WARNING: This article contains details related to child abuse allegations.
New information presented in an Ontario courtroom has shed further light on the case of Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney, a Burlington couple charged with first-degree murder in the death of a 12-year-old boy, identified only as L.L. under a publication ban. The disturbing evidence, gathered from the pair’s electronic devices, highlights a pattern of concerning online searches and communications in the weeks leading up to the child’s death.
Searches on Couple’s Devices Raise Serious Concerns
Testifying in the Ontario Superior Court, Sgt. Julie Powers outlined a series of Google searches and web activity recovered from devices belonging to the couple. Among the most troubling was a search for “I hate my child” on December 19, 2022—just two days before L.L. died.
Additional searches found after the child’s death included:
“I did not love my adopted child”
Definitions of culpable homicide, murder, and manslaughter
“Delete Wyze” (related to their home security camera system)
“Crime scene cleanup”
How to delete photos from an iPhone
Financial assistance available when a child dies
The judge, Justice Clayton Conlan, noted these records as particularly significant.
Recordings and Texts Describe Harsh Treatment
The court also heard audio recordings of Hamber and Cooney berating and verbally abusing both L.L. and his younger brother, J.L., who is now 13 and testified earlier in the trial.
Recovered text messages revealed the women routinely referred to the children with degrading and vulgar names, and discussed ways to restrain them, including the alleged use of zip ties.
Messages between Cooney and her father included instructions like:
“Can u wake the loser please”
“Can u sent the dumb brat upstairs”
“Put the dickbag on the stairs please”
In another exchange, when Cooney’s father reported possible blood or vomit on L.L.’s bed, Hamber responded:
“I don’t care. It doesn’t matter.”
The Child’s Condition at the Time of Death
Paramedics found L.L. unresponsive, soaked, and lying on the floor of his locked basement bedroom on December 21, 2022. Witnesses testified that the child was so extremely malnourished that he appeared closer to six years old than twelve.
He died shortly after being taken to hospital.
Earlier medical testimony revealed L.L. had weighed less than he did at age six during a doctor’s visit two weeks before his death.
A Complex Case with Serious Allegations
The Crown argues the couple subjected the boys—Indigenous children they were attempting to adopt—to prolonged abuse, neglect, and confinement.
The defence contends the women were caring for children with severe behavioural and developmental challenges, asserting they received inadequate support from the Children’s Aid Society and service providers.
Crown Plays 2023 Interview With Hamber
The court also viewed a video statement Hamber gave to detectives in 2023. She denied that she and Cooney used zip ties and insisted J.L. was dishonest. She described the aftermath of the boys being removed as “true hell.”
The trial, which began in September, is scheduled to continue into mid-January as the Crown completes its final witness testimony.
