Two lesbian foster moms tortured a 12-year-old boy by forcing him to wear a soaking wetsuit as they mocked him in gut-wrenching messages before he was tragically found dead, prosecutors claim.
The disturbing claims about the death of the Canadian child, identified only as LL, have come to light during the murder trial of Becky Hamber, 44, and 46-year-old Brandy Cooney.
LL, who died on December 21, 2022, was found soaking wet, unresponsive, and emaciated in the basement of the couple’s Toronto-area home before being pronounced dead at the hospital, the court was told.
Attorneys finished their closing arguments on Friday, as both women have denied charges of first-degree murder, unlawful confinement, and assault with a weapon, according to Law & Crime.
Prosecutors used their final remarks to detail how the women allegedly starved LL and his younger brother, who has been identified as JL, and forced them to wear wetsuits and helmets.
The foster mothers, who were in the process of adopting the boys, did it because they ‘hated’ the boys, attorneys told the court.
Messages between the women presented by the prosecutors showed the sick duo allegedly say: ‘Shiver, shiver dumb f**k.’
Additionally, prosecutors claimed the women suggested that if the young boy wanted to stay warm, he would need to exercise.
The 12-year-old Canadian boy, identified only as LL, was found unresponsive and emaciated on December 21, 2022, in the basement of the lesbian couple’s Burlington home
Brandy Cooney and Becky Hamber have been accused of torturing the child so horribly that he shrunk and died. They pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder
Prosecutor Monica MacKenzie said that the women knew the consequences of their abuse after Cooney sent Hamber a worried text that the boy was going to die.
‘Unfortunately, my thoughts [are] he is suddenly going to die, and I’m going to jail,’ Cooney allegedly wrote.
Defense lawyers argued that the wetsuits and helmets were in the boys’ best interests to prevent them from hurting themselves and having accidents around the house.
Attorneys for the couple also mentioned that social workers never questioned the mother’s methods and did not raise concerns.
However, earlier in the trial, social worker Faisel Modhi claimed that LL slept on a tiny cot that was frequently covered by vomit.
Modhi said Cooney’s father, who lived with the couple, informed him that the boy’s bedspace was not washed other than being cleaned up with a wipe.
Cooney and Hamber told Modhi that on the day of his death, the child had largely been by himself other than at a point when he threw up his breakfast and lunch, according to Modhi’s testimony.
The pair told Modhi that their prospective son had an eating disorder and regurgitated his food.
LL was allegedly found in a wetsuit when he died. His younger brother, named as JL, testified the couple tortured them by making them wear hockey helmets and wetsuits for hours
The two brothers were allegedly locked in their rooms at night by the two women, who are accused of tracking their behavior using cameras
‘They admitted [he] was 48 pounds,’ Modhi said to the court. ‘But stated it was because he would throw up food, chew it again, and lick it off the floor.’
Modhi added that the couple would direct LL to do yoga poses or walk around his basement room as he agonized.
Footage of the boy’s room was shown in court, with a voice said to belong to Hamber heard telling him to ‘lay down because he was being disrespectful.’
Cooney told Modhi she took LL’s blanket away from him later that day and instructed the child to ‘calm down’, the social worker said.
The next time she checked, LL was unresponsive and with ‘vomit everywhere,’ the Ontario court was told.
The lesbian couple then called 911, Modhi testified, but it was too late.
Previously in the trial, the prosecution also showed a video of JL’s interview with police in September 2023, when he told them that Children’s Aid Society workers who visited the home never saw what went on.
He said Hamber and Cooney dressed him in normal clothing during the visits.
JL testified that his prospective adoptive parents often prohibit the brothers from speaking for days, with more days added if they dared talk
The boys moved into the Canadian couple’s Toronto-area residence in 2017 from a foster home in Ottawa
JL also echoed claims that he and his brother were forced to wear hockey helmets and wetsuits for hours on end.
He alleged that the foster moms would lock him and his brother in their rooms at night while constantly monitoring their behavior with cameras.
JL claimed in court that his potential adoptive parents would often ban him from speaking for days at a time.
The boys first moved into the couple’s home in 2017, but JL testified in November that the couple quickly separated them from playing together because ‘sometimes we’d argue’.
Once the couple began homeschooling them in 2020 after COVID-19 hit, JL said he began seeing his brother less often despite living in the same house.
Cooney and Hamber’s fate will be decided by Justice Clayton Conlan.
A short update on the case is expected on April 24, and Justice Conlan may inform the court when he expects to have a decision.
