Dead boy’s brother accused of lying about foster moms for $4M lawsuit

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This torturous cross-examination is yet another cruel chapter in the endlessly difficult childhood of the poor 13-year-old boy.

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Caught in infancy by his birth mother and placed in foster care, he and his older brother landed in 2017 in Burlington home of Becky Hamber and Brandi Cooney.

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The house has been described as a house of horrors.

Five years later, his brother was dead, allegedly at the hands of his adoptive mothers, who are now standing trial alone in Milton for first-degree murder and failure to provide the necessaries of life. And he's here to testify against them.

TThe couple have pleaded not guilty in the death of their 12-year-old child.

The emaciated victim, the size of a child half his age, was suffering from hypothermia when emergency personnel found him unconscious in the basement on December 21, 2022, soaking wet and wearing a wetsuit.

The cause of death has not been established

The pathologist was unable to determine the cause of death.

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Humber and Cooney were in the process of adopting brothers at the time; The names of Indigenous boys with special needs are subject to a publication ban.

The surviving brother told police that he was often deceived.locked in his room, forced to wear a wetsuit at home, and tied up when he got angry. According to him, at night he was tied to a bed in a tent.

He told the judge that by 2022 he was barely allowed outside, spent “92% of the time” in his room where he had to eat and had to finish his meals according to a 15-minute timer set by his mothers. He said he was also forced to do repetitive exercises, such as going up and down stairs while wearing a hockey helmet, as punishment.

He and his brother were never allowed to return to school after the pandemic and were instead home-schooled, the court heard.

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With a helper dog by his side as he testified from a room away from the women accused of starving his brother to death, the boy often became upset and once broke down in tears after enduring grueling cross-examination.

However, he remained remarkably strong, polite and resilient – even after he was accused of making up lies about his life with Hamber and Cooney for financial gain.

Humber's lawyer, Monte McGregor, tried to be gentle, but during a difficult day of cross-examination he challenged the child on everything he said.

He showed him photos of gourmet meals and snacks posted on Instagram with the hashtag #traumamomsforthewin, as well as videos of the brothers preparing for Halloween and dancing on the farm.

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The boy insisted that he did not remember those delicious dishes, and all his smiles were fake.

“For a long period of time, we ate mixed food at every meal,” he testified. “Perhaps it was a very long time ago.”

McGregor suggested he was forced to wear a wetsuit because he was urinating regularly.

“No, not at all,” said the boy.

The lawyer accused him of lashing out at his foster mothers and throwing violent tantrums because he didn't get his way.

“Not at all,” the boy answered. “When you stare at a wall most of the day, you start to get angry about it, or you exercise all day and get angry about it.”

The injuries to his legs were caused by him scratching himself, the lawyer suggested. The boy grinned and asked how you can make identical marks by scratching. He stated that the cuts were caused by the mother tying the zipper. his shoes on his feet.

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The lawyer told him they took his blankets because he was often suicidal and they were afraid he would suffocate. “Not at all. How can you suffocate yourself with a blanket? I don’t understand,” he answered.

Denied that he was there for the money and not his dead brother

The lawyer then focused on his happy reunion with his mother and his family's decision to sue Humber and Cooney for $4 million.

“What I'm suggesting to you is that you would essentially be willing to do anything for your mom, as you said, and helping get $4 million by testifying based on what she told you, you would be willing to do that to help her, right?

The boy categorically rejected the insulting suggestion that he was there for the money and not his dead brother.

“Please don't just remember me, but remember (my brother) and everything he could have done to live as long as possible,” the surviving child wrote to his therapist in a letter shown earlier in court.

“He meant everything to me. And Becky and Brandi did nothing to help him.”

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