Children’s Aid Society knew women zip-tied boys into pyjamas but didn’t intervene, Ontario murder trial told

WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.

The Children’s Aid Society (CAS) knew Brandy Cooney and Becky Hamber were zip-tying two boys into one-piece pyjamas and their case worker didn’t tell them to stop, according to an email shown at the couple’s weeks-long murder trial in Milton, Ont. 

Holly Simmons, their Halton CAS worker at the time, emailed the two prospective parents in July 2019 and acknowledged they used zip ties so the boys couldn’t take off their clothes, in order to control “urine” and for “safety.”

The worker then advised Cooney and Hamber to stop using zip ties, but only on the tents the boys had been sleeping in. 

“In the unlikely event of a fire, this would prevent the children escaping the tent,” Simmons wrote on July 3, 2019.

The brothers continued to live with Cooney and Hamber for years, under the supervision of the CAS, until the older boy died, severely malnourished, when he was 12 years old in December 2022.

The Superior Court trial began in mid-September before a judge alone, Justice Clayton Conlan. CBC Hamilton is referring to the boy who died as L.L. and his younger brother as J.L., who’s now 13 and testified earlier in the proceedings. The Indigenous brothers’ identities are protected under a publication ban. 

Cooney and Hamber are charged with first-degree murder of L.L. as well as confinement, assault with a weapon — zip ties — and failing to provide the necessaries of life to J.L. 

They’ve pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Most of this week, Cooney was under intense cross-examination by assistant Crown attorney Monica MacKenzie. 

Court has heard from Cooney that the boys were routinely zip-tied into tube-like sleep sacks, wetsuits, onesie pyjamas and hockey helmets.

Cooney said the CAS was aware she and Hamber used zip ties and their worker only told them to stop when it came to confining the boys in tents on their bed. 

The boys were also locked in their bedrooms for as long as 18 hours at a time, and the women controlled when and what the boys ate. 

“There were a lot of things you did to control, and I’m going to suggest torture the boys,” said MacKenzie on Friday. 

Cooney disagreed, repeatedly stating the restraints were to protect the boys from self-harm, such as whacking their faces on hard surfaces — although they never suffered broken teeth, black eyes, goose eggs or other injuries from these behaviours. 

Cooney’s and Hamber’s defence has also been that the boys had explosive “tantrums” that caused the couple injuries and extensive property damage, and couldn’t be trusted to have “free range” of the house as they’d urinate and defecate “everywhere.” 

The Crown challenged the women’s claims this week, noting they never took photos or videos of these incidents. MacKenzie said on Friday the boys had accidents because they were rarely let out of their rooms to use the washroom.

But Cooney said she and Hamber often viewed it as a bad choice the boys were making. In text messages exchanged between Hamber and Cooney around noon on December 2021, they discuss how L.L. had urinated in his bed. 

“He thinks if he pees himself he gets breakfast sooner,” Hamber said.  

In Hamber’s and Cooney’s care, the boys remained wards of the Ottawa CAS and the process was supposed to be supervised by the Halton CAS. But whether the two children’s aid societies did enough to protect the boys from neglect and abuse has been a central question at the trial. 

The court has heard the Halton CAS received numerous reports from teachers, a therapist, police and doctors who were concerned about how Cooney and Hamber were treating the boys. But neither CAS agency decided to take the boys away, and the Halton CAS never visited the home unannounced or interviewed them alone. 

After Simmons told Cooney and Hamber they couldn’t zip-tie the boys into tents at night, they continued, despite the fact the boys could be trapped in an emergency, the Crown has 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 f–k face from his zipped in tent to go peepee?” 

In another, she told him, “[L.L.] is in his tent locked in FYI.” 

Cooney denied she was talking about his tent being zip-tied shut, but rather, was referring to his wetsuit or locked bedroom. 

When CAS workers visited the house, they didn’t see the zip-tied tents, the court has heard. But the visits were planned ahead of time and the workers never spoke to the boys without Hamber or Cooney present. 

A child protection worker who reviewed the case previously testified that the CAS also failed to record important information and missed red flags before L.L. died. 

Simmons was Cooney’s and Hamber’s case worker up until about 2021, when she was promoted to supervisor. After that, their case was overseen by a few other workers. The last time the CAS met with the women and boys was virtually, in September 2022. 

Cooney will continue testifying on Monday. Hamber is expected in the witness box in January.

If you’re affected by this report, you can look for mental health support through resources in your province or territory.