Halton police have charged a pair of prospective adoptive parents with the first-degree murder of a 12-year-old boy after previously charging them with alleged abuse and forcible confinement of his younger sibling.
In a statement released Friday, the Halton Children’s Aid Society said they were devastated to hear of the death of a child in their care, whom they described as Indigenous.
The charges are connected to an incident in Burlington on the evening of Dec. 21, 2022, when police and emergency services were called to a report of a child without vital signs.
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When police arrived, they found the 12-year-old boy dead.
Following an investigation from the Halton Regional Police Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Unit, police arrested his prospective adoptive parents on Thursday.
Police say the accused were also looking to adopt the boy’s younger sibling, who also lived in the home in Dec. 2022.
Police earlier charged the same parents with assault, assault with a weapon, forcible confinement, failure to provide the necessaries of life and criminal negligence causing bodily harm over alleged conduct related to that younger sibling.
Police say both parents have been held for bail hearing on Friday.
In its Friday statement, the Children’s Aid Society said they immediately conducted an internal review and have asked an independent third-party reviewer to examine their child safety standards.
They added they are cooperating with an ongoing investigation by Halton police and said they are “absolutely committed to learning everything we can about what happened in this case.”
“Our profound thoughts and condolences continue to be with the family and the Indigenous community. We want to reiterate that our priority is always the safety and well-being of the children in our care, and we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that they are protected and supported,” Halton Children’s Aid said in a statement.
Neither police nor the children’s aid society have identified the boy.
Becky Hamber, 44 and Brandy Cooney, 42, .
Omar Mosleh is an ɫɫ-based reporter covering social issues
for the Star. Reach him omarmosleh@thestar.ca.
