Overview
- On Friday, an Ontario Superior Court judge imposed automatic life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years on Brandy Cooney and Becky Hamber after their May convictions for first-degree murder and related offences.
- Justice Clayton Conlan relied on recovered deleted text messages, hours of audio, hundreds of images and security footage, medical and expert evidence, and the younger brother’s testimony to find the women guilty.
- Conlan described the older boy’s confinement in a “dungeon-like bedroom” where he was malnourished and wrote that the defendants “hated the boys,” rejecting defence claims that harm was unintentional.
- The sentencing hearing included victim impact statements from the boys’ family, the younger brother’s courtroom remarks, and details of prolonged confinement, forced wetsuit use with zip ties, and food deprivation.
- Advocates and family members say the case exposes gaps in oversight of prospective adoptive and foster placements, and it is likely to increase pressure for child-welfare reviews and follow-up civil actions.