According to the Philadelphia Police Department, a tiny kid killed more than 60 years ago has been identified thanks to police investigation and DNA research. The oldest unsolved homicide in Philadelphia is the “Boy in the box” case.
On February 26, 1957, a youngster aged 4 to 6 was discovered dead in a box in a forested area in northeast Philadelphia. According to Philadelphia Police Capt. Jason Smith, the naked boy, had been badly assaulted. Commissioner Danielle Outlaw stated no one ever came forward to claim him.
Who is Joseph Augustus Zarelli?
Joseph Augustus Zarelli, who was born on January 13, 1953, was recognised by Smith as the boy. Smith claimed that genealogists could identify the boy’s birth parents after using the boy’s DNA to track down potential relatives. Smith also added that police learned Joseph never acquired a Social Security number.
According to Smith, it’s unclear who is to blame for Joseph’s passing. Smith continued, referring to the current investigation, “We have our suspicions about who might be accountable.” Smith withheld the names of Joseph’s parents as well.
Joseph has a sizable number of living siblings on both his mother’s and father’s sides. He continued that their parents’ information is kept private out of respect for them.
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The “Boy in the Box” was discovered in late February 1957 in a forested area in northeast Philadelphia. He was found wrapped in a blanket inside a cardboard box.
The institution said the child, estimated to be between the ages of 4 and 6, had numerous scars on his body and that his hair had just been rough-cropped and buzzed. He hardly weighed 30 pounds and seemed malnourished.
According to Philadelphia Police, who claimed earlier this week that they had successfully identified the child through “detective work and DNA analysis,” the boy’s name has remained a mystery despite numerous attempts to place him over the years.
Intensive quest for the suspect
He had been beaten to death, and the police said he was malnourished. Near the body, a royal blue corduroy newsboy cap was found, and police believe the killer may have been wearing it. The body was also covered by a recently washed and patched flannel blanket, which offered another hint.
As police worked to identify the boy and track down his killer, images of the boy were plastered across the city. The victim’s gravestone has read “America’s Unknown Child” for the past 60 years, and investigators are hopeful that by finding his identity, criminal charges will still be able to be brought.
He might have been a Hungarian immigrant, a boy abducted outside a Long Island grocery store in 1955, and several other missing kids were among the thousands of leads that were pursued and eventually abandoned.
A local foster home’s management family and a couple of travelling circus performers were investigated, but neither was a suspect.
A woman from Ohio claimed that her mother kidnapped the boy in 1954, imprisoned him in the basement of their home in a Philadelphia suburb, and killed him out of wrath.
Authorities found her persuasive but could not substantiate her account, leading to another impasse.
Investigation
DNA was recovered from the child’s body on both occasions it was discovered. According to reports, police used genealogical DNA analysis to identify the child. This process required building a new family tree and looking up distant relatives in public databases.
Thursday’s testimony will include testimony from the police commissioner, various law enforcement officials, a genetic genealogist, and the co-founder of the Vidocq Society, a team of seasoned investigators who took on the “Boy in the Box” case 25 years ago.
In 1998, the boy’s body was transferred from Potter’s Field in Philadelphia to Ivy Hill Cemetery. This week, Ivy Hill staff members expressed their happiness that the victim’s gravestone would soon bear the boy’s real name. Dave Drysdale, the secretary and treasurer of Ivy Hill Cemetery, told KYW-TV, “I think it’s amazing.”
There will eventually be a name there, and it will be fantastic, said Drysdale. “I just wish the police officers and everyone else involved who passed away a long time ago were still here to see it,” a person said. “I hope they live long enough to have their name put on there.” was one of their wishes.
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