1 00:00:00,250 --> 00:00:02,961 (ominous music) 2 00:00:04,963 --> 00:00:06,464 (dramatic music) 3 00:00:06,464 --> 00:00:08,800 - [Narrator] An employee in the world's greatest park 4 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:11,970 discovers something terrible underfoot. 5 00:00:12,595 --> 00:00:15,682 - He feels a crack underneath his boot. 6 00:00:15,682 --> 00:00:17,600 It turns out to be bone. 7 00:00:18,601 --> 00:00:20,687 - [Narrator] What the park worker discovers 8 00:00:20,687 --> 00:00:22,814 would unearth a mystery that would 9 00:00:22,814 --> 00:00:24,899 make headlines around the world. 10 00:00:24,899 --> 00:00:26,526 (camera shutter clicks) 11 00:00:26,526 --> 00:00:27,694 - Underneath leaves 12 00:00:27,694 --> 00:00:29,612 and a woman's fur coat, 13 00:00:29,612 --> 00:00:31,865 police find the skeletal remains 14 00:00:31,865 --> 00:00:33,324 of two young children. 15 00:00:33,324 --> 00:00:37,954 Whoever did this hid their body several years earlier. 16 00:00:38,705 --> 00:00:40,749 - [Narrator] Once the media gets ahold of the story, 17 00:00:40,749 --> 00:00:45,253 the two children become known as the Babes in the Woods, 18 00:00:45,253 --> 00:00:49,632 a mystery that remains unsolved for 70 years. 19 00:00:50,216 --> 00:00:51,551 - It becomes the most notorious 20 00:00:51,551 --> 00:00:53,762 double murder in Vancouver's history, 21 00:00:53,762 --> 00:00:57,182 a mother suspected of murdering her own children, 22 00:00:57,182 --> 00:00:59,350 but police don't know who they. 23 00:00:59,350 --> 00:01:00,351 (dramatic music) 24 00:01:00,351 --> 00:01:01,644 - [Narrator] A maverick cop 25 00:01:01,644 --> 00:01:03,438 takes matters into his own hands, 26 00:01:03,438 --> 00:01:05,482 and with new breakthroughs in technology 27 00:01:05,482 --> 00:01:09,944 might solve what many think is an unsolvable case. 28 00:01:10,779 --> 00:01:13,531 Can the Babes in the Woods be given justice 29 00:01:13,531 --> 00:01:15,241 after decades of searching? 30 00:01:15,241 --> 00:01:16,242 (suspenseful music) 31 00:01:16,242 --> 00:01:17,786 (somber theme music) 32 00:01:17,786 --> 00:01:20,914 - The unsolved ones we have to stand up. 33 00:01:20,914 --> 00:01:25,459 - And approach these cases in a way outside the box. 34 00:01:25,459 --> 00:01:26,836 - Let the world know. 35 00:01:26,836 --> 00:01:28,671 Those out there that did commit a murder, 36 00:01:28,671 --> 00:01:30,673 you know, there are people that are coming after you. 37 00:01:30,673 --> 00:01:31,965 - There's just a lot of good people 38 00:01:31,965 --> 00:01:33,259 trying to do the right thing. 39 00:01:33,259 --> 00:01:34,344 (faint radio chatter) 40 00:01:34,344 --> 00:01:35,553 - Because it's something that 41 00:01:35,553 --> 00:01:37,097 you have to be passionate about. 42 00:01:37,097 --> 00:01:38,389 - Solve this. 43 00:01:38,389 --> 00:01:40,266 Bring some peace to the family at least. 44 00:01:40,266 --> 00:01:41,476 Just doing my job. 45 00:01:41,476 --> 00:01:43,311 (dramatic music) 46 00:01:43,311 --> 00:01:46,106 (gavel bangs) 47 00:01:48,233 --> 00:01:49,484 (light idyllic music) 48 00:01:49,484 --> 00:01:51,069 - [Narrator] In 1953, 49 00:01:51,069 --> 00:01:52,445 Vancouver's Stanley Park 50 00:01:52,445 --> 00:01:55,115 overlooks the Pacific Ocean to one side 51 00:01:55,115 --> 00:01:57,909 and a growing metropolis to the other. 52 00:01:58,451 --> 00:02:00,328 Park employee, Albert Tong, 53 00:02:00,328 --> 00:02:02,580 walks through the woods in Stanley Park 54 00:02:02,580 --> 00:02:06,793 to clear the area and reduce the risk of a forest fire. 55 00:02:06,793 --> 00:02:08,211 - As he's walking through the area, 56 00:02:08,211 --> 00:02:11,506 the park worker feels a crunch underneath his boot. 57 00:02:11,506 --> 00:02:12,799 When he inspects further, 58 00:02:12,799 --> 00:02:15,635 he discovers a woman's fur coat. 59 00:02:17,345 --> 00:02:20,223 - [Narrator] When Albert Tong lifts the fur coat, 60 00:02:20,223 --> 00:02:22,267 he reveals a hidden crime scene. 61 00:02:22,267 --> 00:02:23,518 (ominous music) 62 00:02:23,518 --> 00:02:26,895 The crunch underfoot was from a small skull 63 00:02:26,895 --> 00:02:30,567 hidden under the ground and wrapped in the coat. 64 00:02:30,567 --> 00:02:31,776 - The fur coat is covering 65 00:02:31,776 --> 00:02:35,405 the skeletal remains of two small bodies. 66 00:02:35,405 --> 00:02:38,074 With tree roots growing over the remains 67 00:02:38,074 --> 00:02:41,536 and the state of decomposition the bodies are in, 68 00:02:41,536 --> 00:02:44,831 Tong would know he's come across a shallow grave 69 00:02:44,831 --> 00:02:47,917 that has been there for some time. 70 00:02:48,835 --> 00:02:49,752 - [Narrator] The location is close 71 00:02:49,752 --> 00:02:51,504 to an old fish hatchery 72 00:02:51,504 --> 00:02:53,590 and the trail to a bridge, 73 00:02:53,590 --> 00:02:54,799 but the heavily wooded area 74 00:02:54,799 --> 00:02:57,719 would conceal anyone's activities. 75 00:02:57,719 --> 00:02:59,512 - This could have been a case 76 00:02:59,512 --> 00:03:01,431 where two children were lost 77 00:03:01,431 --> 00:03:03,016 and exposed to the elements. 78 00:03:03,016 --> 00:03:05,894 Then wrapped themselves up in a fur coat for warmth, 79 00:03:05,894 --> 00:03:09,606 but it doesn't take long for police to rule that theory out. 80 00:03:09,606 --> 00:03:12,525 (ominous music) 81 00:03:12,525 --> 00:03:13,818 (dramatic music) 82 00:03:13,818 --> 00:03:16,070 - [Narrator] When detectives arrive on the scene, 83 00:03:16,070 --> 00:03:19,365 they discover a trove of physical evidence. 84 00:03:20,116 --> 00:03:22,869 - The bodies are positioned head to foot. 85 00:03:22,869 --> 00:03:25,163 From appearances, they are two children, 86 00:03:25,163 --> 00:03:27,123 one slightly larger than the other. 87 00:03:27,123 --> 00:03:29,459 The smaller skeleton lies face down. 88 00:03:29,459 --> 00:03:31,627 While the other larger one lies with its head 89 00:03:31,627 --> 00:03:35,215 and shoulders on top of the feet of the smaller one. 90 00:03:35,882 --> 00:03:38,259 - An Air Force flying helmet 91 00:03:38,259 --> 00:03:40,595 is still on one of the skulls, 92 00:03:40,595 --> 00:03:44,224 but each skull shows signs of injury. 93 00:03:44,224 --> 00:03:45,683 (pensive music) 94 00:03:45,683 --> 00:03:46,851 - [Narrator] Police believe the murder weapon 95 00:03:46,851 --> 00:03:48,478 has been left at the scene: 96 00:03:48,478 --> 00:03:52,148 a small lathing hatchet broken at the handle. 97 00:03:52,148 --> 00:03:53,608 (pensive music) 98 00:03:53,608 --> 00:03:57,111 This type of hatchet is small, light, and cheap. 99 00:03:57,111 --> 00:03:59,656 It has a hammer end for driving nails, 100 00:03:59,656 --> 00:04:01,991 and a thin blade for chopping. 101 00:04:01,991 --> 00:04:04,494 Typically used for lath and plaster walls 102 00:04:04,494 --> 00:04:06,746 or roof framing, or by campers, 103 00:04:06,746 --> 00:04:09,249 the hatchet is easy to carry. 104 00:04:09,791 --> 00:04:11,709 - In the 1940s and 50s, 105 00:04:11,709 --> 00:04:13,211 it would be fairly common for someone 106 00:04:13,211 --> 00:04:16,255 to be seen carrying a hatchet in Stanley Park. 107 00:04:16,255 --> 00:04:18,299 It wouldn't be unusual for someone 108 00:04:18,299 --> 00:04:20,343 to chop up some firewood for camping 109 00:04:20,343 --> 00:04:25,265 or for home heating if they lived close to the park. 110 00:04:25,932 --> 00:04:27,433 - [Narrator] There are light wounds 111 00:04:27,433 --> 00:04:28,851 on the skulls of each child, 112 00:04:28,851 --> 00:04:31,646 indicating blows from the hatchet, 113 00:04:31,646 --> 00:04:34,315 but they're not struck with a lot of force. 114 00:04:35,650 --> 00:04:36,985 - The light wound suggests 115 00:04:36,985 --> 00:04:39,404 that whoever struck with the ax, 116 00:04:39,404 --> 00:04:41,238 did not have a lot of strength. 117 00:04:41,238 --> 00:04:44,242 1950's thinking leads them to believe 118 00:04:44,242 --> 00:04:46,827 that a woman possessed the hatchet. 119 00:04:46,827 --> 00:04:48,997 The bodies were also covered 120 00:04:48,997 --> 00:04:51,457 in a woman's fur coat. 121 00:04:51,457 --> 00:04:52,666 (camera shutter clicks) 122 00:04:52,666 --> 00:04:54,085 - [Narrator] The fur coat is deteriorated, 123 00:04:54,085 --> 00:04:56,879 but it's a short coat and size 16, 124 00:04:56,879 --> 00:04:59,257 indicating the wearer was stocky. 125 00:04:59,257 --> 00:05:02,427 It was made locally from rabbit and mouton. 126 00:05:02,427 --> 00:05:05,305 (pensive music) 127 00:05:06,472 --> 00:05:07,932 (gentle music) 128 00:05:07,932 --> 00:05:10,017 Vancouver's Stanley Park 129 00:05:10,017 --> 00:05:11,476 voted the greatest park in the world. 130 00:05:11,476 --> 00:05:14,397 The thousand acre park covers the northwest half 131 00:05:14,397 --> 00:05:16,983 of Vancouver's downtown peninsula, 132 00:05:16,983 --> 00:05:18,818 while skyscrapers and bridges begin 133 00:05:18,818 --> 00:05:21,112 to fill the skyline to the south. 134 00:05:21,904 --> 00:05:23,448 - Although Vancouver has its share of crime, 135 00:05:23,448 --> 00:05:26,075 generally in the 1950s people feel like it's safe 136 00:05:26,075 --> 00:05:29,329 for kids to play outside in the sprawling parks. 137 00:05:30,246 --> 00:05:32,206 - [Narrator] A The jewel of Stanley Park is Beaver Lake 138 00:05:32,206 --> 00:05:34,416 where indigenous peoples have gathered 139 00:05:34,416 --> 00:05:36,419 since time immemorial. 140 00:05:36,419 --> 00:05:38,796 The park worker makes his discovery 141 00:05:38,796 --> 00:05:40,923 in a wooded area nearby. 142 00:05:40,923 --> 00:05:43,968 The park is home to half a million trees, 143 00:05:43,968 --> 00:05:47,096 many of them more than a century old. 144 00:05:47,805 --> 00:05:49,098 The Vancouver News Media 145 00:05:49,098 --> 00:05:51,225 show up to report on the grizzly discovery, 146 00:05:51,225 --> 00:05:54,187 and soon newspapers around the world tell the story of 147 00:05:54,187 --> 00:05:57,565 two children who have been found in this shallow grave 148 00:05:57,565 --> 00:06:01,152 nicknaming them the Babes in the Woods. 149 00:06:01,152 --> 00:06:04,738 - Using the tattered clothing and shoes at the scene, 150 00:06:04,738 --> 00:06:08,284 police determine the bodies are a boy and a girl. 151 00:06:08,284 --> 00:06:11,287 The girl is approximately eight-years-old 152 00:06:11,287 --> 00:06:13,373 and the boy six or seven. 153 00:06:13,373 --> 00:06:17,877 Because they appear to have the same prominent jawbone, 154 00:06:17,877 --> 00:06:20,755 police predict them to be siblings. 155 00:06:20,755 --> 00:06:22,130 (dramatic music) 156 00:06:22,130 --> 00:06:24,884 - Stanley Park in the heart of Vancouver, 157 00:06:24,884 --> 00:06:27,928 two innocent lives were lost. 158 00:06:27,928 --> 00:06:29,806 Who would do such a thing? 159 00:06:29,806 --> 00:06:31,057 (somber music) 160 00:06:31,057 --> 00:06:33,101 - Beneath the shoulder of one of the children, 161 00:06:33,101 --> 00:06:37,397 police recover a woman's shoe size five-and-a-half. 162 00:06:38,106 --> 00:06:40,149 - [Narrator] Police believe that in a panic, 163 00:06:40,149 --> 00:06:43,069 the woman may have run away from the scene of the crime 164 00:06:43,069 --> 00:06:46,781 and left her shoe lodged beneath one of the bodies. 165 00:06:47,573 --> 00:06:48,908 - Combined with a coat that is smaller 166 00:06:48,908 --> 00:06:50,410 and made from rabbit fur, 167 00:06:50,410 --> 00:06:52,036 police believe they are looking 168 00:06:52,036 --> 00:06:54,789 for a smaller woman of modest means as a suspect, 169 00:06:54,789 --> 00:06:57,250 possibly the children's mother. 170 00:06:58,209 --> 00:07:00,336 - [Narrator] Given the amount of foliage in the grave site, 171 00:07:00,336 --> 00:07:01,879 police estimate the murders 172 00:07:01,879 --> 00:07:04,339 to have taken place years earlier. 173 00:07:04,339 --> 00:07:07,218 - With the help of the media, police try linking 174 00:07:07,218 --> 00:07:09,846 missing persons cases with the murder scene. 175 00:07:09,846 --> 00:07:11,055 At the same time, 176 00:07:11,055 --> 00:07:12,598 they've collected statements from anyone 177 00:07:12,598 --> 00:07:14,642 who may have witnessed suspicious activity 178 00:07:14,642 --> 00:07:18,688 involving a woman at Stanley Park in 1947. 179 00:07:18,688 --> 00:07:20,022 (light mysterious music) 180 00:07:20,022 --> 00:07:21,566 - Given the fact that the woman may have left 181 00:07:21,566 --> 00:07:24,485 her shoe beneath the body of one of the children, 182 00:07:24,485 --> 00:07:26,821 police believe she may have panicked 183 00:07:26,821 --> 00:07:28,698 and run away from the scene. 184 00:07:28,698 --> 00:07:31,075 They speculate she threw herself into 185 00:07:31,075 --> 00:07:33,786 Burrard Inlet she committed the murders. 186 00:07:33,786 --> 00:07:37,540 (light dramatic music) 187 00:07:41,419 --> 00:07:43,129 - [Narrator] For Vancouver, 188 00:07:43,129 --> 00:07:44,255 in the middle of the 20th century, 189 00:07:44,255 --> 00:07:46,716 a mother driven to these desperate lengths 190 00:07:46,716 --> 00:07:49,552 could be simply a sign of the times. 191 00:07:50,219 --> 00:07:51,846 After the Second World War, 192 00:07:51,846 --> 00:07:53,890 the influx of male workers 193 00:07:53,890 --> 00:07:55,016 to Vancouver from the east 194 00:07:55,016 --> 00:07:57,393 as well as returning soldiers from the war, 195 00:07:57,393 --> 00:08:00,062 made it nearly impossible for women to hold on to 196 00:08:00,062 --> 00:08:03,441 the jobs that they had during the war years. 197 00:08:03,441 --> 00:08:05,193 (somber music) 198 00:08:05,193 --> 00:08:08,237 Single mothers were then left with low-wage jobs, 199 00:08:08,237 --> 00:08:10,907 such as retail or domestic service, 200 00:08:10,907 --> 00:08:13,493 that required long hours. 201 00:08:13,826 --> 00:08:16,162 (dramatic music) 202 00:08:16,162 --> 00:08:19,332 With no access to childcare resources, 203 00:08:19,332 --> 00:08:20,917 widows and single mothers 204 00:08:20,917 --> 00:08:24,462 would inevitably be driven further into poverty. 205 00:08:25,379 --> 00:08:28,549 - If you're a single mother in the late 40s 206 00:08:28,549 --> 00:08:31,427 and your only source of income gets taken away, 207 00:08:31,427 --> 00:08:34,514 things could become very desperate. 208 00:08:34,514 --> 00:08:38,267 - In 1948, there were seven murders in Vancouver 209 00:08:38,267 --> 00:08:40,895 and three involved mothers and children. 210 00:08:41,646 --> 00:08:43,189 - [Narrator] One case is reported where 211 00:08:43,189 --> 00:08:45,274 a mother throws her children off a bridge. 212 00:08:45,274 --> 00:08:47,318 In another, a mother locks herself 213 00:08:47,318 --> 00:08:49,946 and her child in a gas-filled room. 214 00:08:50,947 --> 00:08:52,949 - Police conclude they're looking at another case 215 00:08:52,949 --> 00:08:55,535 where a mother or female guardian believes they've 216 00:08:55,535 --> 00:08:58,246 run out of options to care for their children. 217 00:08:58,246 --> 00:08:59,497 (suspenseful music) 218 00:08:59,497 --> 00:09:01,082 - [Narrator] The mothers who were driven 219 00:09:01,082 --> 00:09:02,458 to kill their children, 220 00:09:02,458 --> 00:09:06,087 experienced extreme socioeconomic disadvantages 221 00:09:06,087 --> 00:09:09,006 and possible mental health complications, 222 00:09:09,006 --> 00:09:12,134 such as psychosis or depression, 223 00:09:12,134 --> 00:09:14,428 and at the time, there was an absence 224 00:09:14,428 --> 00:09:16,639 of preventative social services 225 00:09:16,639 --> 00:09:18,266 to protect these children 226 00:09:18,266 --> 00:09:20,559 and get these mothers help. 227 00:09:20,559 --> 00:09:23,646 (dramatic music) 228 00:09:27,441 --> 00:09:28,859 While tips begin to flood 229 00:09:28,859 --> 00:09:30,570 into Vancouver's police department, 230 00:09:30,570 --> 00:09:33,489 experts try to use modern police methods 231 00:09:33,489 --> 00:09:35,825 to reconstruct the victims. 232 00:09:36,450 --> 00:09:37,910 - The idea here is to try 233 00:09:37,910 --> 00:09:41,664 and humanize the evidence as much as they can. 234 00:09:41,664 --> 00:09:44,083 There isn't a lot of technology 235 00:09:44,083 --> 00:09:46,544 at the disposal of law enforcement, 236 00:09:46,544 --> 00:09:49,880 so they try to give their victims a face, 237 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:51,215 rebuild their wardrobes, 238 00:09:51,215 --> 00:09:54,594 and hope it gives them some clues. 239 00:09:55,469 --> 00:09:57,096 - [Narrator] The clothing worn by the children 240 00:09:57,096 --> 00:09:58,889 is reconstructed in a laboratory 241 00:09:58,889 --> 00:10:02,476 using only the scraps that remained on their bodies. 242 00:10:02,476 --> 00:10:06,230 - The girl's clothing has deteriorated almost completely. 243 00:10:06,230 --> 00:10:08,441 They note that she wears underwear so big, 244 00:10:08,441 --> 00:10:12,278 it needs to be taken in by a safety pin at the back. 245 00:10:12,278 --> 00:10:13,613 The boy is confirmed to be wearing 246 00:10:13,613 --> 00:10:15,655 a Canadian made red tartan jacket. 247 00:10:15,655 --> 00:10:20,328 He also wears beige corduroy trousers and scamper shoes. 248 00:10:21,162 --> 00:10:23,664 - Police believe that the children's shoes 249 00:10:23,664 --> 00:10:26,417 offer them a piece of information. 250 00:10:26,417 --> 00:10:29,629 They're the same type of rubber soled shoe, 251 00:10:29,629 --> 00:10:31,422 but different sizes. 252 00:10:31,422 --> 00:10:32,881 And that type of shoe 253 00:10:32,881 --> 00:10:36,260 only became available in 1947, 254 00:10:36,260 --> 00:10:38,554 so they believe they can narrow down 255 00:10:38,554 --> 00:10:43,643 the date of the murders to about 1947 or 1948. 256 00:10:46,227 --> 00:10:49,273 (dramatic music) 257 00:10:49,273 --> 00:10:51,067 - [Narrator] While investigators piece together 258 00:10:51,067 --> 00:10:53,402 the skeletons of the two children, 259 00:10:53,402 --> 00:10:56,822 an anthropologist is brought in from Austria. 260 00:10:56,822 --> 00:10:58,032 Erna Van Baiersdorf 261 00:10:58,032 --> 00:11:01,827 specializes in sculpting unidentified victims. 262 00:11:01,827 --> 00:11:04,372 - She makes busts of what the two young victims 263 00:11:04,372 --> 00:11:06,791 could look like if they were alive. 264 00:11:06,791 --> 00:11:08,793 The two busts would be photographed, 265 00:11:08,793 --> 00:11:10,878 and the pictures placed in newspapers 266 00:11:10,878 --> 00:11:13,756 to try and identify the victims. 267 00:11:14,590 --> 00:11:17,760 - [Christine] Medical examiners find holes in the skulls. 268 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:21,597 They are consistent with the wounds caused by the hatchet 269 00:11:21,597 --> 00:11:25,101 police discover at the scene. 270 00:11:25,101 --> 00:11:26,477 - [Narrator] The hatchet, 271 00:11:26,477 --> 00:11:29,438 commonly used by shingle weavers and lathers, 272 00:11:29,438 --> 00:11:33,192 was likely used to strike the boys over the head. 273 00:11:33,192 --> 00:11:36,028 (sinister music) 274 00:11:36,028 --> 00:11:37,697 - There are three cleft marks 275 00:11:37,697 --> 00:11:40,491 that fit the thin blade of the hatchet. 276 00:11:40,491 --> 00:11:42,159 While fracture wounds could have been 277 00:11:42,159 --> 00:11:45,705 caused by the hammer end of the hatchet. 278 00:11:46,497 --> 00:11:48,040 - [Narrator] The sculptor says 279 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:49,917 the two children look very similar, 280 00:11:49,917 --> 00:11:51,627 possibly with blonde hair, 281 00:11:51,627 --> 00:11:53,838 and are Swedish or Norwegian. 282 00:11:53,838 --> 00:11:56,756 (dramatic music) 283 00:11:56,756 --> 00:11:58,217 The Babes in the Woods case 284 00:11:58,217 --> 00:12:01,595 becomes very famous very quickly. 285 00:12:02,346 --> 00:12:05,808 A $500 reward is offered for information. 286 00:12:05,808 --> 00:12:07,809 Police circulate pictures 287 00:12:07,809 --> 00:12:10,062 looking for a break in the case. 288 00:12:10,062 --> 00:12:12,606 - Tips begin to flood into law enforcement. 289 00:12:12,606 --> 00:12:14,400 As the number of leads increase, 290 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:16,902 police must search through many eyewitness accounts 291 00:12:16,902 --> 00:12:21,198 from years before to try and identify their victims. 292 00:12:22,032 --> 00:12:24,285 - [Narrator] In 1953, no one is aware 293 00:12:24,285 --> 00:12:27,580 that the search would last almost 70 years. 294 00:12:27,580 --> 00:12:30,750 (dramatic music) 295 00:12:33,919 --> 00:12:36,797 (somber music) 296 00:12:38,674 --> 00:12:42,011 (suspenseful music) 297 00:12:43,721 --> 00:12:45,347 (dramatic music) 298 00:12:45,347 --> 00:12:48,350 In the heart of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 299 00:12:48,350 --> 00:12:52,438 famed Stanley Park is one of the great parks of the world. 300 00:12:53,564 --> 00:12:54,982 But in 1953, 301 00:12:54,982 --> 00:12:58,068 shockwaves are sent through Vancouver and beyond 302 00:12:58,068 --> 00:13:00,488 when a park employee discovers the skeletons 303 00:13:00,488 --> 00:13:03,282 of two children buried in a shallow grave 304 00:13:03,282 --> 00:13:05,826 covered in a woman's fur coat. 305 00:13:06,785 --> 00:13:10,456 Dubbed the Babes in the Woods by newspaper reporters, 306 00:13:10,456 --> 00:13:12,249 police believe the two children, 307 00:13:12,249 --> 00:13:15,044 a boy and a girl aged seven and eight, 308 00:13:15,044 --> 00:13:17,880 were killed by their mother years earlier 309 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:20,256 and buried in a shallow grave. 310 00:13:22,134 --> 00:13:25,846 (tense dramatic music) 311 00:13:30,267 --> 00:13:32,977 Police scour through hundreds of tips 312 00:13:32,977 --> 00:13:34,688 trying to identify the woman 313 00:13:34,688 --> 00:13:36,774 who left her shoe and a fur coat 314 00:13:36,774 --> 00:13:38,943 behind with her children. 315 00:13:38,943 --> 00:13:40,444 - Because of the mental state 316 00:13:40,444 --> 00:13:42,112 detectives believed the woman was in, 317 00:13:42,112 --> 00:13:44,155 they wonder if she may have run away 318 00:13:44,155 --> 00:13:45,699 from the scene of the murder 319 00:13:45,699 --> 00:13:49,119 to the nearby Lion's Gate Bridge and jumped off. 320 00:13:49,953 --> 00:13:51,497 - Police are looking for reports 321 00:13:51,497 --> 00:13:53,290 of a woman wearing a fur coat 322 00:13:53,290 --> 00:13:56,043 accompanied by two children in Stanley Park 323 00:13:56,043 --> 00:13:59,880 sometime in the winter months of 1947. 324 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:01,256 - [Narrator] There are no shortages 325 00:14:01,256 --> 00:14:03,801 of eyewitness accounts to sort through. 326 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:08,931 A woman is found dead in a gas-filled room later in 1953. 327 00:14:08,931 --> 00:14:10,683 Prior to her suicide, 328 00:14:10,683 --> 00:14:13,852 her two children haven't been seen for months. 329 00:14:13,852 --> 00:14:16,480 - While the children closely fit the description 330 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:17,898 of the Babes in the Woods, 331 00:14:17,898 --> 00:14:20,901 the case reaches a dead end. 332 00:14:20,901 --> 00:14:22,319 - [Narrator] In 1950, 333 00:14:22,319 --> 00:14:23,696 a woman and her two children 334 00:14:23,696 --> 00:14:25,406 rent a small boat from nearby 335 00:14:25,406 --> 00:14:28,951 Kitsilano Beach never to return. 336 00:14:28,951 --> 00:14:31,745 Her body is later found in Burrard Inlet, 337 00:14:31,745 --> 00:14:35,040 but the children and the boat are never found. 338 00:14:35,916 --> 00:14:37,334 - Police can find no evidence that this 339 00:14:37,334 --> 00:14:40,087 is connected to their Babes in the Woods case. 340 00:14:40,087 --> 00:14:41,338 (tense music) 341 00:14:41,338 --> 00:14:43,841 - [Narrator] A young boy befriends two children 342 00:14:43,841 --> 00:14:45,759 who seem to vanish afterward. 343 00:14:45,759 --> 00:14:48,554 When the boy asks their mother what happened to them, 344 00:14:48,554 --> 00:14:51,098 she brushes them off without answering. 345 00:14:51,098 --> 00:14:54,560 (tense suspenseful music) 346 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:57,062 Police visit a hotel where they believe 347 00:14:57,062 --> 00:14:58,939 a guest could be George Pafell, 348 00:14:58,939 --> 00:15:00,399 who is wanted for the abduction 349 00:15:00,399 --> 00:15:03,152 of his own children in New Jersey. 350 00:15:04,069 --> 00:15:05,946 - After divorcing his wife, 351 00:15:05,946 --> 00:15:07,281 George Pafell gets permission 352 00:15:07,281 --> 00:15:10,242 to take his two young boys to the park. 353 00:15:10,242 --> 00:15:12,161 They're never seen again. 354 00:15:13,162 --> 00:15:15,247 - [Narrator] But the man isn't Pefall 355 00:15:15,247 --> 00:15:18,459 and the children in question are both boys. 356 00:15:18,459 --> 00:15:21,837 (suspenseful music) 357 00:15:23,422 --> 00:15:24,632 A biology teacher says 358 00:15:24,632 --> 00:15:27,009 he was collecting specimens for his class 359 00:15:27,009 --> 00:15:29,720 when he saw two young children and a woman 360 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:32,139 walking along the Stanley Park sea wall. 361 00:15:32,139 --> 00:15:35,768 One child banged a hatchet against the metal railing. 362 00:15:36,352 --> 00:15:37,561 Later that day, 363 00:15:37,561 --> 00:15:39,563 the teacher sees a woman looking distraught, 364 00:15:39,563 --> 00:15:42,983 sitting on a bench overlooking Beaver Lake. 365 00:15:42,983 --> 00:15:44,568 - She has blood on her ankle, 366 00:15:44,568 --> 00:15:47,154 wears only one shoe and has no coat. 367 00:15:47,154 --> 00:15:48,822 When the man asks her what happened, 368 00:15:48,822 --> 00:15:51,617 she replies she fell in a ditch. 369 00:15:51,617 --> 00:15:55,245 - [Narrator] But the teacher's visit takes place in 1951, 370 00:15:55,245 --> 00:15:57,331 which doesn't fit the timeline. 371 00:15:57,331 --> 00:16:00,626 (suspenseful music) 372 00:16:03,420 --> 00:16:06,006 (light mysterious music) 373 00:16:06,006 --> 00:16:08,258 A local woman gives police a recollection 374 00:16:08,258 --> 00:16:11,971 that seems very close to what they're looking for. 375 00:16:11,971 --> 00:16:13,389 - The witness recounts 376 00:16:13,389 --> 00:16:16,725 she was in the park on October 5, 1947, 377 00:16:16,725 --> 00:16:18,435 and had written in her diary 378 00:16:18,435 --> 00:16:20,688 that she had seen a woman wearing a fur coat 379 00:16:20,688 --> 00:16:24,733 with two children walking towards the bushes. 380 00:16:24,733 --> 00:16:26,777 The woman is carrying a hatchet, 381 00:16:26,777 --> 00:16:28,487 presumably to chop some wood. 382 00:16:28,487 --> 00:16:32,324 This isn't unusual in the 1940s and 50s. 383 00:16:33,325 --> 00:16:35,160 - [Narrator] As the eyewitness leaves the park, 384 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:38,122 45 minutes later, she sees the same woman 385 00:16:38,122 --> 00:16:40,499 alone walking out of the bush. 386 00:16:40,499 --> 00:16:43,752 This time with no coat and one shoe. 387 00:16:44,336 --> 00:16:45,587 - The witness takes the police 388 00:16:45,587 --> 00:16:47,673 to where she saw the woman with the shoe. 389 00:16:47,673 --> 00:16:49,675 She leads them to within 50 yards 390 00:16:49,675 --> 00:16:51,969 of where the children's bodies were found. 391 00:16:51,969 --> 00:16:53,220 (tense music) 392 00:16:53,220 --> 00:16:55,305 - [Narrator] Detectives lock in on the date 393 00:16:55,305 --> 00:16:58,017 October 5, 1947. 394 00:16:58,684 --> 00:17:01,895 (dramatic music) 395 00:17:03,605 --> 00:17:06,275 At the same time, newspaper reports prompt 396 00:17:06,275 --> 00:17:09,153 members of the public and other police forces 397 00:17:09,153 --> 00:17:11,780 to send missing persons cases to Vancouver 398 00:17:11,780 --> 00:17:14,782 that may fit the description of the Babes in the Woods. 399 00:17:14,782 --> 00:17:19,830 In all, police investigate 41 pairs of missing children. 400 00:17:20,830 --> 00:17:22,541 - A lot of investigation time is spent tracking down 401 00:17:22,541 --> 00:17:25,252 all of the allegedly missing children. 402 00:17:25,252 --> 00:17:26,587 While none of them turn out to be 403 00:17:26,587 --> 00:17:28,630 the children found at Stanley Park, 404 00:17:28,630 --> 00:17:33,177 police do locate 26 of the 41 missing pairs of kids, 405 00:17:33,177 --> 00:17:36,805 some as far away as South America, Scotland, 406 00:17:36,805 --> 00:17:38,640 and the United States. 407 00:17:39,558 --> 00:17:41,894 At this point, Vancouver police are working 408 00:17:41,894 --> 00:17:45,522 with other police forces across Canada on this case. 409 00:17:45,522 --> 00:17:50,234 They're searching school records, social agencies, and tips. 410 00:17:50,234 --> 00:17:53,321 (dramatic music) 411 00:17:58,327 --> 00:18:01,663 - [Narrator] Months of investigation turn into years, 412 00:18:01,663 --> 00:18:05,834 but by 1960, all the leads dry up. 413 00:18:05,834 --> 00:18:08,587 - Police have located 76 pairs of children 414 00:18:08,587 --> 00:18:11,340 reported missing in Western Canada. 415 00:18:11,340 --> 00:18:14,051 They still can't connect any missing persons 416 00:18:14,051 --> 00:18:16,303 to the Babes in the Woods. 417 00:18:16,303 --> 00:18:20,015 - [Narrator] One missing pair of children can't be located. 418 00:18:20,015 --> 00:18:22,184 Their mother Madeline Fortier, 419 00:18:22,184 --> 00:18:24,811 lives in a small town in Quebec. 420 00:18:24,811 --> 00:18:28,690 - Madeline Fortier was in Vancouver around 1947. 421 00:18:28,690 --> 00:18:30,692 She had a boy and girl who matched 422 00:18:30,692 --> 00:18:33,570 the approximate ages of the Babes in the Woods. 423 00:18:33,570 --> 00:18:35,030 Fortier told authorities 424 00:18:35,030 --> 00:18:37,116 they were given up for adoption. 425 00:18:37,866 --> 00:18:39,660 - [Narrator] But police aren't allowed 426 00:18:39,660 --> 00:18:41,869 to travel to Quebec to investigate the lead. 427 00:18:42,746 --> 00:18:46,750 Police don't believe the case will ever be solved, 428 00:18:46,750 --> 00:18:48,919 but just in case, they keep the skeletons 429 00:18:48,919 --> 00:18:52,506 of the two young children found in Stanley Park. 430 00:18:52,506 --> 00:18:54,508 - At the time, police don't know 431 00:18:54,508 --> 00:18:57,427 what they may need to use as evidence. 432 00:18:57,427 --> 00:19:00,597 The bones and other items recovered at the scene 433 00:19:00,597 --> 00:19:03,475 are placed in three file boxes. 434 00:19:03,475 --> 00:19:06,311 Then they are placed in the basement 435 00:19:06,311 --> 00:19:08,981 of Vancouver's Coroner's Court. 436 00:19:09,815 --> 00:19:11,023 - [Narrator] And it's here where the children 437 00:19:11,023 --> 00:19:12,901 would stay for 25 years, 438 00:19:12,901 --> 00:19:16,780 until a rogue cop takes matters into his own hands, 439 00:19:16,780 --> 00:19:19,907 and the course of the case finally changes. 440 00:19:19,907 --> 00:19:22,744 (tense music) 441 00:19:24,538 --> 00:19:27,958 (suspenseful music) 442 00:19:29,334 --> 00:19:32,171 (somber music) 443 00:19:34,339 --> 00:19:37,092 (dramatic music) 444 00:19:37,092 --> 00:19:39,511 The crime scene in Vancouver's Stanley Park 445 00:19:39,511 --> 00:19:41,722 makes headlines around the world. 446 00:19:41,722 --> 00:19:42,848 (sinister music) 447 00:19:42,848 --> 00:19:45,309 Police are desperate to determine who the children are 448 00:19:45,309 --> 00:19:49,188 wrapped in a fur coat believed to belong to their mother. 449 00:19:50,230 --> 00:19:52,316 After years of investigation, 450 00:19:52,316 --> 00:19:54,984 the children remain unidentified. 451 00:19:55,819 --> 00:19:59,781 - The Babes in the Woods case is never forgotten. 452 00:19:59,781 --> 00:20:01,032 In the 1980s, 453 00:20:01,032 --> 00:20:04,119 a crime stopper recreation is made asking for tips. 454 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:08,207 Police always believed the answer is somewhere out there. 455 00:20:08,207 --> 00:20:10,334 (dramatic music) 456 00:20:10,334 --> 00:20:12,669 - [Narrator] For decades, the remains of the children 457 00:20:12,669 --> 00:20:15,714 sit in evidence boxes locked in a basement 458 00:20:15,714 --> 00:20:18,175 while the police museum offers a recreation 459 00:20:18,175 --> 00:20:20,969 of the crime scene for all to see. 460 00:20:20,969 --> 00:20:23,888 - The Babes in the Woods case becomes the most notorious 461 00:20:23,888 --> 00:20:27,601 unsolved murder in Vancouver's history. 462 00:20:28,685 --> 00:20:29,978 - [Narrator] But in 1997, 463 00:20:29,978 --> 00:20:33,732 a Vancouver detective takes evidence without permission 464 00:20:33,732 --> 00:20:37,361 and alters the direction of the Babes in the Woods case. 465 00:20:37,361 --> 00:20:40,781 (suspenseful music) 466 00:20:40,781 --> 00:20:42,991 (dramatic music) 467 00:20:42,991 --> 00:20:44,785 Without telling his supervisors, 468 00:20:44,785 --> 00:20:47,621 Detective Sergeant Brian Honeybourn 469 00:20:47,621 --> 00:20:49,330 removes all of the skeletal remains 470 00:20:49,330 --> 00:20:52,542 from the museum displays and storage. 471 00:20:52,542 --> 00:20:55,045 He has the bones cremated. 472 00:20:55,045 --> 00:20:56,380 (dramatic music) 473 00:20:56,380 --> 00:20:58,382 - Detective Honeybourn is a local 474 00:20:58,382 --> 00:21:00,676 and grows up knowing about this case. 475 00:21:00,676 --> 00:21:02,177 He has two daughters of his own, 476 00:21:02,177 --> 00:21:03,595 so he feels the importance 477 00:21:03,595 --> 00:21:06,098 of protecting these children's remains. 478 00:21:06,098 --> 00:21:07,432 (dramatic music) 479 00:21:07,432 --> 00:21:09,559 - [Narrator] With a ceremony on English Bay, 480 00:21:09,559 --> 00:21:12,020 with the police chaplain, the cremated remains 481 00:21:12,020 --> 00:21:16,148 of the Babes in the Woods are scattered to the ocean wind, 482 00:21:17,109 --> 00:21:21,780 but not before small samples are kept for DNA testing. 483 00:21:22,698 --> 00:21:27,953 - With the advent of DNA profiling and using PCR tests, 484 00:21:28,787 --> 00:21:31,205 police know they only need a few viable cells 485 00:21:31,205 --> 00:21:33,625 to collect good DNA samples. 486 00:21:33,625 --> 00:21:37,754 This is a revolution in forensics science. 487 00:21:38,797 --> 00:21:40,632 - [Narrator] Detective Honeybourn as part of 488 00:21:40,632 --> 00:21:43,593 the British Columbia Unsolved Homicide Unit 489 00:21:43,593 --> 00:21:45,470 sends a tooth from each skeleton 490 00:21:45,470 --> 00:21:47,638 to the University of British Columbia's 491 00:21:47,638 --> 00:21:50,183 forensic dentistry experts. 492 00:21:50,851 --> 00:21:52,436 - Teeth are the last parts 493 00:21:52,436 --> 00:21:54,813 of the human body to decompose, 494 00:21:54,813 --> 00:21:57,357 which means it's more likely 495 00:21:57,357 --> 00:22:00,319 to extract viable DNA from them, 496 00:22:00,319 --> 00:22:03,696 and in Vancouver here's one of the world's 497 00:22:03,696 --> 00:22:07,784 foremost experts in extracting DNA from teeth, 498 00:22:07,784 --> 00:22:12,789 which is needed because the remains are now 50 years old. 499 00:22:12,789 --> 00:22:14,249 (pensive music) 500 00:22:14,249 --> 00:22:17,294 - [Narrator] The teeth are decontaminated, frozen, 501 00:22:17,294 --> 00:22:19,212 then ground into a fine powder. 502 00:22:19,212 --> 00:22:23,050 The powder is then treated with chemicals to expose cells, 503 00:22:23,050 --> 00:22:26,345 and DNA is extracted from those cells. 504 00:22:26,762 --> 00:22:28,763 - When the results return, 505 00:22:28,763 --> 00:22:30,349 they shatter over 40 years 506 00:22:30,349 --> 00:22:32,267 of assumptions in the case. 507 00:22:32,267 --> 00:22:35,479 (dramatic music) 508 00:22:35,479 --> 00:22:38,857 (mysterious music) 509 00:22:38,857 --> 00:22:42,109 - [Narrator] The Babes in the Woods are both boys. 510 00:22:42,819 --> 00:22:44,780 - For those 45 years, 511 00:22:44,780 --> 00:22:46,907 leads from witnesses in 1953 512 00:22:46,907 --> 00:22:48,825 who had suspicions about two boys 513 00:22:48,825 --> 00:22:51,494 in Stanley Park have been disregarded. 514 00:22:51,494 --> 00:22:53,872 Instead, every story involving 515 00:22:53,872 --> 00:22:56,375 a boy and a girl was investigated. 516 00:22:56,375 --> 00:23:00,837 DNA evidence proving they are both male changes everything. 517 00:23:00,837 --> 00:23:03,715 The original assumption was a crucial error. 518 00:23:03,715 --> 00:23:05,217 (light dramatic music) 519 00:23:05,217 --> 00:23:06,802 - [Narrator] Tipsters calling in with information 520 00:23:06,802 --> 00:23:08,762 regarding the two missing boys, 521 00:23:08,762 --> 00:23:11,390 may have been ignored completely. 522 00:23:13,642 --> 00:23:16,436 The truth is lost to the ages. 523 00:23:17,396 --> 00:23:19,773 - In 1997, all detectives can do 524 00:23:19,773 --> 00:23:21,608 is review the files to see if there 525 00:23:21,608 --> 00:23:24,069 are any accounts involving two boys. 526 00:23:24,069 --> 00:23:26,905 They hope to discover DNA that confirms 527 00:23:26,905 --> 00:23:28,782 or eliminates the lead. 528 00:23:28,782 --> 00:23:31,410 (gentle dramatic music) 529 00:23:31,410 --> 00:23:32,494 - [Narrator] What police do know 530 00:23:32,494 --> 00:23:34,704 is that the boys shared a mother 531 00:23:34,704 --> 00:23:36,289 but had different fathers. 532 00:23:36,289 --> 00:23:38,542 They know the hatchet is the murder weapon, 533 00:23:38,542 --> 00:23:42,671 but they don't know when the murder would've taken place. 534 00:23:42,671 --> 00:23:44,881 (dramatic music) 535 00:23:44,881 --> 00:23:46,883 Looking back at the files, 536 00:23:46,883 --> 00:23:48,927 Detective Honeybourn his unit 537 00:23:48,927 --> 00:23:50,887 realized the time estimate 538 00:23:50,887 --> 00:23:53,849 was based on unreliable information. 539 00:23:54,933 --> 00:23:58,145 - The original time estimate of 1947, 540 00:23:58,145 --> 00:24:01,523 is based on the availability of a child's shoe, 541 00:24:01,523 --> 00:24:03,233 which turned out to be false. 542 00:24:03,233 --> 00:24:06,111 Also by the size of the tree root growth 543 00:24:06,111 --> 00:24:09,156 and leaves on top of the shallow grave, 544 00:24:09,156 --> 00:24:12,993 a botanist was never brought in to examine the site. 545 00:24:12,993 --> 00:24:14,077 The assumption that the crime 546 00:24:14,077 --> 00:24:18,123 may have taken place years later seems hasty. 547 00:24:18,874 --> 00:24:20,542 - [Narrator] Detectives scour through files, 548 00:24:20,542 --> 00:24:24,713 eliminating old leads and re-investigating new ones. 549 00:24:24,713 --> 00:24:26,131 (suspenseful music) 550 00:24:26,131 --> 00:24:28,175 A sailor reports that he saw a woman 551 00:24:28,175 --> 00:24:32,012 jump out of the woods in May, 1944. 552 00:24:32,012 --> 00:24:34,263 She had one shoe and no coat, 553 00:24:34,263 --> 00:24:37,601 made a guttural sound and ran off. 554 00:24:37,601 --> 00:24:40,561 (dramatic music) 555 00:24:41,646 --> 00:24:46,193 But one report seems most promising to Detective Honeybourn. 556 00:24:46,902 --> 00:24:49,196 Two brothers disappear from a rooming house 557 00:24:49,196 --> 00:24:51,239 near the city's skid row. 558 00:24:51,239 --> 00:24:54,117 - Skid rows are considered a place in the city 559 00:24:54,117 --> 00:24:56,036 where the poorest of the poor live. 560 00:24:56,036 --> 00:24:57,369 The skid row in Vancouver 561 00:24:57,369 --> 00:25:00,499 was one of the original logging trails. 562 00:25:01,374 --> 00:25:04,836 - Awareness is changing towards the needs of poor people 563 00:25:04,836 --> 00:25:06,963 and the social supports they need. 564 00:25:06,963 --> 00:25:08,465 In the mid 20th century, 565 00:25:08,465 --> 00:25:11,343 not only is there an absence in social services, 566 00:25:11,343 --> 00:25:14,221 it was not unusual for society to be indifferent 567 00:25:14,221 --> 00:25:16,515 to the plight of people in poverty. 568 00:25:17,265 --> 00:25:19,017 - [Narrator] The boys' parents claim 569 00:25:19,017 --> 00:25:22,020 a married couple from Manitoba adopted them, 570 00:25:22,020 --> 00:25:24,481 and identifying the Manitoba couple, 571 00:25:24,481 --> 00:25:28,527 will unlock the identities of the Babes in the Woods. 572 00:25:29,319 --> 00:25:32,321 - In 1998, Detective Honeybourn is very confident 573 00:25:32,321 --> 00:25:35,407 that he will soon identify the Babes in the Woods, 574 00:25:35,407 --> 00:25:38,369 so he speaks to the nation's media about it, 575 00:25:38,369 --> 00:25:41,540 announcing that the case will soon be solved. 576 00:25:42,332 --> 00:25:45,544 - [Narrator] But the detective's hunch comes up empty. 577 00:25:46,127 --> 00:25:49,548 (dramatic music) 578 00:25:50,507 --> 00:25:55,554 Once again, the Babes in the Woods case goes cold. 579 00:25:56,429 --> 00:25:58,138 - By the start of the new century, 580 00:25:58,138 --> 00:26:00,141 investigators know less than what 581 00:26:00,141 --> 00:26:03,144 they thought they knew in 1953. 582 00:26:03,144 --> 00:26:06,273 At this point, things look bleak. 583 00:26:07,065 --> 00:26:08,400 - [Narrator] Decades have passed, 584 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,987 and the answer of who killed the Babes in the Woods 585 00:26:11,987 --> 00:26:13,613 may never be solved. 586 00:26:14,489 --> 00:26:17,242 - At this point, detectives believe a victory 587 00:26:17,242 --> 00:26:20,619 would be identifying these boys by their names. 588 00:26:20,619 --> 00:26:24,624 After four decades, this brings a degree of closure. 589 00:26:25,542 --> 00:26:28,420 - [Narrator] But DNA profiling hasn't closed the case. 590 00:26:28,420 --> 00:26:31,631 It would take 20 more years before the two boys found 591 00:26:31,631 --> 00:26:34,092 in a shallow grave in Stanley Park 592 00:26:34,092 --> 00:26:35,677 could be given their names. 593 00:26:35,677 --> 00:26:38,597 (gentle music) 594 00:26:42,392 --> 00:26:45,478 (somber music) 595 00:26:47,188 --> 00:26:50,609 (suspenseful music) 596 00:26:52,068 --> 00:26:53,361 (dramatic music) 597 00:26:53,361 --> 00:26:55,280 After four decades, as Vancouver's 598 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:57,782 most notorious unsolved murder, 599 00:26:57,782 --> 00:26:59,326 the Babes in the Woods case 600 00:26:59,326 --> 00:27:02,454 is turned upside down in 1998. 601 00:27:02,454 --> 00:27:04,372 (suspenseful music) 602 00:27:04,372 --> 00:27:07,375 Police discover through forensic dental analysis 603 00:27:07,375 --> 00:27:10,837 that the Babes in the Woods are actually two boys 604 00:27:10,837 --> 00:27:12,922 who were murdered in the 1940s. 605 00:27:12,922 --> 00:27:14,257 (suspenseful music) 606 00:27:14,257 --> 00:27:16,301 Two young boys who have shared a mother 607 00:27:16,301 --> 00:27:19,429 but have different fathers, of modest means, 608 00:27:19,429 --> 00:27:21,181 wearing aviator helmets, 609 00:27:21,181 --> 00:27:23,141 murdered with a small hatchet, 610 00:27:23,141 --> 00:27:25,477 and left to rest in a shallow grave 611 00:27:25,477 --> 00:27:28,897 discovered years later by a park's worker. 612 00:27:28,897 --> 00:27:30,440 (suspenseful music) 613 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:32,108 Police know that bringing 614 00:27:32,108 --> 00:27:34,944 a killer to justice is very unlikely, 615 00:27:34,944 --> 00:27:37,696 but 21st century investigative technology 616 00:27:37,696 --> 00:27:42,744 gives them the hope that they can find out who the boys are. 617 00:27:43,703 --> 00:27:46,830 - Giving the boys their names back would be a moral victory, 618 00:27:46,830 --> 00:27:48,958 and help put the case to rest. 619 00:27:48,958 --> 00:27:52,420 (suspenseful music) 620 00:27:53,296 --> 00:27:57,008 (light dramatic music) 621 00:27:57,842 --> 00:27:59,594 - [Narrator] Detectives want to close the case 622 00:27:59,594 --> 00:28:02,722 for the sake of generations of police investigators 623 00:28:02,722 --> 00:28:06,184 who have poured countless hours into finding answers 624 00:28:06,184 --> 00:28:07,727 that have yet to come. 625 00:28:08,770 --> 00:28:11,481 Tracking a family tree through genetic genealogy, 626 00:28:11,481 --> 00:28:15,944 finally giving each Babe in the Woods an identity. 627 00:28:17,028 --> 00:28:20,407 - With availability of DNA kits to build family trees, 628 00:28:20,407 --> 00:28:23,535 law enforcement sees an opportunity to use 629 00:28:23,535 --> 00:28:27,455 genetic genealogy for criminal investigations. 630 00:28:27,455 --> 00:28:30,417 Genetic genealogy can find the relatives 631 00:28:30,417 --> 00:28:33,878 of a criminal, partial chromosomal matches, 632 00:28:33,878 --> 00:28:37,590 which can lead to a full DNA match. 633 00:28:38,633 --> 00:28:41,386 - The first example of genetic genealogy 634 00:28:41,386 --> 00:28:42,971 being used to solve a murder 635 00:28:42,971 --> 00:28:46,015 is the Golden State Killer case in California. 636 00:28:46,015 --> 00:28:49,269 (light dramatic music) 637 00:28:49,269 --> 00:28:51,896 - [Narrator] Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., 638 00:28:51,896 --> 00:28:53,398 the Golden State Killer, 639 00:28:53,398 --> 00:28:55,150 known by many other names, 640 00:28:55,150 --> 00:28:57,318 such as the Original Night Stalker, 641 00:28:57,318 --> 00:29:01,906 is one of California's most notorious serial killer rapists. 642 00:29:01,906 --> 00:29:03,324 (light dramatic music) 643 00:29:03,324 --> 00:29:05,577 - He is a former police officer, 644 00:29:05,577 --> 00:29:08,413 dangerous and widely known for stalking 645 00:29:08,413 --> 00:29:11,750 and taunting his victims and law enforcement. 646 00:29:12,625 --> 00:29:15,295 He's been able to get away with at least 50 rapes, 647 00:29:15,295 --> 00:29:18,339 13 murders, and 120 burglaries, 648 00:29:18,339 --> 00:29:21,760 but his trail goes cold over three decades. 649 00:29:23,511 --> 00:29:25,346 - [Narrator] But advances in technology 650 00:29:25,346 --> 00:29:27,974 eventually turn the tide against him. 651 00:29:27,974 --> 00:29:29,976 (light dramatic music) 652 00:29:29,976 --> 00:29:32,854 In a radical move, investigators upload 653 00:29:32,854 --> 00:29:37,859 the killer's DNA profile to a public genealogy site. 654 00:29:38,693 --> 00:29:40,487 California law enforcement 655 00:29:40,487 --> 00:29:44,616 linked DNA from a rape kit to a close relative. 656 00:29:44,616 --> 00:29:48,411 - [Christine] And locate a fourth cousin of the killer. 657 00:29:48,411 --> 00:29:50,538 From there, they create a family tree, 658 00:29:50,538 --> 00:29:54,292 and narrow down their search to find DeAngelo. 659 00:29:55,585 --> 00:29:57,128 - [Narrator] DeAngelo is arrested, 660 00:29:57,128 --> 00:29:59,297 and finally in June 2020, 661 00:29:59,297 --> 00:30:02,550 pleads guilty to 13 counts of first degree murder, 662 00:30:02,550 --> 00:30:04,844 and 13 counts of kidnapping 663 00:30:04,844 --> 00:30:07,806 in a deal to avoid the death penalty. 664 00:30:08,723 --> 00:30:11,476 He receives multiple consecutive life sentences 665 00:30:11,476 --> 00:30:13,937 without the possibility of parole. 666 00:30:13,937 --> 00:30:16,856 (sinister music) 667 00:30:20,068 --> 00:30:22,320 (dramatic music) 668 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,365 - Before DNA technology came along, 669 00:30:25,365 --> 00:30:27,158 you needed a smoking gun, 670 00:30:27,158 --> 00:30:29,702 a fingerprint, or an eyewitness. 671 00:30:29,702 --> 00:30:31,830 Now you can connect those dots 672 00:30:31,830 --> 00:30:36,167 on a molecular level using genetic genealogy. 673 00:30:36,167 --> 00:30:38,002 It gives police a lot of hope 674 00:30:38,002 --> 00:30:41,840 that they can now name the Babes in the Woods. 675 00:30:42,882 --> 00:30:45,760 - [Narrator] Police team up with a firm in Massachusetts 676 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:49,097 that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy 677 00:30:49,097 --> 00:30:53,935 where they link incomplete DNA strands to family trees. 678 00:30:53,935 --> 00:30:57,856 This firm, Redgrave Research Forensic Services, 679 00:30:57,856 --> 00:30:59,440 had helped solve the murder 680 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:01,484 of nine-year-old Christine Jessop, 681 00:31:01,484 --> 00:31:04,571 a well-known cold case in Canada. 682 00:31:04,571 --> 00:31:07,156 (dramatic music) 683 00:31:07,156 --> 00:31:10,451 - Vancouver police used bone fragments 684 00:31:10,451 --> 00:31:12,996 to extract DNA from the older boy, 685 00:31:12,996 --> 00:31:16,082 and sent it to the lab for sequencing. 686 00:31:16,082 --> 00:31:20,753 The firm then uploads the DNA to the databases. 687 00:31:20,753 --> 00:31:23,047 Then the search begins. 688 00:31:24,257 --> 00:31:27,093 - [Narrator] Redgrave uploads the DNA to sites like 689 00:31:27,093 --> 00:31:31,514 GEDmatch, a public genetic genealogy database, 690 00:31:31,514 --> 00:31:35,143 and Family Tree DNA, a genetic testing company, 691 00:31:35,143 --> 00:31:37,687 where they can potentially compare the DNA 692 00:31:37,687 --> 00:31:39,772 extracted from the bone fragment 693 00:31:39,772 --> 00:31:43,234 with DNA profiles of living relatives. 694 00:31:43,985 --> 00:31:45,403 - [Christine] With thousands of people 695 00:31:45,403 --> 00:31:47,989 voluntarily undergoing DNA testing 696 00:31:47,989 --> 00:31:51,326 in order to research their family trees, 697 00:31:51,326 --> 00:31:54,621 more profiles are available to investigators 698 00:31:54,621 --> 00:31:56,289 than ever before. 699 00:31:56,289 --> 00:31:57,707 (dramatic music) 700 00:31:57,707 --> 00:31:59,876 - [Narrator] Meanwhile, elsewhere in Vancouver, 701 00:31:59,876 --> 00:32:03,379 a young woman also hopes advances in genetic genealogy 702 00:32:03,379 --> 00:32:06,966 will solve the mystery of her missing family members. 703 00:32:08,176 --> 00:32:09,886 (gentle music) 704 00:32:09,886 --> 00:32:12,305 While flipping through a family album, 705 00:32:12,305 --> 00:32:14,349 26-year-old Ally Brady 706 00:32:14,349 --> 00:32:17,560 discovers pictures of two young boys. 707 00:32:18,353 --> 00:32:20,480 One has blonde hair and blue eyes. 708 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:22,857 The other has darker features. 709 00:32:22,857 --> 00:32:26,486 When the young woman asks her grandmother Diane, 710 00:32:26,486 --> 00:32:27,904 who the boys are, 711 00:32:27,904 --> 00:32:31,157 Diane says they are her long-lost brothers. 712 00:32:31,866 --> 00:32:33,701 - For some people when you hear about your 713 00:32:33,701 --> 00:32:36,329 long-lost relatives, you want to know more, 714 00:32:36,329 --> 00:32:37,997 but Diane is evasive. 715 00:32:39,624 --> 00:32:41,209 - When family members ask Diane 716 00:32:41,209 --> 00:32:43,419 about what happened to her brothers, 717 00:32:43,419 --> 00:32:47,382 she gets teary-eyed and says, "It's in the past." 718 00:32:47,382 --> 00:32:49,968 She doesn't want to talk about it. 719 00:32:50,426 --> 00:32:52,011 - [Narrator] Clearly to Ally, 720 00:32:52,011 --> 00:32:55,014 something terrible happened to Diane's brothers. 721 00:32:56,057 --> 00:32:58,893 Ally's grandmother refuses to give any details, 722 00:32:58,893 --> 00:33:01,646 but the family hopes that DNA ancestry 723 00:33:01,646 --> 00:33:04,399 may give them clues about their missing relatives. 724 00:33:04,399 --> 00:33:05,900 (light mysterious music) 725 00:33:05,900 --> 00:33:09,153 Hoping to find a connection to her great uncles, 726 00:33:09,153 --> 00:33:12,365 Ally Brady and her mother collect a DNA sample 727 00:33:12,365 --> 00:33:15,076 from the saliva of Diane. 728 00:33:15,576 --> 00:33:17,787 - Ancestry databases like this 729 00:33:17,787 --> 00:33:21,666 are great for finding long-lost relatives, 730 00:33:21,666 --> 00:33:22,959 but in this case, 731 00:33:22,959 --> 00:33:26,004 the results are disappointing. 732 00:33:26,796 --> 00:33:28,423 - [Narrator] But in 2020, 733 00:33:28,423 --> 00:33:31,718 Ally Brady reaches out to a local podcaster 734 00:33:31,718 --> 00:33:34,095 who has covered the Babes in the Woods case. 735 00:33:34,095 --> 00:33:37,098 Ally tells the podcaster her story. 736 00:33:38,474 --> 00:33:40,184 With true crime podcasts 737 00:33:40,184 --> 00:33:41,936 becoming increasingly popular 738 00:33:41,936 --> 00:33:44,647 in the years leading up to 2020, 739 00:33:44,647 --> 00:33:47,358 investigative podcasters have been bringing 740 00:33:47,358 --> 00:33:51,821 long gone cold cases back into public discussion. 741 00:33:51,821 --> 00:33:54,198 While at times they can be sensational 742 00:33:54,198 --> 00:33:57,493 or insensitive to victims and their families, 743 00:33:57,493 --> 00:34:01,039 they also can be an enormous help. 744 00:34:01,998 --> 00:34:04,333 The growing true crime curiosity 745 00:34:04,333 --> 00:34:07,253 has inspired their audiences to take action, 746 00:34:07,253 --> 00:34:11,257 give tips, or investigate their personal stories. 747 00:34:11,257 --> 00:34:15,428 In some cases, this can even break cases wide open 748 00:34:15,428 --> 00:34:20,099 and might solve what many think is an unsolvable case. 749 00:34:21,184 --> 00:34:22,560 - The true crime podcaster 750 00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:25,146 connects Vancouver Police with Ally Brady, 751 00:34:25,146 --> 00:34:27,565 and this ultimately provides investigators 752 00:34:27,565 --> 00:34:30,902 with a confirming piece of genetic evidence. 753 00:34:31,694 --> 00:34:35,323 - Police use a special database called GEDMatch, 754 00:34:36,324 --> 00:34:39,702 which does not automatically include the DNA samples 755 00:34:39,702 --> 00:34:42,330 from major ancestry services. 756 00:34:42,330 --> 00:34:46,375 In order to protect privacy of its users, 757 00:34:46,375 --> 00:34:50,046 people have to opt in to allow law enforcement 758 00:34:50,046 --> 00:34:53,466 to use their DNA samples on GEDmatch. 759 00:34:53,466 --> 00:34:54,759 (gentle music) 760 00:34:54,759 --> 00:34:56,427 - [Narrator] Once Ally Brady gives police 761 00:34:56,427 --> 00:34:59,263 permission to acquire the DNA sample, 762 00:34:59,263 --> 00:35:01,516 they send it to the lab for analysis 763 00:35:01,516 --> 00:35:04,185 and comparison to the skulls. 764 00:35:06,354 --> 00:35:07,814 (suspenseful music) 765 00:35:07,814 --> 00:35:10,190 The lab results come back. 766 00:35:10,190 --> 00:35:11,609 It's a match. 767 00:35:12,318 --> 00:35:14,821 - After so many years, there is finally a piece 768 00:35:14,821 --> 00:35:20,618 of indisputable evidence confirmed by two DNA samples. 769 00:35:21,244 --> 00:35:22,745 Finally, police have the answer. 770 00:35:22,745 --> 00:35:24,372 (suspenseful music) 771 00:35:24,372 --> 00:35:26,082 - [Narrator] After seven decades, 772 00:35:26,082 --> 00:35:29,168 the Babes in the Woods have been identified. 773 00:35:29,168 --> 00:35:32,630 (suspenseful music) 774 00:35:34,757 --> 00:35:38,219 (suspenseful music) 775 00:35:39,637 --> 00:35:42,640 (somber music) 776 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:45,977 (dramatic music) 777 00:35:45,977 --> 00:35:50,148 The remains of two young boys are found in Stanley Park. 778 00:35:50,148 --> 00:35:51,983 The Babes in the Woods case 779 00:35:51,983 --> 00:35:55,695 becomes Vancouver's most notorious unsolved murder 780 00:35:55,695 --> 00:35:58,656 with the skulls of the boys left on display 781 00:35:58,656 --> 00:35:59,866 at a police museum, 782 00:35:59,866 --> 00:36:03,578 and their bones filed away in cardboard boxes. 783 00:36:04,954 --> 00:36:07,415 DNA analysis done in the 90s 784 00:36:07,415 --> 00:36:09,500 sheds new light on the case, 785 00:36:09,500 --> 00:36:12,962 but doesn't go far enough to give the boys a name. 786 00:36:12,962 --> 00:36:15,381 (dramatic music) 787 00:36:15,381 --> 00:36:17,592 But in 2021, 788 00:36:17,592 --> 00:36:19,385 police submit DNA samples 789 00:36:19,385 --> 00:36:21,596 to a forensic genealogy firm 790 00:36:21,596 --> 00:36:24,181 hoping to find living relatives. 791 00:36:25,516 --> 00:36:26,976 At the same time, 792 00:36:26,976 --> 00:36:29,562 Ally Brady and her family connect with police. 793 00:36:29,562 --> 00:36:32,857 They believe they are the relatives of the missing boys. 794 00:36:32,857 --> 00:36:35,651 (suspenseful music) 795 00:36:35,651 --> 00:36:39,030 - Ally Brady's DNA sample from her grandmother 796 00:36:39,030 --> 00:36:42,742 confirms the work of the forensic genealogists. 797 00:36:42,742 --> 00:36:47,371 The Babes in the Woods have finally been identified. 798 00:36:47,371 --> 00:36:50,833 (suspenseful music) 799 00:36:54,754 --> 00:36:56,505 - [Narrator] The Babes in the Woods 800 00:36:56,505 --> 00:36:58,841 are Derek and David D'Alton. 801 00:37:01,719 --> 00:37:04,805 Derek and David are half-brothers, 802 00:37:04,805 --> 00:37:08,142 sharing a mother but with different fathers. 803 00:37:08,142 --> 00:37:11,312 They attend elementary school in Kitsilano. 804 00:37:11,312 --> 00:37:13,356 Their mother, Eileen D'Alton, 805 00:37:13,356 --> 00:37:16,108 is listed as a widow in 1941. 806 00:37:16,108 --> 00:37:17,568 (eerie music) 807 00:37:17,568 --> 00:37:21,197 - In the 1940s, Eileen went from place to place. 808 00:37:21,197 --> 00:37:23,824 She works in a coffee shop for a time 809 00:37:23,824 --> 00:37:26,577 and lives with various family members. 810 00:37:26,577 --> 00:37:28,411 But when the murders take place, 811 00:37:28,411 --> 00:37:30,915 there is no record of Eileen's whereabouts 812 00:37:30,915 --> 00:37:33,584 until she appears on the front page 813 00:37:33,584 --> 00:37:36,087 of the Vancouver Daily Province. 814 00:37:36,921 --> 00:37:38,589 - [Narrator] In an unusual twist, 815 00:37:38,589 --> 00:37:42,468 Eileen D'Alton and her twin sister Doreen Taylor 816 00:37:42,468 --> 00:37:45,388 post their pictures and shared a dress 817 00:37:45,388 --> 00:37:46,847 in some kind of match game, 818 00:37:46,847 --> 00:37:51,310 which puts her on the front page of the newspaper in 1949. 819 00:37:51,310 --> 00:37:53,229 (eerie music) 820 00:37:53,229 --> 00:37:54,605 - [Glen] From this we know 821 00:37:54,605 --> 00:37:56,690 Eileen lived with her sister 822 00:37:56,690 --> 00:37:59,568 and Eileen's oldest daughter Diane. 823 00:38:01,445 --> 00:38:03,447 - [Narrator] Diane would tell Ally stories 824 00:38:03,447 --> 00:38:05,741 of how they'd have to jump out of windows 825 00:38:05,741 --> 00:38:08,119 of places they were renting in Vancouver 826 00:38:08,119 --> 00:38:12,039 to avoid paying rent that they couldn't afford. 827 00:38:13,708 --> 00:38:17,253 Diane would later tell her granddaughter, Ally, 828 00:38:17,253 --> 00:38:20,672 that the boys were taken away by social services 829 00:38:20,672 --> 00:38:22,591 while she stayed with her mother. 830 00:38:22,591 --> 00:38:25,469 (somber music) 831 00:38:26,637 --> 00:38:30,391 Although this story has been passed down in the family, 832 00:38:30,391 --> 00:38:33,643 Vancouver detectives were not able to verify whether 833 00:38:33,643 --> 00:38:37,815 Derek and David had been taken by social services. 834 00:38:37,815 --> 00:38:41,068 As they could find no trace of records to indicate this, 835 00:38:41,068 --> 00:38:44,697 it is still uncertain who had custody of the boys 836 00:38:44,697 --> 00:38:46,782 at the time of the murder. 837 00:38:46,782 --> 00:38:49,660 (light dramatic music) 838 00:38:49,660 --> 00:38:50,995 In the 1950s, 839 00:38:50,995 --> 00:38:54,457 Eileen changes her family name to Bousquet. 840 00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,335 An innocent question from a granddaughter 841 00:38:58,335 --> 00:39:00,338 about pictures in a photo album 842 00:39:00,338 --> 00:39:02,256 unlocks a chain of events 843 00:39:02,256 --> 00:39:05,051 that solves the 70 year mystery. 844 00:39:05,051 --> 00:39:06,761 (light dramatic music) 845 00:39:06,761 --> 00:39:08,429 - For Ally Brady it's confirmation 846 00:39:08,429 --> 00:39:10,556 of her longstanding suspicions. 847 00:39:10,556 --> 00:39:13,225 Derek and David D'Alton, her great uncles 848 00:39:13,225 --> 00:39:15,143 are the Babes in the Woods. 849 00:39:17,980 --> 00:39:20,608 (gentle music) 850 00:39:20,608 --> 00:39:21,901 - Today I'm pleased to announce 851 00:39:21,901 --> 00:39:23,819 that the Vancouver Police Department 852 00:39:23,819 --> 00:39:26,280 has positively identified the two young victims 853 00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:28,657 as David and Derek D'Alton. 854 00:39:28,657 --> 00:39:30,159 The murders of David and Derek 855 00:39:30,159 --> 00:39:32,620 have haunted generations of homicide investigators. 856 00:39:32,620 --> 00:39:34,663 It brings me great satisfaction 857 00:39:34,663 --> 00:39:36,165 to be able to stand here today 858 00:39:36,165 --> 00:39:39,168 to give these children, finally after this many years, 859 00:39:39,168 --> 00:39:42,505 a name and to bring some closure to this horrific crime. 860 00:39:42,505 --> 00:39:45,216 Last week, members of the investigative team 861 00:39:45,216 --> 00:39:47,802 had an opportunity to meet with distant relatives 862 00:39:47,802 --> 00:39:50,262 of Derek and David and to inform them 863 00:39:50,262 --> 00:39:52,348 of our investigative findings. 864 00:39:52,348 --> 00:39:55,643 The family members have decided not to be here today, 865 00:39:55,643 --> 00:39:57,603 and we want to respect their privacy by not 866 00:39:57,603 --> 00:40:00,398 providing personal details on them. 867 00:40:01,148 --> 00:40:03,275 - [Narrator] As Vancouver police make the announcement, 868 00:40:03,275 --> 00:40:06,277 they state that the person who killed Derek and David 869 00:40:06,277 --> 00:40:08,030 was likely a close relative 870 00:40:08,030 --> 00:40:10,950 who died approximately 25 years ago. 871 00:40:10,950 --> 00:40:15,204 They theorize the boy's mother is the likely suspect. 872 00:40:15,996 --> 00:40:17,915 This makes little sense to the family. 873 00:40:17,915 --> 00:40:20,501 They had thought of her as a gentle person 874 00:40:20,501 --> 00:40:23,045 who babysat children often. 875 00:40:23,045 --> 00:40:24,463 (gentle music) 876 00:40:24,463 --> 00:40:26,882 The fur coat, which was used by the killer 877 00:40:26,882 --> 00:40:29,135 to cover Derek and David's remains, 878 00:40:29,135 --> 00:40:31,011 seems to support the belief 879 00:40:31,011 --> 00:40:34,348 that Eileen did not kill her young sons. 880 00:40:34,348 --> 00:40:37,017 - In fact, the evidence no longer suggests 881 00:40:37,017 --> 00:40:39,645 that Eileen D'Alton is the killer. 882 00:40:40,688 --> 00:40:43,983 The fur coat the boys are wrapped up in is size 16. 883 00:40:43,983 --> 00:40:45,901 Eileen is five-foot-one, 884 00:40:45,901 --> 00:40:47,862 and being petite her entire life, 885 00:40:47,862 --> 00:40:50,864 she is closer to a size two. 886 00:40:51,532 --> 00:40:53,617 This case is now 70-years-old, 887 00:40:53,617 --> 00:40:55,911 and investigators are reasonably certain 888 00:40:55,911 --> 00:40:59,665 that whoever killed these boys is no longer alive. 889 00:41:00,666 --> 00:41:02,710 - [Narrator] For the family of Derek and David, 890 00:41:02,710 --> 00:41:04,044 knowing what happened to them 891 00:41:04,044 --> 00:41:06,881 does bring a modicum of closure, 892 00:41:06,881 --> 00:41:08,549 but questions remain, 893 00:41:08,549 --> 00:41:11,135 questions that may never be answered. 894 00:41:11,135 --> 00:41:12,303 (gentle music) 895 00:41:12,303 --> 00:41:15,097 - Police now know that it's Derek and David D'Alton 896 00:41:15,097 --> 00:41:18,267 who were found in Stanley Park in 1953. 897 00:41:18,267 --> 00:41:22,188 However, they may never know why the boys were killed, 898 00:41:22,188 --> 00:41:23,481 or who did it. 899 00:41:24,565 --> 00:41:28,194 - [Narrator] The killer may never officially be known, 900 00:41:28,194 --> 00:41:29,361 but in the end, 901 00:41:29,361 --> 00:41:32,448 it's not about vengeance or retribution. 902 00:41:32,448 --> 00:41:36,160 It's about providing dignity to the two boys. 903 00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:37,995 (somber music) 904 00:41:37,995 --> 00:41:39,497 Given the variables, 905 00:41:39,497 --> 00:41:40,789 and length of the case, 906 00:41:40,789 --> 00:41:42,373 and the fragility of the evidence, 907 00:41:42,373 --> 00:41:47,004 the fact that the boys now have names is substantial. 908 00:41:47,755 --> 00:41:49,089 Generations later, 909 00:41:49,089 --> 00:41:51,967 police are stepping up to find resolution 910 00:41:51,967 --> 00:41:55,804 with tools and processes once never imagined. 911 00:41:56,764 --> 00:42:01,393 These completely old and cold cases are given new life. 912 00:42:02,393 --> 00:42:04,813 - There's a sense of relief to finally bring justice 913 00:42:04,813 --> 00:42:07,315 and closure to the families of the victims. 914 00:42:07,315 --> 00:42:11,237 Unfortunately, many of them did not live to see it, 915 00:42:11,237 --> 00:42:13,322 but it's important for those who did. 916 00:42:13,322 --> 00:42:17,368 The truth is that this case was almost unsolved. 917 00:42:17,368 --> 00:42:18,869 If it wasn't for the hard work 918 00:42:18,869 --> 00:42:22,289 and perseverance of the many investigators, 919 00:42:22,289 --> 00:42:24,291 it might still be. 920 00:42:24,291 --> 00:42:27,169 (gentle music) 921 00:42:34,426 --> 00:42:38,514 (suspenseful theme music)