also said L.L.'s alleged eating disorder, which the women and their lawyers described as overeating and rumination, was the “physical” cause of his death. She ended the note by saying she missed LL and “would give anything” to hug him again.
In videos filmed in May, June, September and October 2023, Humber can be seen talking to the camera. She talked about how hard it was for her, how she wanted to go home, how she thought about LL and JL every day.
“Every day is a battle,” she said in the May 1, 2023 video.
They were a “happy family” despite the difficulties, Humber said in the video.
In a Sept. 26 video, Humber denied restraining J.L. and said he must have confused the memories with a previous, “controlling” foster family.
In the video, she talked about how she closed the tent JL slept in at night with zip ties a couple of times because he came out of his room one night, attacked their pets and “gobbled up” an “unbelievable” amount of food before CAS told her it was a fire hazard, at which point they stopped.
In the Oct. 5 video, Humber also said they were a “happy family” despite the children's mental health issues. She said they were “funny”, “smart” and “visibly shocked” children whom she loved and was proud of.
“I have no regret, I have no guilt, I have no guilt,” she said and again blamed CAS for LL’s death.
During brief cross-examination, Monte McGregor, Humber's attorney, questioned Powers about the video shown earlier this week in court. Powers described it as Humber taking blueberries from LL, crying and accusing her of “denying breakfast,” repeatedly saying “it's not fair” and “I'm hungry.”
McGregor questioned whether there were blueberries in the video. He showed an enlarged screenshot of a video where LL was holding something pointed.
Powers agreed that it could have been a push pin or pin, rather than a blueberry.
The women said they wanted to kill the boys
Earlier this week, Powers read messages from two women in which they described LL as a “loser” and “such an asshole.” They also mentioned killing both boys at least four times in 2022, such as when Cooney said, “I really just want to kill.”
In a conversation with her father on July 26, 2020, Cooney said that LL had a nightmare about dying alone.
“Loser, whiner, cry baby, poor me, awww,” she wrote. “I was faking my liking for the idiot.”
Powers also reviewed the couple's search history this week, finding searches for “I hate my baby” days before the boy's death in 2022 and “crime scene cleanup” a few weeks later.
The court completed its examination of Powers on Friday. The defense will begin calling witnesses on Monday.
The trial is expected to last until at least mid-January.
If this report has affected you, you can seek mental health help through resources in your province or territory.
