
Kathryn-Mary Herbert, Theresa Hildebrandt, Monica Jack
Decades of waiting for justice.
Victim(s)
Kathryn-Mary Herbert (11F), Theresa Hildebrandt (15F), Monica Jack (12F)
Perpetrator(s)
Garry Taylor Handlen (convicted for Monica Jack; charged for Kathryn-Mary Herbert), perpetrator for Theresa Hildebrandt remains unidentified
Case Status
Cold Case
Case Years
September 24 1975 (Herbert), May 24 1976 (Hildebrandt), Monica Jack: May 1978 (remains found 1995)
Location(s)
Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada—Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada—Merrit, British Columbia, Canada
Over a span of less than three years, three young girls from British Columbia vanished and were later found murdered in separate but hauntingly similar cases. Eleven-year-old Kathryn-Mary Herbert disappeared while walking home near Abbotsford and was discovered weeks later beside a rural road with catastrophic head injuries. Just months afterward, fifteen-year-old Theresa Hildebrandt went missing; her remains were eventually found in a shallow grave, but her killer has never been identified. In 1978, twelve-year-old Monica Jack was abducted while riding her bike near Merritt, and her remains stayed hidden for seventeen years before being discovered deep in the wilderness. Decades later, advances in forensic techniques led investigators to Garry Taylor Handlen, who was charged with the murders of Kathryn-Mary and Monica Jack and ultimately convicted for Jack’s killing. He died before standing trial for Herbert’s death. Theresa’s case, however, remains unresolved. Together, the murders represent one of British Columbia’s most painful sequences of child homicides, marked by long investigative delays, missed opportunities, and the persistent grief of families who spent decades fighting for justice.




