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

[HarmonyE.]

Wonder if Joseph has a baptismal record???

The investigators have said the birth certificate is the only record of his short existence.

 

[Elley Mae]

His hair had recently been “cut in a way that suggested it was not the work of a skilled barber,” and his fingernails had been trimmed, according to the national system.

After 65 Years, the ‘Boy in the Box’ Has a Name (Published 2022)

Detective work and DNA analysis helped officials learn the identity of a 4-year-old boy whose beaten body was found inside a cardboard box in Philadelphia in 1957. The killing remains unsolved.

www.nytimes.com

…

His dark brown hair was shorn into a crude sort of crew cut — almost “home-made,” or the type that might be given to a child living in an orphanage or foster home, Chief Inspector John J. Kelly said. Hair covered his body, indicating the hair cut was likely done “shortly before or directly after he was killed to confuse his identity,” Kelley later told The Inquirer.

‘Boy in the Box’: The history of the notorious Philadelphia homicide case

A look at how The Inquirer and Daily News covered the “Boy in the Box” story over the years, since the boy's body was found in 1957.

www.inquirer.com

…

Snipped

He had blue eyes, brown hair that was “crudely cut” close to the scalp, badly trimmed fingernails and measured to be 40 ½ inches tall and weighed only 30 pounds.

Remains of ‘Boy in the Box’ identified by Philadelphia police after 65 years

After 65 years, the Philadelphia Police Department has finally identified “America’s Unknown Child,” commonly referred to as the “Boy in the Box.”

www.abc27.com

…

 

[RaspberryMama]

Conversely, if this is just reported on the birth certificate, it's meaningful only with respect to his birth, and they already know who his parents were thanks to DNA.

I understand what you are saying, but I do think they mentioned but be able to glean more info from putting that info out there, not just parental info. Often neighborhood gossip holds a bit of truth. People who lived there may begin thinking or talking to other neighbors: Remember that young girl who we suspected was pregnant but then she disappeared and we forgot about her?

Remember that baby that lived with so and so and then suddenly he wasn't there any longer?

Remember that blonde boy we saw and how strange the adults were acting with him?

That's the sort of thing / memories they may be hoping to stir up.

 

[RaspberryMama]

Long Hair
What exactly constitutes “long hair”?

At the time, anything beyond a buzz cut was considered “long” for a male. So perhaps detectives aren't saying the boy had long hair in the sense that we would think of long hair today, i.e like a girl but hair that was longer than the length that they found on the boy when he was deceased because it had been cut down to the skin.

I do believe they thought it might have been quite a bit longer and more girlish. The one person who strongly believed this was a possibility drew a new sketch with the hair quite long. If I can find the photo I'll edit and add it.

ETA link and photo:

Five chilling theories that could solve mystery of 'The Boy in the Box'

THE CREEPY mystery of the “Boy in the Box” who was found dead folded inside a cardboard box – has puzzled investigators for the last 60 years. He is known as “America’…

www.the-sun.com

 

[KAYTOM]

"At the time of Zarelli's death in 1957, he was living in the area of 61st and Market streets, police said.

Given the publicity that the case received at the time and ever since, police are unsure why no one from the family or Zarelli's neighborhood came forward with information. It's unclear how long Zarelli had been living in West Philly. "

Philly's cold-case homicide victim, the 'Boy in the Box,' identified as Joseph Augustus Zarelli, police say

Investigators hope this breakthrough – the result of forensic DNA analysis – leads to an 'avalanche of tips' that help determine his killer

www.google.com

Same article says the bio mom birthed 2 other siblings all between 1954 to 56. Might be a combination of the birth certificates that gave them the assumption he was living with the mom during those years in the vicinity. Maybe that combined with utility records. They also say they don't know how long he lived in west Philly, but have suspicions of who might be responsible.

Seems reasonable that they don't want to name anybody till they dig deeper.

 

[Friday Fan]

I do believe they thought it might have been quite a bit longer and more girlish. The one person who strongly believed this was a possibility drew a new sketch with the hair quite long. If I can find the photo I'll edit and add it.

ETA link and photo:

Five chilling theories that could solve mystery of 'The Boy in the Box'

THE CREEPY mystery of the “Boy in the Box” who was found dead folded inside a cardboard box – has puzzled investigators for the last 60 years. He is known as “America’…

www.the-sun.com

That was the BITB as a hypothetical girl!
They couldn't get an ID, then they went with, "Maybe he was raised as a girl" and that is where they picture arose.
Don't know how long his actual hair was.

 

[RaspberryMama]

"At the time of Zarelli's death in 1957, he was living in the area of 61st and Market streets, police said.

Given the publicity that the case received at the time and ever since, police are unsure why no one from the family or Zarelli's neighborhood came forward with information. It's unclear how long Zarelli had been living in West Philly. "

Philly's cold-case homicide victim, the 'Boy in the Box,' identified as Joseph Augustus Zarelli, police say

Investigators hope this breakthrough – the result of forensic DNA analysis – leads to an 'avalanche of tips' that help determine his killer

www.google.com

Same article says the bio mom birthed 2 other siblings all between 1954 to 56. Might be a combination of the birth certificates that gave them the assumption he was living with the mom during those years in the vicinity. Maybe that combined with utility records. They also say they don't know how long he lived in west Philly, but have suspicions of who might be responsible.

Seems reasonable that they don't want to name anybody till they dig deeper.

When they mentioned 61st and Market, was it in regards to where Joseph lived at the time of his death? Does anyone know for sure? I feel that may not be true. At the PC, when it was first mentioned, I was under the impression it was just "an" area they associated with him in some way, not necessarily "the" area he was in at the end of his life.

Also, I believe the other 2 birth certificates were from between '44 and '56, inclusive, not '54 and '56.

 

[RaspberryMama]

That was the BITB as a hypothetical girl!
They couldn't get an ID, then they went with, "Maybe he was raised as a girl" and that is where they picture arose.
Don't know how long his actual hair was.

Yes, but apparently Frank Bender - the artist - thought it could have been that long. He was pretty involved in the case... He may have had reason to draw it that long.

I was responding to the thought that maybe detectives didn't really think it may have been "girl"-long. But apparently they did because they released that sketch.

 

[non_ducor_duco_]

Random thoughts/questions.

“Good idea” of perpetrator
Confused why police say they have a “good idea” of who the perpetrator is but don’t at least name a person of interest. Yet go on to say that they may NEVER ID someone. I feel like there are much younger cases where the police at least ID a suspect. Unless they really have no idea…but then why say they have a “good idea” of the perp? Personally feel like they're causing more people to speculate and drag more people into this than if they just id'd his parents and said they don't think they were involved.


West Philly - 61st & Market
How would police know what area JAZ was living in right down to certain streets (west Philly, between 61st and market). Are they just basing it off of info found on his birth certificate or do we think they have other info? Do we know if they're saying that's the area he lived in right before he died or just the only known address associated with him ie on his birth certificate?


“Navajo” Blanket
Do we know if the blanket JAZ was found in has been tested for DNA at all? Testing has advanced so much that they might be able to glean much more information from the blanket now than before.

There was speculation that the blanket was cut into two pieces to hide the fact that there may have been an identifying logo or emblem on it. It was hypothesized that the blanket was of an “institutional” type ie like from a hospital but given the outdoorsy pattern did investigators consider it might be from a school or summer camp?


Custom Hat
Interesting to note that the age of the suspected father aligns so closely with the age range of the man the shop keeper mentioned as purchasing a custom hat found at the crime scene. Someone between the ages of 26-32. Given the man's appearance and resemblance to the boy, could this have been a relative or friend of one of the birth parents who informally adopted JAZ?


Long Hair
What exactly constitutes “long hair”?

At the time, anything beyond a buzz cut was considered “long” for a male. So perhaps detectives aren't saying the boy had long hair in the sense that we would think of long hair today, i.e like a girl but hair that was longer than the length that they found on the boy when he was deceased because it had been cut down to the skin.

Personally, I don’t buy the theory that JAZ was raised as a girl.

I think they are hoping someone comes forward with more information before they throw out a name. They may be pretty confident that he lived with a particular person at his time of death, but who else had access to him? Maybe a neighbor will come forward with the memory of the moms boyfriend being there a lot, that kind of thing. And since their chief suspect is likely dead, naming that person won’t necessarily do much but turn their other family members world upside down.

 

[osadelnorte]

Can anyone clarify...were the actual birth certificates of the other children from 1944 and 1956, or was the birth certificate search performed on any births that could have happened between 1944 and 1956, with two results? Thanks.

 

[txsleuth70]

For a visual. 64th St., the red arrow, is northwest of this area. 61st and Market are circled. The green box is an 18-20 block area (maybe even larger), so pretty large. And Callowhill is IYKYK and not in the green square. Now, maybe LE wasn't being super specific - who knows.

 

[loveplace]

"At the time of Zarelli's death in 1957, he was living in the area of 61st and Market streets, police said.

Given the publicity that the case received at the time and ever since, police are unsure why no one from the family or Zarelli's neighborhood came forward with information. It's unclear how long Zarelli had been living in West Philly. "

Philly's cold-case homicide victim, the 'Boy in the Box,' identified as Joseph Augustus Zarelli, police say

Investigators hope this breakthrough – the result of forensic DNA analysis – leads to an 'avalanche of tips' that help determine his killer

www.google.com

Same article says the bio mom birthed 2 other siblings all between 1954 to 56. Might be a combination of the birth certificates that gave them the assumption he was living with the mom during those years in the vicinity. Maybe that combined with utility records. They also say they don't know how long he lived in west Philly, but have suspicions of who might be responsible.

Seems reasonable that they don't want to name anybody till they dig deeper.

I think 1954 must have been a typo. all other sources I've seen say 1944 instead. If they only checked from 1954 they would have missed Joseph's birth in 1953.

 

[Laughing]

Can anyone clarify...were the actual birth certificates of the other children from 1944 and 1956, or was the birth certificate search performed on any births that could have happened between 1944 and 1956, with two results? Thanks.

bbm

This is how I understand the statements made during the presser -- mother was identified via DNA, and a court order was obtained for any birth record with this woman as the mother between 1944 & 1956.

Please correct me if I muddled this up.

 

[RoseTree]

61st and Market is a corner, so it won't be between the streets.

Are there homes right at that intersection?

 

[iamshadow21]

As for the hair, I'm less inclined to think it's a gender thing, and more inclined to think it was matted. I know I had matted hair in my childhood. It was worst behind my ears, where it had to be cut close to the skin to remove them. His nails may also have been long and ragged. His body may have been filthy with dirt. So, they trimmed his hair and nails postmortem and washed the body. All more care that he was ever shown in life. There was nothing they could do to cover up the malnutrition, extensive bruising, and head trauma.

 

[osadelnorte]

bbm

This is how I understand the statements made during the presser -- mother was identified via DNA, and a court order was obtained for any birth record with this woman as the mother between 1944 & 1956.

Please correct me if I muddled this up.

Thank you. This is what I was understanding too but some recent posts left me a bit confused. So she had two other children, but we have no indication of when they were born.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Are there homes right at that intersection?

I'm sure there are, but it is primarily businesses.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Somewhat OT:

If you were baptized in a church that was part of a denomination -- the denomination should have a record. Finding the location & custodian of such records, a different story.

In my church, we have record of the first baptism in 1864, and of most if not all after that. We Presbyterians are big on record keeping.

Wonder if Joseph has a baptismal record???

The denomination (Presbyterian) did not.

The local parish was St. Donato. It is closed, but the parish records were moved to Our Lady of Lourdes.

 

[steff13]

That was the BITB as a hypothetical girl!
They couldn't get an ID, then they went with, "Maybe he was raised as a girl" and that is where they picture arose.
Don't know how long his actual hair was.

It's my understanding that there was some of the hair found stuck to his body. I wonder how long that hair was? It seems like if he had been wearing his hair very long that at least some of it that was stuck to the body would have reflected that.

 

[Sashy]

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/inv...-box-naming-americas-unknown-child-2/3447245/