I think it's a testament to how badly the detectives wanted to solve the case. There was a lot of good, old-fashioned detective work that went into this case over the years...Philly PD never gave up on Joseph!
I've been working on a genealogy project for about 2 1/2 years and almost all my records are PA and it's true-- they're a mess. I'm sure large influxes of immigrants, some literate some not, made it very difficult to keep good records-- things were just written as they sounded or Americanized into something easier.
Is the hat a child or adult size?
They did say they were hoping for a new, large influx of tips. Not those exact words.
I believe that right off the bat, the owners of 8 of the 12 contacted police, and eventually they accounted for 11. The 12th perhaps being in that large foster home run by the Nicoletti family (a similar model to what would have been sold in that box at least). However, I *think* the box was perhaps believed to already be on the side of the road when the body was placed in it, so it may have little/no connection to those that purchased the bassinets.
When they hinted that they knew who he was last year and then we had almost a year's delay, I kinda felt the info would be limited. I think we got more info than I expected.
Exactly. could have come from his house or maybe it was taken from curbside trash waiting to be picked up. That website has all the news archives and I didn't see any follow up to the story about the bassinet box that was published shortly after he was found - A1_bassinet
Men's size 7 1/8.
Adult 7 1/8
With the leather strap attached, which wasn't there originally, could it have fit a small child?
There is a lot of clarification here: Case Summary
Joseph was born only 13 days into 1953 so there is basically 4 whole years (1953, 1954, 1955, 1956) to recover from Joseph's birth, and to bear two other children, which is entirely possible. There are many women who have 3 children under 4, and there's also a possibility the two other children could be twins.
Ok, yes, that makes sense. Thank you!
I don't believe birth certificates are public record for 100 years in PA.
105 years actually. So unless a close family member has requested a copy of it, and posted it online, there is no way it's out there. Until 2058 only family (or LE. of course) can request it. I might not be around then, so I really hope one of them does.
People who had purchased bassinettes volunteered the information.
Not all states. Texas, Indiana, Virginia, California etc all have some decent public records. In another state we could see public marriage indexes, birth indexes etc.
