Brandy Cooney and Becky Hamber appeared to be happy and loving mothers to their two foster sons. But behind closed doors, the Canadian couple allegedly abused and starved the children for years. The boys, identified as L.L. and J.L., lived with the women from 2017 until L.L., the elder of the two children, died in their care in 2022. Cooney and Hamber now face murder charges in L.L.’s death and abuse charges against his younger brother, J.L. The allegations made during their trial will truly make any parent’s heart break, but the women deny any wrongdoing.
The women are now on trial for L.L.’s murder, confinement, assault with a weapon, and failing to provide him with life’s necessities, according to CBC. During testimony, Cooney reportedly admitted that she restrained the boys because they injured her, Hamber, and themselves. She claimed that the children urinated and defecated all over the house. Her testimony came as a surprise, as the day before, she had denied restraining or abusing the children.
“Yes, I did use a jacket, so he didn’t try to choke himself and die,” she said. “And yes, I did zip-tie the end of [their wetsuit] sleeves to stop them from using their hands to choke themselves out.”
The women reportedly had surveillance cameras throughout the home and would sit and watch them from their phones. They had bells strung throughout the house that would signal when L.L. and J.L. moved. At one point, the boys allegedly spent 18 hours confined to their room.
“Restraints were a last resort,” she said, per CBC. “A lot of times, I’d sing with them, try to talk them through things, and hand them a journal. Sometimes you could redirect their behaviour by giving them a solid hug, sometimes a snack.”
Text messages from 2021 and 2022 confirm that when the women let the boys out of the room, they had “activities” to complete. That included intense physical exercises such as burpees, wall sits, and walking laps. Sometimes the brothers were able to read.
Assistant Crown attorney Monica MacKenzie questioned Cooney about claims that L.L. physically injured her and Hamber and caused mass destruction to their home. But according to prosecutors, there is no evidence of this horrific destruction.
“The reasons for restraints and locking them in their rooms was because you were so worried about injury to you or Hamber, or the boys or pets — injuries which never happened?” said MacKenzie.
“There were a lot of injuries over the years,” Cooney replied. “We were often hit, punched, kicked, stuff thrown at us.”
“But not to the extent that you had to seek medical attention?” MacKenzie asked the mother. She replied she had not.
At some point, someone in their home used an iPad to search the query, “I hate my child,” according to CBC. Additional searches about how homicide is defined, how to delete Wyze camera footage, and how to clean up a crime scene also were found.
These poor children just wanted a loving home, but it seems they lived in a house of horrors instead. Cooney and Hamber’s trial continues, and they could get life in prison if convicted.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
