In a harrowing court case unfolding in Ontario, Canada, a woman accused of the tragic death of a 12-year-old boy in her care has claimed that she used zip ties on the child to prevent him from self-harming or causing property damage, as revealed during the trial.

Brandy Cooney and her partner Becky Hamber are facing trial following the death of the boy, referred to only as L.L., who died on December 21, 2022, while under their foster care.

Authorities discovered L.L. in a dire state in the couple’s basement—soaking wet, unresponsive, and severely underweight, weighing less than he did at age six. He was rushed to the hospital but sadly did not survive.

The trial has disclosed that both L.L. and his younger brother, known as J.L., were subjected to being zip-tied on various occasions, raising serious concerns about their treatment.

When questioned about this controversial method of restraint, Hamber explained that the zip ties were intended as a means of managing the children’s behavior.

However, Hamber acknowledged that using such restraints was a grave error, particularly recalling an incident where the younger boy was injured after his shoes were tied together.

According to Hamber, that was ‘an absolutely horrendous decision and should never have happened,’ the Toronto Star reported. 

She also said that social workers who were assigned to look out for the children were aware that Hamber and Cooney were using zip-ties, among other measures, to control the boys. 

Becky Hamber, one of the women accused of torturing a 12-year-old boy to death alongside her wife, said they often zip-tied him so he wouldn’t harm himself or damage the home, a court heard on Wednesday 

Both women have pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, unlawful confinement, and assault with a weapon

In addition to the horrid restraints, the couple would also force the brothers to sleep in tents on their beds, behind closed and locked doors, Hamber told the court. 

This was done to prevent the children from running away or wandering, and potentially hurting themselves or others in the house, she added. 

‘We kind of felt like we were out of options to keep the children safe,’ she said. 

Just last month, it was revealed that the couple called the 12-year-old ‘the f**k,’ CBC reported. 

In a text to her father on November 20, 2022, Cooney wrote: ‘Can you wake the f***,’ referring to L.L.

Her father then told Cooney the boy was ‘drunk’ and stumbling around, before adding, ‘something is wrong.’

Cooney seemingly thought L.L. was pretending, as she told her dad: ‘It’s a fake fall for sympathy,’ a text message read. 

Her tune suddenly changed later in the day as Cooney told Hamber he might need to go to a hospital.

Throughout the disturbing trial, it’s been revealed that both L.L. and his younger, surviving brother, identified as J.L. (pictured together), were allegedly zip-tied on multiple occasions

She also said that social workers who were assigned to look out for the children were aware that Hamber and Cooney were using zip-ties

‘Guess the stupid choices are really getting him,’ Hamber responded. ‘No sleep, starving, dehydrated, and no poo…the perfect storm.’

Hamber added: ‘We’re doing the best we can do,’ despite the court hearing just last month that the boy was screaming and trying to escape from a locked basement before he took his final breath.

In another exchange, Hamber told Cooney: ‘We’re f***ed,’ before calling the younger brother, identified as J.L., a ‘f***ing d***.’ He was also in their care.

Both women have pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, unlawful confinement and assault with a weapon. 

The siblings started living with Hamber and Cooney in Ontario in 2017 after being moved from a foster home in Ottawa.

They had planned on adopting the Indigenous brothers, who were still wards of the CAS at the time of LL’s death, but the adoption was never finalized, CBC reported.

The trial has shed light on the alleged horrible conditions the boys were forced to live in.

At one point, Dr. Graeme (Stephen) Duncan, the family’s physician, described the eerie details of LL’s deteriorating health.

During a December 13, 2022, appointment – just days before LL took his final breath – Duncan said the boy was ‘normal’ despite losing 10lbs in one year and weighing less than he did at the age of six.

The 12-year-old boy was found soaking wet, unresponsive, emaciated and weighing less than he did at the age of six, in the couple’s basement

The deceased boy’s brother, now 13, testified that the women forced them to wear hockey helmets and wetsuits (pictured) for hours on end

Meanwhile, Stefanie Peachey, a social worker assigned to watch over the boys, told the court she recorded ‘yellow flags’ after saying she saw the surviving brother zip-tied into his pajamas, per the outlet.

Peachey, who worked with the brother and the couple for about a year, said her sessions mainly focused on the boy’s identity and ‘who they wanted to be’.

Still, she worried about ‘the narrative around who [the boys] were…focused around negative experiences,’ even if ‘they were good or bad,’ the court heard.

The deceased boy’s brother, now 13, testified that the women forced them to wear hockey helmets and wetsuits for hours on end. 

The brother, J.L., is the prosecution’s star witness in the ongoing murder trial.

He told the court he was forced to relive the death of his brother and the torment that Hamber and Cooney allegedly put them through. 

The trial is set to continue on Wednesday before the prosecutor’s cross-examination begins.