Update: Stanley Park’s Babes in the Woods Identified

Episode 301: In episode thirteen of Dark Poutine, we covered the Babes in the Woods case, a tragic and long-unsolved mystery from Vancouver. In 1953, the skeletal remains of two children were discovered in Stanley Park, one of Vancouver’s largest urban parks. What made this case, particularly haunting was that the children were found with a hatchet that appeared to have been used to end their lives. The identities of the two children remained unknown for almost 70 years until, in 2022, using DNA genealogy, the Vancouver Police were able to identify the boys believed to have died sometime in 1947. They were seven-year-old Derek and six-year-old David D’Alton. Their mother, Eileen Bousquet, who died in 1996, told relatives at the time that social services had taken the boys as she was unable to care for them. No one knows for sure what happened leading up to their deaths, and as so much time has passed, it is doubtful we ever will. At least they have their names back.

Sources:

Stanley Park — City of Vancouver

Murder, Mystery and Intrigue in Review: Babes in the Woods

166: Hate Crime: The Murder of Aaron Webster – Dark Poutine – True Crime & Dark History

Six Officers Plead Guilty To Stanley Park Beatings

2004 BCPC 1 (CanLII) | R. v. Cronmiller | CanLII

Unsolved Stanley Park ‘Babes in the Woods’ case still haunts a city

Interview with Brian Honeybourn

69UMBC — The Doe Network

68UMBC — The Doe Network

VPD hopes genealogical testing can help solve cold case – Vancouver Police Department

VPD identifies child victims in historic cold case murder – Vancouver Police Department