A child and family therapist testified Friday at the first-degree murder trial of two Ontario women accused of starving and abusing two Indigenous brothers in their care, telling the court she never recommended the boys be fed pureed food on a consistent basis. Her testimony directly challenges a key claim made by the defence.
The trial centres on the death of 12-year-old L.L., who died in the care of Brandy Cooney and Becky Hamber in December 2022. The Burlington couple has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and to charges of confinement, assault with a weapon and failing to provide the necessaries of life to the younger brother, J.L. A publication ban protects both boys’ identities. Evidence presented in court has included graphic accounts of severe malnutrition, alleged forced confinement and strict control over the boys’ daily routines.
Therapist Terra Bovingdon told the Ontario Superior Court in Milton that her work with the family in 2018 and 2019 focused on helping the boys regulate trauma-related behaviours using supportive, repetitive activities. She said she suggested the use of smoothies or occasional bottle feeding as comforting tools for traumatized children but did not advise treating the boys like toddlers for extended periods or pureeing their food routinely. Bovingdon emphasized that any regression-based care should be short, supportive interactions lasting about 10–15 minutes.
Her testimony contradicts the defence’s argument that the couple pureed the boys’ meals on her professional recommendation. J.L. previously told the court he was confined to his room for long stretches and given only pureed food for extended periods. Prosecutors allege the couple deprived both boys of food, forced them to exercise excessively, confined them in locked rooms and used zip ties as restraints. Video evidence has shown the boys being made to climb stairs repeatedly, which Bovingdon also said she never advised.
The court has heard disturbing details about L.L.’s final hours. Paramedics found him unresponsive on the basement floor of his locked bedroom, severely emaciated and soaked with fluid. Witnesses testified that although he was 12, he appeared closer to six years old due to extreme malnourishment.
Testimony Friday also touched on additional confinement practices. J.L. has said he was forced to sleep in a zip-tied tent on his bed and could not use the washroom without permission. While the defence argued the tent was used for safety and to prevent him from running away, Bovingdon noted that bed tents can sometimes be therapeutic but only under appropriate, consensual conditions.
Another mental health worker, Chelsey Harding of Woodview Mental Health and Autism Services, testified that she resigned from her role in part because of her experiences working with the couple. She described Cooney and Hamber as controlling, saying they interfered with virtual sessions, refused private time with the boys and abruptly ended meetings. She continued supporting the children informally after leaving her job because she felt they lacked positive experiences at home.
The trial has also heard that Children’s Aid Society staff rarely met with the boys privately, despite requirements to do so. A CAS worker previously testified she was unable to conduct private interviews because at least one of the women was always present.
Justice Clayton Conlan is presiding over the judge-alone trial, which is expected to continue into early December with further testimony from medical experts, service providers and investigators as the Crown continues to outline its case.
