I presented at Vancouver Heritage Foundation Heritage Lunch and Learn on March 9, 2023!

When A Story Finds You – The Babes in the Wood Cold Case and Unexpected Discoveries

In 2003, Katarina Thorsen volunteered as a researcher and student criminal profiler with the Babes in the Woods Task Force. The task force’s goal was to identify the children whose skeletal remains were found in Stanley Park on January 15, 1953. Katarina will share her experiences of working with the task force, developing a profile, sifting through archives, meeting with communities, cataloguing the physical evidence and her unique creative approach to cold case investigation. A newspaper article, dated November 6, 1947, led Katarina on an unexpected 20 year journey of extensive historical, genealogical, forensic and psychiatric research into a Vancouver-based Irish immigrant family whose story is currently being developed into a graphic novel.

The prologue/teaser to the project was published in 2022 as a limited edition broadsheet, funded in large part by VHF’s Yosef Wosk Publication Grant.

PRESENTATION RECORDING:

Speaker Bio

Katarina Thorsen is an artist, writer and researcher passionate in her belief that art can heal, build connections and deepen exploration. The heart of her work is visual storytelling, restorative practices, whole brain engagement and creative facilitation. Katarina published her first book, Drawn Together – Maintaining Connections and Navigating Life’s Challenges with Art, in 2013. Her current project is a graphic novel entitled Joseph –  a true story and Vancouver based family saga spanning 1924 to 1963.