Identified! PA - Philadelphia - 'Boy in the Box' - 4UMPA - Feb'57 #3 - Joseph Augustus Zarelli

[alucardsdream]

But then the Zarelli's are the ones who pretended to be his parents. They went to city hall to declare the birth.

Why was this kid never reported missing??

We don't know for sure who the parents were. At the press conference, police said the father's name on the birth certificate was not exact but they identified him through DNA. "Not exact" makes me think either the father didn't want anyone in his family to know that he had fathered a child, perhaps out of wedlock, or he didn't even knew about the child. They didn't exactly check ID back then...maybe the mother just told them who she assumed the father was.

 

[spacedcurls]

But vomit /= baked beans. Lots of stuff that just naturally comes out of your stomach when you vomit is brown.

I think I misunderstood you, and thought you were disputing or hadn't seen that a brown substance was found. I wasn't implying that it was for certain baked beans residue, just that a substance of some sort was there.

 

[steff13]

MOO: I don't believe they actually performed tests on gastric contents. They saw what they saw and made a note of it. It doesn't say anything about beans, much less "baked" beans. MOO

This is my feeling, too. I feel like in 2022 they would have identified a substance as vomit and said this is vomit. The fact that they're saying it "could be vomit" indicates to me that they didn't test it and are just relying observation.

 

[Daphne1972]

Why would they have gone to city hall to declare the birth? Was that a thing?

How could LE otherwise have confirmed the name? Or is this just what some insider told them?

MOO: I don't believe they actually performed tests on gastric contents. They saw what they saw and made a note of it. It doesn't say anything about beans, much less "baked" beans. MOO

They did do chem tests tho. But stomach contents afaik were just looked at to determine what it was.

 

[HarmonyE.]

We don't know for sure who the parents were. At the press conference, police said the father's name on the birth certificate was not exact but they identified him through DNA. "Not exact" makes me think either the father didn't want anyone in his family to know that he had fathered a child, perhaps out of wedlock, or if he even knew about the child. They didn't exactly check ID back then...maybe the mother just told them who she assumed the father was.

Or the father used his nickname, which the possible person in question sometimes did in official records.

 

[mickey2942]

Again, this brings up the issue of DNA and privacy. I am sad for this child, he is one of many who end up missing. We don't know his story, or who killed him. But since it happened in 1957, odds are more than likely that the perpetrator is either dead or very elderly. Who would know the facts now? Probably secrets buried.

 

[Daphne1972]

Again, this brings up the issue of DNA and privacy. I am sad for this child, he is one of many who end up missing. We don't know his story, or who killed him. But since it happened in 1957, odds are more than likely that the perpetrator is either dead or very elderly. Who would know the facts now? Probably secrets buried.

I don't care about privacy when it comes to crimes.

 

[steff13]

How could LE otherwise have confirmed the name? Or is this just what some insider told them?

I know that in some countries like England (I think) the parents actually have to go somewhere and declare the child's birth. But that's not been my experience in the US, you just tell the nurse what the kid's name is going to be and who the parents are and they put it on a form and send it to the state to be registered. But his biological parents are his biological parents regardless of who actually raised him so I feel like that information would have been recorded.

 

[Friday Fan]

How could LE otherwise have confirmed the name? Or is this just what some insider told them?

They did do chem tests tho. But stomach contents afaik were just looked at to determine what it was.

Did they?
MOO: I kinda doubt.

I think the autopsy was done to determine COD, with was not even clearly determined.

Determining stomach contents would depend on observation and if it wasn't obvious, they could do chemical analysis, but that is heck of a lot of work! Sounds easy, but determining whether "beans" are in your stomach is more work than it seems like. It would require analyzing compounds/chemicals/starches/proteins etc and then it would need to be compared with "known" substances. I really don't feel they went through all that effort. MOO

It would have needed to be "cutting edge" at the time. Just can't picture it beyond the visual observation.

 

[steff13]

I think I misunderstood you, and thought you were disputing or hadn't seen that a brown substance was found. I wasn't implying that it was for certain baked beans residue, just that a substance of some sort was there.

Ah, I see. Sorry about that.

I don't particularly enjoy talking about vomit but I will say, as a person who has vomited in the past, the only time that I have thrown up something that was completely liquid was when I hadn't eaten in quite some time. I think he may well have vomited, and who wouldn't when they're being beaten, but I don't think he had eaten anything recently, baked beans or otherwise.

And as far as it being dark brown that could be stomach acid, it could be decompositional changes I don't have any idea what happens to stomach acid when it's left in the esophagus for several days or possibly even weeks.

 

[amybman1]

Would the church have the attendance records for the baptism?

They should. I would start with the nearest church to that intersection and work my way out. Catholic churches sometimes keep records that are as good or better than state records (or at least go further back). The Catholic church closest to my grandfather's home at time of birth (1914) was able to pull up his baptismal record in seconds.

 

[csa29]

So question was the prominent family a false info or was Z family prominent in the community - at that time? I’m not sure if understand enough about the potential medical scars to be significant but could one of the parents be a known doctor around then? (if there is any merit to that idea)

 

[steff13]

I'm curious about the blue dye that was found in his eye that they said was from a potential medical treatment. How long would something like that have stayed in his body? I've had tests where they've injected die for other various reasons and they usually tell you like 48 to 72 hours. So the question to me is how recent was this treatment before his death and if it was recent I feel like whoever performed it should have come forward.

 

[LeBlack]

Wow thanks so much. So the shirt was most likely his it seems, and I wonder about the scarf. Odd to have his scarf there (IMO) unless they had taken him somewhere just prior to his death— maybe a doctor for his eye infection, and the source of the dye in his eye?

Or the scarf could have belonged to another child at the scene? Lots to think about here….

I hope they are DNA testing everything near or within the box. The man's hat or older child's shoes could lead to the 'adoptive' (if that's the case) or stepfather (if THAT's the case) -- closer to the last person/people to be with the child. It may take 10 -20 years for tech to catch up. JMO, MOO

 

[deanguy]

Have we looked at the possibility that maybe the mother of J was sexually assaulted by a family member? It could explain the second cousin possibly and maybe why no one knew or said anything?

 

[Friday Fan]

So question was the prominent family a false info or was Z family prominent in the community - at that time? I’m not sure if understand enough about the potential medical scars to be significant but could one of the parents be a known doctor around then? (if there is any merit to that idea)

MOO: The scars were typical medical scars for that time. IV cutdowns were probably more common then than now. (Kids were restrained more in hospitals back then and a cutdown on the ankle was a good way to assure a young child would not pull out an IV) There is the possibility that he had a chest tube at one time. However, once again that is was within the norm of procedures back then.

 

[Red Pill]

So question was the prominent family a false info or was Z family prominent in the community - at that time? I’m not sure if understand enough about the potential medical scars to be significant but could one of the parents be a known doctor around then? (if there is any merit to that idea)

"Sources told NBC10 the most recent DNA sample finally led investigators to the child's identity. The sources say the DNA traced the child to a prominent family in Delaware County, Pennsylvania."

Philly Police Reveal ID of 'Boy in the Box'

More than six decades since an unidentified boy was found dead and abandoned in Philadelphia, police identified the child and revealed his name on Thursday.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

 

[HarmonyE.]

So question was the prominent family a false info or was Z family prominent in the community - at that time? I’m not sure if understand enough about the potential medical scars to be significant but could one of the parents be a known doctor around then? (if there is any merit to that idea)

From a newspaper review, they appear to have been prominent by the 1980's at least and in the same profession at the time of the 1950 census.

 

[LeBlack]

Wow thanks so much. So the shirt was most likely his it seems, and I wonder about the scarf. Odd to have his scarf there (IMO) unless they had taken him somewhere just prior to his death— maybe a doctor for his eye infection, and the source of the dye in his eye?

Or the scarf could have belonged to another child at the scene? Lots to think about here….

I hope they are DNA testing everything near or within the box. The man's hat or older child's shoes could lead to the 'adoptive' (if that's the case) or stepfather (if THAT's the case) -- closer to the last person/people to be with the child. It may take 10 -20 years for tech to catch up. JMO, MOO

 

[LaLa723]

But then the Zarelli's are the ones who pretended to be his parents. They went to city hall to declare the birth.

Why was this kid never reported missing??

The last name Zarelli is on the birth certificate but that doesn’t mean we know where that name comes from (which side, which person). It’s certainly not proof that someone named Zarelli claimed him at city hall.

My MIL was deserted by her husband when she found out she was pregnant with my husband. He said he didn’t want kids (no mention of this before). But his birth certificate still lists his father and his bio dad never saw him or had any part of the birth certificate being filed.

Regarding JAZ, we really know very little about his bio parents. It’s all speculated until we actually see the birth certificate.