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

"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. J.L.'s room in a photo taken after L.L. died and filed as a court exhibit. The boys didn't have blankets and J.L. slept in a mesh tent, the murder trial has been told. (Ontario Superior Court in Milton)"

"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."

Holly Simmons, a Halton CAS worker, emailed prospective parents Brandy Cooney and Becky Hamber in July 2019 acknowledging they used zip ties to prevent two Indigenous brothers from removing clothing to control urine and allegedly for safety. Simmons advised stopping zip ties only on the mesh tents used for sleeping, citing fire escape risks. The brothers remained in Cooney and Hamber’s care under CAS supervision for years. The older boy, L.L., died severely malnourished at age 12 in December 2022; his younger brother J.L. is now 13 and has testified. Cooney and Hamber face first-degree murder and other charges and have pleaded not guilty.

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