Identified! PA - Philadelphia, 'Boy in the Box', WhtMale 4-6, 4UMPA, Feb'57 #2 - Joseph Augustus Zarelli

[dotr]

 

[cutter99]

Remember, LE has his birth certificate, so there is a paper trail of this child’s existence. At some point, he was “known” of enough to have the formal existence of that birth certificate! That to me would indicate a hospital birth or medial intervention shortly after birth.

 

[elmomom]

I don't doubt that, but if it's the prominent family that co-founded a children's hospital, there would have been people available who could hide all sorts of medical things at home if they wanted to hide a so-called "illegitimate" child with taboo origins, or whatever. It's all speculation but it's pretty sad to think about either way the mind wanders. Such a tragic case.

I worked for the organization that “prominent family” founded. And briefly with the children’s hospital that bears their name, and the affiliation started and ended with funding and tax write offs, the actual family members still around had no ties to those organizations so could not just “phone a friend” to do medical things. That really isn’t how medicine works, even for the rich well connected families.
beyond all that, the family in question is really, really not likely to be involved. Instead it is going to be one of the Main Liners, and not quite as well known.

 

[MountainLover]

This is an utterly tragic and fascinating story-has there been a definite date/time for next week's presser?

 

[cvaldez1975]

I'm rather suprised he had a birth certificate. The circumstances led me to believe he was raised secretly with few if any other non-family members knowing

i feel like they werent planning this ending all along but that time went by and well....

 

[cvaldez1975]

I worked for the organization that “prominent family” founded. And briefly with the children’s hospital that bears their name, and the affiliation started and ended with funding and tax write offs, the actual family members still around had no ties to those organizations so could not just “phone a friend” to do medical things. That really isn’t how medicine works, even for the rich well connected families.
beyond all that, the family in question is really, really not likely to be involved. Instead it is going to be one of the Main Liners, and not quite as well known.

i agree but it was different in the 50's. just for arguments sake lol/

 

[elmomom]

i agree but it was different in the 50's. just for arguments sake lol/

I might not be quite tat old, but I am pretty old, lol

 

[Tabech29]

Will this be like another EDJD? Where the child was illegitimate and father never even knew of existence and mother was just a hot mess? We'll see... I can't wait for Thursday! So many possibilities... *Biting my nails*

 

[Blackbirdsitdon]

What is going to be especially sad is that no matter the circumstances leading up to this kid's death, he is going to have been unwanted. Even if his birth mother wanted him, the people he ended up with clearly didn't. Whether that's because of the taboo of being an unwed teenage mother, incest, rape, having some sort of defect or disability, or any number of other things, this poor little kid was unwanted from the get-go.

It's easy to think that the 1950s were extremely long ago. But truly they weren't. I wonder how many kids these days live in the same kind of hidden situation with relatively few people even knowing they exist. It's really heartbreaking when you step back and think about the bigger picture and possibilities all around the world.

My ex used to volunteer twice a year in Haiti. I was talking to her about this case and she told me that the vast majority of rural children there never have a birth certificate and that there is no way to prove they ever existed if something happens to them. It really opens your eyes to how things are around the world, it's not something that was necessarily easier in the 1950s. It likely still happens and we would never necessarily know.

 

[CraftingBD]

Anybody else here from the area and if so, how has the reaction been 'round your parts? I live about 25 minutes away from the original crime scene and most people here are pretty excited about the news, though most of the younger generation isn't even aware of the case. (But I guess they're about to find out...)

I'm on the opposite end of the city. I remember my Mother and Grandmother use to talk about the case when I was younger. My Mom started crying tears of joy when I told her the news. I'm in my early 30's and haven't heard many people my age or younger talking about it but everyone that I 've talked to whose been around the block are very excited!

 

[zensiert]

If the child had lived, they would have been about 70 years old by now. Suffice it to say, the adults around the child in 1957 (parents or guardians...) would be in their late eighties to nineties by now. But really most likely; dead. Interesting that authorities waited until 2021 to collect DNA from the remains. That might coincide with the time the tip or deathbed confession came in, probably after the person from the "prominent" family was dead and could not be prosecuted.

 

[airportwoman]

That this little boy will get his name back is great news. I thought this would forever be a mystery.

 

[airportwoman]

Most of the time these "prominent families" don't deserve the accolades that they get. More often than not, they're "prominent" because someone in the family a few generations back was a psychopath who managed to acquire a significant amount of wealth, often through unscrupulous means.

Unfortunately, you are often right.

(Does the name Murdaugh ring a bell?)

 

[rosesfromangels]

I'm irked by the tippy-toe eggshell approach to releasing info because there is a "prominent family" involved. Who cares! No one is above the law, "prominent" or not. Release the details already! Who is this poor child?!

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Ontario Mom]

I'm irked by the tippy-toe eggshell approach to releasing info because there is a "prominent family" involved. Who cares! No one is above the law, "prominent" or not. Release the details already! Who is this poor child?!

Amateur opinion and speculation

Has it been stated in the media that that is the reason for the delay in releasing info?
I haven't read each media link on this, but I don't recall seeing that being the reason for the delay.
That said, I fully agree. Prominent family or not, they're not above the law.
In theory anyway. In reality it tends to work a little differently sometimes.

jmo

 

[sorcoy14]

I'm irked by the tippy-toe eggshell approach to releasing info because there is a "prominent family" involved. Who cares! No one is above the law, "prominent" or not. Release the details already! Who is this poor child?!

Amateur opinion and speculation

It’s entirely possible that they are waiting to release until all the members of the team involved in the naming can get together for the announcement imo.

 

[elmomom]

It’s entirely possible that they are waiting to release until all the members of the team involved in the naming can get together for the announcement imo.

This is what I think. This is one of the biggest reveal of a Doe’s ID ever.. and an enormous amount of people have worked on it for decades. I am sure everyone wants to be there to get their recognition.

 

[Sweetluv]

There is much talk about this "prominent" family. I agree, it doesn't matter about the status of the family, it matters that this innocent boy was beaten, murdered, and discarded. I'm trying to be patient....but this wait is tooooo longgggg!

 

[iamshadow21]

This is what I think. This is one of the biggest reveal of a Doe’s ID ever.. and an enormous amount of people have worked on it for decades. I am sure everyone wants to be there to get their recognition.

It's also internationally one of the most famous of all Doe cases, along with Somerton Man (recently IDed by Colleen Fitzpatrick!). It's entirely possible they're giving world press time to send their own reporters to cover it, rather than them having to source from local press. This is a very big deal. Giving the surviving LE who worked the case over the decades a chance to be there, and the press to have a chance to cover it the way they want to makes sense.

I assume it's not family notification. Likely anyone who knew the boy in life would be deceased. They would still want to talk to the current generations out of courtesy, and to warn them of the media storm that will surround them, but I imagine that was done a while ago, at least a few weeks. Long enough to prepare them.

Of course it could also be something as mundane as administration and paperwork holding things up. Who knows.

 

[MrsWatson]

Although I am very eager to know this lad's name and the backstory, it's been so long, a few more days is just a drop in the bucket.

The most important goal has been achieved: He has his name back.