Carol Ruby Davis

Carol Ruby Davis was a proud Haida woman, a mother, a sister, and a daughter who defended her family fiercely and gave generously to those she loved. Born in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Carol was the fourth of eight children. Her loved ones remember her as a kind and compassionate person who could laugh so hard she would nearly cry. She was a talented artist who made traditional Haida button blankets that were displayed at the Indian Centre. Above all, she was a devoted mother to her two children, a son and a daughter. She was known to spoil her son, B.J., buying him hundreds of dollars worth of presents for his 12th birthday just months before her death. Though she faced immense personal challenges, her love for her children was a constant.

Carol’s childhood was marked by upheaval. After her parents divorced, she and her seven siblings moved with their mother to Vancouver. The new start was difficult; her mother remarried an abusive man, and the unsafe home environment led to Carol spending time in various foster homes. She became a mother at 16, giving birth to her son, who has cerebral palsy. She and her sister, Lori Davis, co-raised him. Later, she had a daughter who was raised by the child's father. To provide for her family, Carol worked in the sex trade in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Like many who have experienced trauma, she sometimes turned to drugs to cope with the hardships she faced.

On June 27, 1987, the body of 29-year-old Carol Ruby Davis was found dumped in a ditch in a suburban Burnaby neighborhood. An autopsy revealed she had been stabbed multiple times in the chest. Investigators with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) believe she was picked up in the Downtown Eastside, murdered at an unknown secondary location, and then driven to Burnaby where her body was left in the bushes. The crime scene offered few clues, and the investigation was challenging from the start.

The homicide of Carol Davis has remained unsolved for decades. No suspects have ever been publicly identified, and no arrests have been made. Police believe the murder was likely carried out by a stranger. Her case file remains open with the Burnaby RCMP. Over the years, Carol's sister Lori has maintained close contact with investigators. While she values the relationships she has built with them, she has also expressed the feeling that more should have been done at the time of the crime, noting a perceived lack of on-site crime scene investigation compared to other cases.

Carol’s family has never stopped seeking answers and has become a powerful voice for others. Lori Davis testified at the national Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, sharing the heartbreaking story of her sister's life and unsolved murder. She spoke not just for Carol, but for all Indigenous women who are disproportionately affected by violence. "I need to go beyond me and my sister, and think about all the young women coming forward," Lori said. "I think that for me is the hope... that our young women don’t feel scared because of the colour of their skin, that they are not a target.”

Carol’s niece, Vanessa Dora Parnell, has also advocated for change, urging commissioners to recognize the crisis as a global epidemic. The family’s pain remains a stark reminder of the human cost behind the statistics of Canada's missing and murdered Indigenous women. Carol was returned to her home in Masset, on Haida Gwaii, where more than 1,000 community members gathered to pay their respects. She was buried with a traditional Haida ceremony, a testament to her identity and the community that loved her.

As of October 2023, the murder of Carol Ruby Davis is still an unresolved cold case. Her name is included on lists of British Columbia's many unsolved homicides, a haunting reminder of a life taken too soon and a family still waiting for justice.