Co-accused testifies at Ontario murder trial for 1st time. ‘I always wanted them,’ she says of brothers

WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.

Taking the witness box in her murder trial for the first time, Brandy Cooney said she called the boy she and her wife were trying to adopt a “moron” and “loser,” used zip-ties to confine him in a wetsuit and locked him in his room. 

Cooney told Superior Court in Milton, Ont., on Monday that she knew the 12-year-old was severely underweight in the fall of 2022 and recalled how he’d told her he was afraid he would die. 

Cooney also searched “I hate my child” on her iPad two days before his death, she told the trial that began in mid-September.

But under questioning from her lawyer, Kim Edward, Cooney said she loved him, yet was frustrated with what she said was a lack of support from the Children’s Aid Society (CAS), therapists and doctors to help the boy.

“I hated the [boy’s] behaviours,” said Cooney. “I hated that we couldn’t be a functional family.” 

She said she did the online search because she was looking for support from other frustrated parents.  

Cooney and Becky Hamber are charged with first-degree murder of the 12-year-old, as well as confinement, assault with a weapon — zip ties — and failing to provide the necessaries of life to his younger brother.

Both women have pleaded not guilty. 

CBC Hamilton is referring to the older boy as L.L. and his brother as J.L. as their identities are protected under a publication ban. The Indigenous brothers were in Cooney’s and Hamber’s care from 2017 until L.L. died in their Burlington home on Dec. 21, 2022. 

The defence called Cooney as their first witness in the judge-only trial.

She defended how she and Hamber cared for the boys, who she described as having experienced neglect and trauma in previous homes that caused them to have behavioural challenges.

“Did you do anything to cause his death?” Edward asked.

“No,” answered Cooney.