What to know about Hamber’s testimony today
Over the course of at least five hours today, Becky Hamber faced questions from three different lawyers about her and her wife’s treatment of the two boys in their care.
Hamber’s own lawyer, her wife’s lawyer and a Crown prosecutor questioned the Burlington, Ont., woman about multiple allegations we’ve heard over the course of the weeks-long trial – from how much Hamber knew about the boys’ previous behaviour to the way she and Brandy Cooney treated and spoke about the children in their home.
At one point, Hamber sobbed as she recalled finding the older boy, L.L., unresponsive on the floor when her wife called her to their basement in 2022.
“Never in the many emergencies over the time in our relationship,” she said, “I had never heard that tone from Brandy before.”
She said she and Cooney did not want the boy to die, did nothing to cause his death and wanted his surviving brother to stay in their home.
Hamber was also questioned about efforts to have L.L. treated for an eating disorder in the final months of his life. Court has heard the child, then 12, weighed less at the time of his death than he did at six years old.
Court saw a number of text messages between Hamber and Cooney, in which they used what one lawyer described as vulgar and dehumanizing language to talk about the brothers.
Hamber said she was “deeply, deeply” ashamed of messages she said were written in frustration, including one text suggesting the couple should “drown” the boys in their own feces.
“I can’t believe I let myself do that. I’m disgusted with myself,” Hamber said, adding she’s lost a lot of sleep since those messages came up in the trial.
Hamber and her wife have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in L.L.’s death and to various other charges related to the alleged abuse of J.L., now 13.
The trial continues on Monday. This page is no longer live, but you can find more coverage at cbc.ca/hamilton.
