Babes in the Wood murders (Stanley Park)

On Wednesday, January 14, 1953, the skeletal remains of two young male victims were discovered concealed in woodland in Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia. Investigators determined the children had been killed approximately in 1947 by blows to the head from a hatchet found at the scene, of a type commonly used by shingle weavers and lathers. The bodies had been deliberately arranged lying in a straight line, with the soles of each boy's feet facing the other's, and were concealed beneath a woman's fur coat.

The investigation was complicated early on when the medical examiner incorrectly concluded that one of the victims was female, a determination that shaped assumptions about the case for decades. This error was corrected only in 1998, when DNA testing established that both victims were male and were brothers. At the time of their deaths, they were between six and ten years old.

For decades the children's identities remained unknown, and the case became known in media coverage as the "Babes in the Wood" murders. In 2018, detectives began exploring the use of consumer genetic genealogy databases, including Ancestry.com and 23andMe, to try to determine who the victims were.

This identification effort concluded in 2022. Using forensic genealogy, investigators determined the victims were brothers Derek D'Alton, born February 27, 1940, and David D'Alton, born June 24, 1941 — also known by the surname Bousquet. They were the sons of Eileen Bousquet, who died in 1996. The Vancouver Police Department publicly identified the brothers on February 15, 2022.

Police have said they believe the person responsible for killing the brothers was likely a close relative, who died approximately in the late 1990s. No individual has been publicly named or charged in connection with the killings, and the case remains unsolved despite the identification of the victims.