Doctor did not closely examine emaciated boy days before death, Ontario. 2 Explained about testing for prospective parents
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
A 12-year-old boy, who was severely malnourished and underweight, was seen by his family doctor for an annual checkup eight days before he died while in the care of two women from Burlington, Ontario.
Dr. Graeme (Stephen) Duncan testified Monday and Tuesday in the trial of Becky Hamber and Brandi Cooney, who pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder of the boy the couple was trying to adopt.
At the time of the appointment, on Dec. 13, 2022, the boy, known as LL because his identity is protected by a publication ban, had lost about 10 pounds in a year, weighed less than he did when he was six, and had stopped growing.
“He was quite conversational and normal in terms of responding to me verbally, politely,” Duncan said at the judge-alone trial in Milton Superior Court. “But the physical exam was unremarkable because of her weight loss.”
The family doctor, who practices in Halton Region and has 2,200 patients, said Hamber and Cooney claimed LL had an eating disorder and was vomiting every day. Duncan had already sent a referral to an eating disorder clinic and was waiting to hear back.
Based on the scans and tests sent to Duncan before the appointment, he may have known LL Hamber’s attorney, Monte McGregor, said during cross-examination that he was “a ticking time bomb waiting to explode” and could “go off at any moment” with a cardiac event that could have resulted in his death.
McGregor said LL had actually shrunk since his appointment with Duncan a year ago.
Court told, the doctor did not follow the guidelines of the pediatric group
Duncan admitted that during the checkup, he did not ask LL about what she was eating, remove her clothes and examine her or take her blood pressure while lying down and standing up – all of which were recommended by the Canadian Pediatric Society to determine the physical effects of a patient’s malnutrition.
Duncan also did not call an ambulance, even though LL’s weight showed he was severely malnourished, or recommend that Hamber and Cooney take LL to the emergency department, the doctor confirmed during testimony.
On 21st December, 2022, LL is found emaciated, drenched, and unresponsive in the basement of Hamber and Cooney’s home. He was taken to hospital and died shortly afterwards.
A pathologist previously told the court He was not able to determine LL’s cause of death, but could not rule out hypothermia or cardiac arrest associated with severe malnutrition.
Hamber and Cooney were also in the process of adopting LL’s younger brother, JL, whose identity is also protected under a publication ban.
Two Indigenous boys were transferred from a foster home to a women’s home in Ottawa in 2017. They remained wards of the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) of Ottawa, as the adoption was never finalized before LL’s death. Halton CAS was in charge of overseeing his daily care.
The women have also pleaded not guilty to imprisonment, assault with a weapon – primarily a zip tie – and failing to provide JL with the necessities of life.
Duncan was the boys’ family doctor from 2018 to 2022. He knew of several psychiatrists, mental health providers, and pediatricians who had evaluated and treated LL, as well as their findings, recommendations, and medication prescriptions.
Concerns grow over potential adoption
In a striking 2019 letter co-signed by Duncan and the lead physician of his health team to the director of Halton CAS, doctors and clinic staff expressed their concerns about Cooney and Hamber’s adoption of JL and LL.
The letter read in court by assistant Crown counsel Monica McKenzie said Cooney and Hamber’s parenting approach and “security controls were excessive”. More humiliating than therapeutic,” including forcing the boys to sleep in tents, covering their rooms with tarpaulins, and zip-tying them to their clothes.
It also said that women were unstable and their emotions were uncontrolled.
“Despite numerous efforts, (Cooney and Hamber) were unwilling to work toward the goal of helping children at home, in the community, and at school,” the letter said.
Duncan told the defense that he did not take action regarding the letter because he felt CAS was in the best position to address the concerns.
But this was not the first or last warning Children’s Aid would receive about Cooney and Hamber. teachers, police and doctors too expressed concerns How the boys were being treated at home, but they were not removed. No one from CAS has been called to testify yet.
The Crown has argued that Cooney and Hamber not only struggled to care for the boys, but also hated, neglected and abused them. However, they had come to rely on the financial subsidies they received through government adoption programs and tended to exaggerate the boys’ conditions and behavior, particularly LL’s, calling him mean, cowardly, and a liar.
Other witnesses – including doctors, his former foster parents, therapists and a teacher – described him as polite, energetic, smart and friendly, despite the fact that he occasionally became angry and could be aggressive.
Defense outlines big child issues
During cross-examination, defense attorneys argued that LL was exceptionally difficult to manage due to him suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Attachment issues and disruptive mood disorders. She believes the couple was doing the best they could with a little help from other professionals, including child support and therapists like Duncan.
The couple’s attorneys have also said LL struggles with binge eating and “sudden” regurgitation of food. Before his death in 2022, McGregor said, LL had a severe eating disorder, was vomiting every day and needed to be cared for like a baby, something the women told a pediatrician in the weeks before his death.
Duncan was provided with this information before LL’s 13 December appointment, he confirmed during cross-examination.
But, the doctor said, she had already given a referral to an eating disorder clinic and more blood tests, and, thinking LL had all she needed, sent her home.
The trial, which began last month before Judge Clayton Conlon, is expected to continue into December.
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