WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
In the five years a boy lived with his prospective adoptive parents, the Halton Children’s Aid Society (CAS) never spoke to him alone despite receiving multiple reports about suspected abuse, a Milton, Ont., court heard.
Even during a virtual call in September 2022, when a CAS worker noted her concerns about the boy’s apparent thinness, paleness, sunken cheeks and the dark circles under his eyes, no subsequent followup visit happened before he died on Dec. 21 that year, confirmed Lisa Potts, a now-retired CAS child protection worker.
That night, paramedics found the 12-year-old unresponsive, soaking wet and lying on the basement floor of his tiny bedroom, which locked from the outside, the court has heard. He was so severely malnourished and emaciated that he looked as if he could be six years old. He died shortly after in hospital.
Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder at their judge-only trial. It began in mid-September and is expected to continue into December.
The identities of the boy who died and his younger brother are protected under a publication ban.
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