Police in Philadelphia have solved part of a mystery that dates back to 1957.
Sixty-five years ago, the body of a young boy was found in a box in a Philadelphia neighborhood. The identity of the “Boy in the Box” has remained unknown all these years, until now.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw announced on Thursday that the boy was 4-year-old Joseph Augustus Zarelli, who was born in 1953. Police used modern DNA and genealogy techniques to identify Zarelli.
The boy was found covered in a blanket inside a cardboard box in northeast Philadelphia’s Fox Chase neighborhood on Feb. 25, 1957. Authorities estimated that he was between 4 and 6 years old but efforts to confirm his identity over the years proved unsuccessful.
Investigators said the boy weighed 30 pounds and appeared to have been malnourished. His hair was “crudely chopped and buzzed” and he had several small scars on his body, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
“This announcement only closes one chapter in this little boy’s story while opening up a new one. This is still an active homicide investigation and we still need the public’s help in filling in this child’s life story,” Outlaw told reporters. “Without the hard work, dedication, passion, and doggedness of the many, we would not be here today to give America’s formerly unknown child Joseph Augustus Zarelli a voice.”
Today, after 65 years, America's Unknown Child's name was finally restored. I want to thank all who have worked tirelessly since 1957 to give Joseph Augustus Zarelli his voice back. However, the search for justice continues. If you have any information on his homicide, please…
— Danielle M. Outlaw (@PPDCommish) December 8, 2022
Authorities say that Zarelli died of blunt-force trauma and that they may have some idea who is responsible for the boy’s death.
“We have our suspicions as to who may be responsible but it would be irresponsible of me to share these suspicions as this remains an ongoing and active criminal investigation,” Philadelphia Police Captain John Smith said.
Although both of his parents are dead, Zarelli still has living siblings, and police are keeping their identities under wraps.
“Joseph has a number of siblings on both the mother and father side who are living and it’s out of respect for them that their parents’ information remain confidential,” Smith said.
Detectives said that this was “one of those cases” that bothered generations of law enforcement. Cases like this even resonate with the families of those who worked the case but have passed away.
One of those law enforcement professionals for whom the “Boy in the Box” was a poignant, haunting case was Bill Kelly, who fingerprinted the young boy’s body when the case first broke.
“He was one of the first on scene that fateful day. He never forgot about that image. I mean, how could you?… He was the fingerprint expert on scene. Those fingerprints were ingrained in his mind his whole life, and when he closed his eyes, in his mind, that’s what he saw,” said Jessica Green, Kelly’s granddaughter, to WPVI.
“I was thinking my father would be so happy… so happy,” Kathleen Kelly Greene told WPVI.
Now there’s a chance that the family could see justice. Even though the case remains unsolved, there’s a $20,000 reward for any information that could help police crack it.
We complain about what technology does to our world — and often rightly so — but it’s gratifying when modern innovations can help police make great leaps in solving a case long gone cold.
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