Halton police have arrested the prospective adoptive parents of an Indigenous 12-year-old boy after he was found dead in a home in Burlington in December 2022.
Police say they were called to a home in the area of New Street and Guelph Line around 7:30 p.m. on December 21, 2022 for reports of a child without vital signs.
Officers found a dead 12-year-old boy in the home and Halton police’s Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Unit immediately started an investigation.
On Thursday, police say they arrested the prospective adoptive parents of the deceased boy.
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Becky Hamber, 44, of Burlington and Brandy Cooney, 42, of Hamilton are both facing charges of first-degree murder and failure to provide the necessities of life.
Cooney and Hamber both previously worked at Kid Logic, a childcare learning centre in Burlington. The centre’s director says Hamber was a preschool teacher at the centre, though she has not worked there since 2017, and Cooney hasn’t worked there since 2020.
Hamber and Cooney were held in custody pending a bail hearing on Mar. 1.
Police say a separate investigation in regards to the younger sibling of the deceased 12-year-old led to charges laid against both of the accused in January 2023.
Hamber and Cooney were charged with assault, assault with a weapon, forcible confinement, failure to provide the necessities of life, and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
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Executive Director of the Halton Children’s Aid Society, Janice Robinson, says the society was “devastated” to learn of the death of an Indigenous child in its care.
“We immediately conducted an internal review and we engaged an independent third-party reviewer to examine child safety and adherence to standards. We have been absolutely committed to learning everything we can about what happened in this case,” Robinson said in a statement.
“Our profound thoughts and condolences continue to be with the family and the Indigenous community.”
Ryan Anderson, from the Halton Regional Police Service, says, “these charges were initially related to an investigation into his younger sibling, but a complex investigation continued after that, which resulted yesterday, approximately a year and a bit after the initial call to the home, with us arresting and charging those same two parents.”
After an appearance in a court in Milton, the couple is in custody and will return to court on Mar. 11.
