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This was "calculated and sustained" confinement, Frew says, noting J.L. Was isolated from everyone, including his brother. 

There were multiple layers of "domination and control."

She says Cooney and Hamber wanted money they were paid to care for the boys, but not to care for them. 

Hamber shakes her head.

The treatment of J.L. Is worth a sentence of five years alone, for failure to provide the necessaries of life, Frew says. 

She says Cooney and Hamber lacking criminal records is not a mitigating factor and there are a number of aggravating factors in this case.

A function of sentences for crimes against children is denunciation and deterrence, she says.

Frew is now going over some case law to make the Crown's argument for its preferred sentences. 

She refers to different child abuse cases and the sentences issued by the judges in those cases. 

Crown lawyer Kelli Frew says it feels almost silly to continue after what was heard in court from the victims.

Still, she continues with the work at hand. 

The Crown, Frew says, is seeking consecutive sentences for Hamber and Cooney on the charges against J.L., to run concurrently with a life sentence for L.L.'s murder, for which they would have no chance of parole for at least 25 years. 

The Crown is also asking for orders preventing Hamber and Cooney from communicating with L.L.’s and J.L.'s family, and the foster mom’s family.

"So many affected by the murder of L.L., and the suffering that was imposed on J.L.," Frew says, adding people's words today are more impactful than anything she could tell Conlan now.

Outside the courtroom on the break, I heard people who read victim statements, and the folks here with them introducing themselves to one another and offering words of support.

The hearing is about to resume.

The boys' mom completes her statement and she too is thanked by the judge.

The court is now on a morning break.

"We lost not only who L.L. Was but also the memories we should have shared with him in the future," the mother says.

She says she wants people to remember L.L. As the "smart," "funny" kid who loved sports and books. "His life mattered. He mattered.

"My greatest hope is that L.L. Is remembered not for how he died, but how he lived."

"The pain of losing L.L. Is impossible to fully express," she says, adding grief follows her "every moment of my life."

Knowing what J.L. Lived with and L.L. Endured before he died is difficult "beyond words."

She says L.L.'s younger brothers will never get to grow up with him, and it breaks her heart to see her surviving children carry this pain.

J.L.'s and L.L.'s biological mother addresses the court for the first time.

While reading her victim impact statement, she says no words can describe the pain of losing her son.

"To the world, L.L. May be seen as a victim, but to me, he was my son," she reads, choking back tears.

The mother says L.L. Was "deeply loved and cherished."

J.L., 14, goes up to read his own victim impact statement. 

He waves at Conlan, who offers for him to come sit up where he is. 

J.L. Says he'll stand where others have been speaking.

"When I was testifying, I was very anxious and I couldn't sleep," he reads, because he wasn't sure if his brother and family would get justice.

He was "sad and angry" seeing recordings of what he went through.

"I miss [L.L.] because I will never see him again."

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