WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
The Children’s Aid Society (CAS) knew Brandi Cooney and Becky Humber were zip-tying two boys into onesie pajamas, but their case worker didn’t tell them to stop, according to an email revealed during the couple’s weeks-long murder trial in Milton, Ont.
Their then Halton CAS staff member, Holly Simmons, emailed the two expectant parents in July 2019, admitting they used zippers so the children could not remove their clothes for “urine control” and “safety”.
The worker then advised Cooney and Humber to stop using the zippers, but only on the tent where the boys were sleeping.
“This will prevent children from escaping the tent in the event of a fire,” Simmons wrote on July 3, 2019.
Photos of JL’s room taken after LL’s death and filed as court exhibits. The murder trial heard the boys were given no blankets and JL slept in a mesh tent. (Superior Court, Milton, Ontario)
The brothers continued to live with Cooney and Humber under CAS supervision for many years until the elder boy, aged 12, died of severe malnutrition in December 2022.
The High Court trial began in mid-September before a single judge, Clayton Conlan. CBC Hamilton identified the dead boy as LL and his younger brother as JL, who was now 13 and testified earlier in the proceedings. The Aboriginal brothers’ identities are protected by a publication ban.
Cooney and Humber were charged with first-degree murder of LL, imprisonment, assault with a weapon such as a zipper and failure to provide necessities of life to JL
They have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Crown says boy was ‘tortured’
Cooney spent much of the week being cross-examined by Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica McKenzie.
The court heard from Cooney that the boys were often zip-tied into tubular sleeping bags, wetsuits, one-piece pajamas and hockey helmets.
Cooney said CAS knew she and Humber were using zip ties and their staff simply told them to stop while they were restraining the boys in a tent on their bed.
The boys were also locked in the bedroom for as long as 18 hours at a timewhile women controlled What do boys eat when?.
“You did a lot of things to control and I would recommend torturing these boys,” McKenzie said Friday.
Cooney disagreed, saying repeatedly that the restrictions were meant to protect the boys from self-harm, such as hitting their faces on hard surfaces — though they never suffered broken teeth, black eyes, goose eggs or other injuries from those actions.
Cooney (left) pictured with JL, Hamber and LL on October 24, 2022. (Superior Court, Milton, Ontario)
Cooney and Humber’s defense also included that the boys had frequent “tantrums” that caused the couple injuries and serious property damage, and that they could not be trusted to “move freely” around the house as they would relieve themselves “everywhere”.
This week, officials disputed the women’s accounts, noting that they never took photos or videos of the incidents. McKenzie said Friday that the boys’ accidents occurred because they were rarely allowed to leave their rooms to go to the bathroom.
But Cooney said she and Humber often felt it was a bad choice the boys made. In text messages exchanged between Humber and Cooney around noon in December 2021, they discussed how LL urinated on his bed.
“He thought he could get breakfast faster if he peed himself,” Humber said.
Court said boys zip-tied tent in tent after warning from CAS
While in the care of Humber and Cooney, the boys remain in the custody of the Ottawa CAS and the entire process is supposed to be overseen 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 issue in the trial.
Court has heard Halton CAS received Large number of reports There were concerns from teachers, therapists, police and doctors about the way Cooney and Humber were treating the boys. But no CAS agency decided to remove the boys, and Halton CAS never visited their home unannounced or interviewed them individually.
After Simmons told Cooney and Humber they couldn’t zip tie the boys into the tent at night, they continued, even though the boys could be trapped in an emergency, police said, according to text messages Cooney sent in 2022.
(Superior Court, Milton, Ontario)
In one instance, Cooney said to his father, who lived with them, “Can you get your face out of his zippered tent to pee?”
In another letter, she told him: “[L.L.] FYI, he’s locked up in his tent. “
Cooney denied she was talking about his tent being zipped shut, referring instead to his wetsuit or the locked bedroom.
The court heard that when CAS staff visited the house they did not see the zippered tent. But these visits were planned in advance, and workers never spoke to the children without Humber or Cooney present.
A child protection worker who reviewed the case previously testified that CAS also failed to record important information and missed red flags before LL’s death.
Simmons remained a case worker for Cooney and Humber until around 2021, when she was promoted to supervisor. Their cases have since been overseen by several other staff members. CAS last met virtually with these women and boys in September 2022.
Cooney will continue testifying Monday. Humber is expected to take the witness stand in January.
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