12-year-old boy died weighing just 48 pounds in a basement, but disturbing evidence points to the adoptive moms trusted to keep him safe

Adoption is considered one of the biggest responsibilities, but similar to a Florida dad who ended up abusing his daughter, not every adoption turns out to be positive. A similar incident is reported in Ontario, Canada, where a 12-year-old child who was adopted by two moms was found dead in the couple’s basement. At that time, he weighed only 48 pounds. The innocent child wasn’t the only one; his brother was suffering as well.

According to People, Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney were found guilty of carrying out the first-degree murder of a child who was in their custody. Both of the women are found guilty of locking the child in the basement for 18 hours, where, due to the insufficient diet, he died, as reported by CBC Hamilton. Ontario judge Clayton Conlan gave his verdict on the 5th of May, ending a 7-month-long case. 

The judge gave his verdict, saying, “Overall, I found each of the accused’s evidence at trial to be replete with contradictions, inconsistencies, and things lacking in basic common sense.” He declared that there is clear evidence which suggests the couple “demonstrated an intention to kill the boy.” The disturbing text messages between the couple further exposed the way they treated the children who were in their custody.

Disturbing text messages between the couple put an end to the constant lies they presented in their defense 

Even though the signs of torture and malnutrition were visible enough to have the couple restrained, their text messages regarding children brought shocking details of the incident to light. During their text conversation, they were seemingly mocking the idea of the ways through which they were torturing the boys.

Cooney even accepted that they used to put the boys in the zip locks to stop them from self-harm. Even though she tried to paint the incidents as their effort to not get the boys hurt, but actually, the second boy, who was adopted by them, put forward the reality of their constant physical and mental abuse.

During the trial, several text messages were presented in the court, and one of them was, “Tell them good luck figuring out burpees in the shower when they bitch about never having food.” This wasn’t it, in a message Cooney even accepted that the child was dying when she wrote, “Unfortunately, my thoughts [are] he is suddenly going to die, and I’m (sic) going to jail.” The survivor child also took a stand and explained the torture done by these women.

Once these details were brought to light, the women started accusing children of hitting them, but the judge denied all of them, saying, “I cannot be persuaded that an innocent mother would ever text that to her spouse in those circumstances.” And after they were found guilty, the sentence would be decided by the end of the year.

Even though the case seems clear and one of the innocent children is saved, this incident, similar to the parents whose toddler died due to hunger, is one of the biggest examples of child neglect and abuse. As far as these women are concerned, they are going to be sentenced on one charge of first-degree murder, several charges of confinement, assault with a weapon, and failing to provide the necessities of life for their treatment with the other 10-year-old child.