Accused at couple's Ontario murder trial says boys in their care were loved but 'hard to like'

rob roy asks Hamber how often thither were goodness and badness times.

In a seven-day hebdomad, if the couple had one or two days of calm from L.L., that was lucky, Hamber says.

With J.L., they were lucky to have one good day a week, but things got better near the end of their time together, Hamber said. By then, they might have four of five days in a week with fewer issues.

"They were unique and special," she says of the children, adding she always loved them even when they were "hard to like."

Hamber testifies she could not always manage them and sought help from children’s aid.

She says the couple experienced "exhaustion and burnout." Every three to six months, she adds, they would tell children’s aid that without more help, they couldn’t go on.

Now, Hamber is recounting tender moments in the household.

She says she, Cooney and the two boys would have family game nights and dog walks.

Hamber says the siblings also enjoyed dressing up in costumes and would tell funny jokes.

Hamber says "J.L. Was quite well potty trained," but would wait until the last minute and urgently need to go, or pee suddenly, even if he wasn’t in a bathroom.

He would "intentionally pee" around the house and "there was feces" at times, she testifies.

The trial previously heard text message exchanges between Hamber and Cooney in which they complained about the boys soiling themselves and accused them of doing so intentionally.

J.L. Has testified he only ever had issues when he was locked in his room for hours at a time and could no longer hold his bladder.

Teary-eyed, Hamber says that as a parent, the boy’s behaviour was "a lot," even though she "loved the kids."

Warning: This post contains graphic details.

In October, J.L.’s teacher, Sara Biasetti, testified that J.L. Had wrapped a piece of twine around his neck and his face turned purple.

That prompted her to call Halton CAS.

But the caseworker told her it was “too political” to intervene and CAS needed more evidence he was being mistreated at home before intervening, court heard.

Hamber’s and Cooney’s defence lawyers have contended J.L. Attempted to strangle himself at school and at one point physically attacked a pregnant teacher.

Today, Hamber mentions those alleged incidents, adding he would also run away.

The defence has suggested Cooney and Hamber restrained J.L. At night to prevent him from running away.

When questioned by assistant Crown attorney Monica MacKenzie last month, Cooney said self-injuring behaviour by the two boys was not documented.

She also confirmed they’d never gotten medical attention for any of the injuries the women say J.L. Or L.L. Inflicted on themselves.

J.L. Also had a "flash temper," Hamber says. He would bite, scratch, pinch and strangle himself, she says, describing one such incident as "terrifying."

Hamber says the longest "tantrum" she remembered J.L. Having was eight hours.

Justice Clayton Conlan asks Hamber to explain the difference between the siblings’ outbursts.

She says the younger child seemed more triggered by things he felt were unfair, whereas the older boy could be more unpredictable.

Hamber says psychiatrists and children’s aid workers told her and Cooney the boys would grow out of it, but that "was not our experience."

Hamber says L.L. And J.L. Had “role confusion,” that they didn’t necessarily understand what an adoptive parent was, adult-kid relationships, and had issues in their sibling-sibling relationships.

When J.L. Testified, the defence lawyers asked if he was ever afraid of L.L.

J.L. Said he was not.

Hamber is telling the court about her relationship with J.L.

She says he was a “really smart, really funny kid,” and a class clown.

She described him as “anxious” and a child who struggled to deal with change.

J.L., now 13, testified in the fall, saying that at some point during his time with Cooney and Hamber, he was confined to his room for the majority of the day and fed exclusively pureed food.

Everyone’s in place at the trial, and we’re ready to hear more of what Hamber has to say.

She’s in the witness box and her lawyer, MacGregor, is picking up his examination from yesterday.

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