A sentencing hearing is underway for two Burlington, Ont., women who abused two Indigenous brothers in their care, killing the oldest.

Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney were found guilty in early May of first-degree murder in the death of a 12-year-old boy, and of unlawful confinement, assault with a weapon and failure to provide the necessaries of life regarding his younger sibling.

First-degree murder carries an automatic sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

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The couple took in the two boys, who cannot be identified under a publication ban, in the fall of 2017 and sought to adopt them.

Five years later, the older boy — by then so thin that first responders questioned his age — died in the basement of their home.

His brother was taken away by child welfare services and later testified at the women’s trial, describing years of abuse both siblings endured at the couple’s hands.

The boy testified he was locked in his room for long stretches of time and denied food at times for days, court documents show. He told the court he was forced to wear a wetsuit that was fastened to his feet with zip ties, leaving him with deep cuts on his feet.

In his written ruling, Ontario Superior Court Justice Clayton Conlan said Hamber and Cooney hated and resented the children for “having come into their lives and not having turned out to be what was expected.”

The women’s lawyers argued their clients had no intention of hurting the children, who they said had significant behavioural issues.