It's at about the 39:45 mark.I missed the last part of the presser, so I'm hoping someone can pinpoint exactly what was said about family(?) denying the paternity of Joseph? Or the time stamp, if they recall?
<modsnip> I lived in Philadelphia for 40 years and I just looked at my High School yearbook, there are 9 Zarelli's in there from 3 different families. Just sayin' it is a pretty popular Surname in the area.
I was born in PA in 1980. My mom gave me her maiden name (not sure if she had to or wanted to) but my bio father couldn’t put me on his medical insurance with a different last name than his. So when I went to the doctor I was under his last name, and my mom’s everywhere else.I can tell you that when I was born, in Ohio, in 1977, my parents weren't married and they made my mother give me her last name. I don't know how common that was, or if it applied to PA as well. My parents married a year later and my last name was changed, I actually didn't know anything about it until I needed a birth certificate for some reason and I saw my original BC and SS card with my mom's maiden name.
I agree except i think father did know about him. If not someone signed the bc as the fatherMy theory is that Joseph was born out of wedlock and put up for adoption. Hence LE's using bio parents and saying that he had siblings on both sides. The bio parents likely went on to have other families. I don't believe they, whoever, they were, were involved in Joseph's death. As far as not alerting LE at the time, if he was given up as an infant, it would be unlikely that they would have even recognized him as their child. The father may not have even known about him.
Same case for me, and that was well into the 21st century. Definitely not a super uncommon thing throughout history.Say his name: Joseph Augustus Zarelli.
As for him not having a Social Security number, until they were required to file tax returns, many people did not get them until they got their first job. I got mine in 1978, when I was 14 years old.
I agree except I haven’t seen anything saying Martha was correct about the beans. Everything else I’ve seen she could easily have gotten from newspapers. I don’t believe her yet I don’t not believe her. I’m just not sure & there is probably a reason police didn’t investigate further than they didThe last thread on this was deeply worrying due to the absurd speculation. I know I am new to this forum, but the accusations were deeply worrying.
We should start with the actual available information:
1. His name was Joseph Augustus Zarelli.
2. He was born on January 13, 1953, and is likely from West Philadelphia.
3. In accordance with police statements his parents are deceased, and he has siblings on both sides of his family (meaning mother and father).
4. There are a handful of Zarelli families who lived in or near West Philadelphia at the time of his birth and death, though none of them have come forward.
5. There was, in 2002, a report made by a woman going by either "Martha" or "M" who posited that her abusive mother had "purchased" Zarelli, and kept him at the home, with several details provided that were only under the purview of law enforcement (including stomach contents and details of the crime scene) - though she identified Joseph as "Jonathan."
The last point is only speculative, but is a strong lead.
The last point, regarding the *potential* father and mother is that, it was still common in the 1950s for parents to send their children away if they were impoverished or unmarried, and it is highly likely, judging from the information provided by police, that Zarelli's parents were unmarried.
I think anything beyond the above is outside of the realm of possibility, until official records are provided.
The reason was that they dismissed her claims because she was "mentally ill". Which IMO is a pretty weak reason to dismiss what seemed to be a very plausible lead.I agree except I haven’t seen anything saying Martha was correct about the beans. Everything else I’ve seen she could easily have gotten from newspapers. I don’t believe her yet I don’t not believe her. I’m just not sure & there is probably a reason police didn’t investigate further than they did