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Now 13, He Testifies After Watching His 12-Year-Old Brother Die While Locked in a Basement

Key points: The surviving brother, now 13, is the prosecution’s principal witness in the trial of Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney, who are accused in the December 2022 death of a 12-year-old boy they were adopting. The witness says he saw his brother suffer severe malnutrition, be restrained with zip ties, locked in a basement and forced to sleep in wetsuits. Medical testimony stated the victim weighed about 48 lbs at death. The defendants plead not guilty and the trial is ongoing.

10:12 PM, 12/03/2025Society
Now 13, He Testifies After Watching His 12-Year-Old Brother Die While Locked in a Basement

Two women face a first-degree murder trial after prosecutors say a 12-year-old boy they were in the process of adopting died in December 2022 while confined in a basement. Becky Hamber, 45, and Brandy Cooney, 43, have pleaded not guilty and deny the allegations.

The prosecution's key witness is the victim's younger brother, now 13. He was 10 when he says he watched his brother waste away from what medical testimony described as severe malnutrition and then die on Dec. 21, 2022. The boy has described repeated episodes of alleged abuse, including being bound with restraints fashioned from zip ties, locked in basement bedrooms and forced to wear wetsuits to bed so he could not remove clothing to use the bathroom.

“Yesterday I saw my sibling and, you know, he’s dead. He’s the first dead body I’ve ever seen in real life,” the boy told investigators, and he said anxiety made him vomit several times during his first interview with police.

Authorities say the surviving boy first spoke with police the day after his brother’s funeral in January 2023 and was interviewed again months later as the investigation continued. Hamber and Cooney were arrested after the initial interviews and were charged with assault, forcible confinement and criminal negligence causing bodily harm; prosecutors later added a first-degree murder charge.

At trial, pediatrician Dr. Emma Cory testified that the victim weighed about 48 pounds at the time of death — a weight she said was lower than the child's weight at age six. The surviving brother told the court the boy had been as light as 43 pounds at one point. Prosecutors say the child was found in a basement bedroom and was soaked when discovered.

A therapist who worked with the family testified that she had raised concerns about the couple’s practices years earlier and recorded observations in contemporaneous notes. One entry shortly before the younger boy’s death quoted him saying he wanted “a forever family for Christmas.” The therapist also denied defense claims that she encouraged the use of restraints.

Defense lawyers have challenged aspects of the prosecution’s account; one attorney reportedly used a provocative comparison when questioning medical testimony. The defendants maintain their innocence and remain free on bail while the trial proceeds. Prosecutors are presenting witness testimony and forensic evidence to support their allegation that the child’s death resulted from sustained abuse and neglect.

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