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A horrific murder trial over the death of a 12-year-old boy has turned a spotlight on the role of Ontario child care agencies, with the defence arguing that the authorities entrusted with the care and safety of vulnerable children failed to warn Brandy Cooney and Becky Hamber about their prospective sons' histories of serious behavioural and developmental issues.
During cross-examination of the Crown's witnesses, defence lawyer Monte MacGregor suggested the Children's Aid societies of Ottawa and Halton concealed essential information from Cooney and Hamber, who became the prospective adoptive parents of two Indigenous brothers, aged five and six, in their Burlington home in October 2017.
On Dec. 21, 2022, emergency responders were called there and discovered the emaciated, soaking wet older boy lying in a puddle on the floor of a tiny basement bedroom. He was 12, but his size was more in line with an average six-year-old, the prosecution said as the trial got underway earlier this week.
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The child died that evening; the women are charged with first-degree murder. They are also charged with forcible confinement, assault with a weapon and failing to provide the necessaries of life in relation to his younger brother, who is expected to testify. A publication ban protects the boys' identities.
On Monday, the Milton courthouse heard the prosecution introduce its case that Cooney and Hamber "despised" the boy and left him to die in the basement.
On Tuesday, Ottawa foster parent Heather Walsh testified about looking after the two Indigenous boys for almost five years before they were placed with Cooney and Hamber. When they arrived with Walsh, the older boy was two years, three months and his little brother had just turned one.
Ontario Boy, 12, 'left to die' in basement by prospective parents who 'despised' him, Crown says at open of horrific Ontario murder trial
Brandy Cooney and Becky Hamber have pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder of a 12-year-old boy, whom they were attempting to adopt.
Ontario Boy, 12, 'left to die' in basement by prospective parents who 'despised' him, Crown says at open of horrific Ontario murder trial
Brandy Cooney and Becky Hamber have pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder of a 12-year-old boy, whom they were attempting to adopt.
She testified that a psychiatrist diagnosed the older boy, who was slow to speak, with potential developmental delay; his teeth were rotting. At two, he kicked, punched and bit other kids, including his little brother, and there were occurrences of self-harm. After enrolling him in a pre-school program at a local church, Walsh said she was told, "You cannot bring him back." He was three.
She continued: He stabbed a child in the eye with a pencil. Mutilated a snake with a stick. Other foster parents took the boys on weekends as a form of respite for Walsh and her family.
At five, she testified, he threatened to kill her family and punched a CAS volunteer driver with whom he had a good rapport.
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With six months before they moved to Burlington, the boys, then aged six and five, were placed in separate bedrooms, because the youngest was "scared to go to bed" and fearful of his older brother.
Managing the boys was "extremely difficult for you," MacGregor, who is representing Hamber, asked Walsh during cross-examination.
"At times it was, at times we were like a regular family," she said gently. Throughout her testimony, Walsh tried to highlight the boy's better qualities, despite the many incidents. She agreed with MacGregor that she told CAS of Ottawa countless times, "especially towards the end," that the boys needed counselling, yet CAS refused.
Walsh later told a police officer, "We recognize that we are exhausted, and a little bit out of our element," and, "I feel like I've tried every trick in the book ...and he needs more than what we can offer."
MacGregor asked Walsh if CAS told Cooney and Hamber about the older boy's "violent interactions." He read from a CAS of Halton report that said the older boy "sometimes struggles in group dynamics and needs support to maintain positive relationships with his peers." That, he said, "just doesn't really elaborate on all the problems that were existing at the time."
Walsh agreed with this. But she also insisted that she herself told the women about the problems, but "they didn't seem to be taking it seriously" and acted like it was something they could handle without any intervention; she called them "indulgent and arrogant."
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At the start of proceedings on Wednesday, MacGregor told Justice Clayton Conlan -- who is hearing the case without a jury -- that he will be asking CAS of Ottawa to turn over its record about the boys, "given the evidence that came from Ms. Walsh," but was not in the CAS of Halton records.
On the witness stand, "attachment therapist" Beth Sibley, who was brought in to work the transition between the Ottawa foster parents and the two Burlington women, testified that she grew concerned when Cooney and Hamber began reporting that the boys' behaviour was "becoming more challenging than they expected ... they're getting tired of their behaviours, and they're not getting gratitude from the boys."
"What are you thinking in terms of how you're going to deal with this?" Crown attorney Monica MacKenzie asked.
"I'm concerned, because I know that children of any age, their role is not to express gratitude to the parents," Sibley said. "I was worried that (Cooney and Hamber's) expectations were not realistic."
Star investigation Ontario's new police record checks are 'security theatre' that will do little to increase kids' safety, a growing number of experts warn
The background checks include all interactions with police, including non-criminal encounters such as mental health calls.
Star investigation Ontario's new police record checks are 'security theatre' that will do little to increase kids' safety, a growing number of experts warn
The background checks include all interactions with police, including non-criminal encounters such as mental health calls.
Sibley said she requested more funding from CAS of Ottawa because the tension in the home was escalating, "and I didn't feel like Becky and Brandy had yet taken that shift to understand from a trauma perspective and an attachment lens about what the boys needed." She added that while she herself did not notice any concerning conduct from the boys, their demeanour changed in 2018, the last year she was involved in the case. The boys seemed scared and were "walking on eggshells."
During cross-examination, MacGregor grilled Sibley on the extent of her knowledge about the boys' history.
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She agreed she wasn't aware the older boy had threatened to kill Walsh and her family, stabbed the other boy with a pencil, or that he had killed a snake, would overeat to the point of vomiting, urinated on the floor, banged his head, or that he was put in daycare that lasted eight to 10 weeks before they rejected his further attendance.
"None of this is shocking or surprising to me, but I wasn't told this specifically," Sibley said.
She asked to make a comment, and the judge agreed.
"All these scenarios, and things that you've described, I'm not surprised because I've seen this with children, a lot of these behaviours, with children who have come into care. You kind of go in knowing that these are some of the things they do."
She emphasized her concern lay with the fact that Cooney and Hamber told her they didn't need her help.
Soon after the couple's arrest in 2024, Halton Children's Aid said in a statement that it was "absolutely committed to learning everything we can about what happened in this case."
It continued: "We want to reiterate that our priority is always the safety and well-being of the children in our care, and we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that they are protected and supported."
The trial resumes on Thursday.
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