WARNING: This article details allegations of child abuse.
Children's Aid Society (CAS) knew Brandi Cooney and Becky Hamber were buttoning two boys into one-piece pajamas and their social worker did not tell them to stop, according to an email shown at the couple's week-long murder trial in Milton, Ont.
Holly Simmons, their employee at Halton CAS, emailed two potential parents in July 2019 and admitted they used zip ties to prevent the boys from undressing, to control “pee” and for “safety” purposes.
The worker then advised Cooney and Humber to stop using zippers, but only on the tents in which the boys slept.
“In the unlikely event of a fire, this will prevent the children from getting out of the tent,” Simmons wrote on July 3, 2019.
The brothers continued to live with Cooney and Humber for many years under CAS care until the eldest boy died from severe malnutrition when he was 12 years old in December 2022.
The trial in the Supreme Court began in mid-September and was heard by a single judge. Judge Clayton Conlan. CBC Hamilton names the dead boy as L.L. and his younger brother as J.L., now 13, who previously testified during the trial. The Indigenous brothers' identities are protected by a publication ban.
Cooney and Hamber are charged with LL's first-degree murder, as well as deprivation of liberty, assault with a weapon (bracelets) and failure to provide JL with the necessities of life.
They pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Crown suggests boys were 'tortured'
For much of this week, Cooney has been under intense cross-examination by Assistant Crown Attorney Monica McKenzie.
The court heard from Cooney that the boys were regularly strapped into sleeping bags, wetsuits, overalls and hockey helmets.
Cooney said CAS was aware that she and Humber were using zip ties and were only told by their worker to stop when it came to restraining the boys in tents on their beds.
The boys were also locked in their bedrooms while 18 hours at a timeand women were in control when and what did the boys eat.
“You have done a lot to control, and I suggest that you torture the boys,” McKenzie said Friday.
Cooney disagreed, repeatedly saying the restrictions were meant to protect the boys from self-harm such as slamming their faces into hard surfaces, even though they never suffered broken teeth, black eyes, goose eggs or other injuries as a result of such behavior.
Cooney and Humber's defense also argued that the boys had explosive “tantrums” that resulted in injury to the couple and significant property damage, and could not be trusted to “free range” at home as they urinated and defecated “everywhere”.
This week, the Crown disputed the women's claims, noting they never photographed or videotaped the incidents. McKenzie said Friday that the boys suffered accidents because they were rarely allowed out of their rooms to use the bathroom.
But Cooney said she and Humber often felt it was a bad choice the boys made. In text messages exchanged between Humber and Cooney around noon in December 2021, they discuss LL urinating in his bed.
“He thinks if he pees on his own, he’ll eat breakfast faster,” Humber said.
Boys zip-tied in tents after CAS warning, court hears
Under the supervision of Humber and Cooney, the boys remained in the custody of CAS Ottawa and the process was expected to be supervised by CAS Halton. But the central issue at trial was whether the two children's aid societies did enough to protect the boys from neglect and abuse.
Court heard Halton CAS received numerous reports from teachers, a therapist, police and doctors who were concerned about how Cooney and Humber treated the boys. But none of the CAS agencies decided to take the boys, and Halton CAS never visited the house unannounced or interviewed them alone.
After Simmons told Cooney and Hamber they couldn't tie the boys to tents overnight, they continued despite the fact that the boys could be trapped in an emergency, the Crown argued, relying on text messages sent by Cooney in 2022.
In one example, Cooney said to her father, who lived with them, “Can you get the damn face out of his zipped up tent to go to the peepee?”
In another she told him: “[L.L.] For your information, he is locked in his tent.
Cooney denied that she was saying his tent was zipped up, but rather was referring to his wetsuit or his bedroom being locked.
When CAS officers visited the house they did not see any zip-lock tents, the court heard. But the visits were planned in advance, and the workers never spoke to the boys without Hamber or Cooney present.
The child protection officer who reviewed the case previously testified that CAS also failed to record important information and missed warning signs prior to LL's death.
Simmons served as Cooney and Hamber's supervisor until about 2021, when she was promoted to supervisor. After that, their business was supervised by several more employees. The last time CAS met with women and boys virtually was in September 2022.
Cooney will continue to testify Monday. Humber is expected to appear on the stand in January.
If this report has affected you, you can seek mental health help through resources in your province or territory.
