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Two orphaned siblings saw their hopes of a normal life turn into a nightmare when a female couple planning to adopt them allegedly subjected the boys to a cycle of horrific torture, a court has heard.

One of the children, a 12-year-old boy known only as LL, spent his final moments screaming and vomiting in pain as he tried to escape from a locked basement. His prospective adoptive parents are accused of watching him die on camera, ignoring his desperate pleas for help.

The two women are in court accused of murdering the boy, who looked to them for care but was allegedly forced to live in squalor while being slowly tortured. Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney have pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder.

The couple also denied charges of confinement, assault wit

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