What to know about Hamber’s testimony today
During her fourth day on the stand, Becky Hamber faced tough questioning about how she and her wife treated two brothers in their care, including whether she was “exaggerating things,” such as the boys’ outbursts.
Hours into today’s session, Crown lawyer Kelli Frew asked Hamber to respond to various testimonies and pieces of evidence. One was a video from 2021 where L. L., the older boy, wore a wetsuit and could be heard crying while repeatedly asking for food.
Frew questioned why Hamber would take the “exceptionally cruel” action of recording the child despite his requests for her to stop, and why she didn’t just feed him.
Hamber defended her choice, saying she wanted to show her wife, Brandy Cooney, how L. L. was acting; she also wanted to share the video with service providers and noted that she had already given him breakfast.
Frew pressed further on why they didn’t call 911 or seek medical help for L. L., especially after Hamber texted Cooney about a month before he died in December 2022 expressing concern that he might have hypothermia and was dying.
Hamber disagreed with Frew’s suggestion that L. L. would still be alive if he had gotten medical attention.
Both Hamber and Cooney, who testified late last year, have said multiple times that leading up to L. L.’s death in fall 2022, he struggled with an eating disorder. When found in the basement of their Burlington home, the boy was 12 years old and weighed just 48 pounds-exactly what he weighed at age six.
His brother J. L. is now 13 and gave testimony last month.
Earlier today, Frew analyzed Hamber’s Linked In profile which was entered into evidence by the judge. She highlighted a Children’s Aid Society document indicating that Hamber claimed to be a “behaviour specialist” and early childhood educator – something Hamber agreed wasn’t true.
The Crown lawyer argued that Hamber “grossly exaggerated the length, degree and duration of the so-called tantrums the boys would have,” which Hamber denied.
The Ontario Superior Court trial began in mid-September and will continue Thursday.
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