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

[Alleykins]

I hope the middle child of the Allenstown four. The other three victims have been ID and were a mother and two daughters; the other child is unrelated to this family, but was the daughter of the perpetrator, Terry Peder Rasmussen. This child’s mother is also unknown, and knowing TPR’s history of killing his girlfriends, also likely to be dead.

I'm hoping she's next, too.

 

[Alleykins]

Agreed - if the family to which @spacedcurls refers is the one I'm thinking of, their philanthropy regarding specialized health and care facilities for children has always been a subject of local lore. I can't even remember the first time I heard about them in that context - it had to be at least 40 years ago. But a few family members who live or have lived in Delaware County aside, their prominence is not truly centered here, and it's an odd way for the Philly police to characterize them. There are other prominent families with more extensive ties to Delco - especially on the Main Line and western edge of the county - so I'm not convinced that this breadcrumb points strongly in their direction.

Off topic:
On a whim, I did a Google search for prominent family in Delaware County, Pennsylvania 1950s
and came up with a Sellers family. Turns out Peter Hoadley Sellers devised the mathematical algorithms to decode DNA, per Wikipedia. Not saying it was this family at all, just thought it an odd coincidence I found the person who is responsible for decoding DNA while searching about a case which was solved by DNA.

 

[janewall]

Off topic:
On a whim, I did a Google search for prominent family in Delaware County, Pennsylvania 1950s
and came up with a Sellers family. Turns out Peter Hoadley Sellers devised the mathematical algorithms to decode DNA, per Wikipedia. Not saying it was this family at all, just thought it an odd coincidence I found the person who is responsible for decoding DNA while searching about a case which was solved by DNA.

Even more off topic - I used to live in an area of eastern Delco that was developed from the Sellers family's historic estate lands. I never knew much about them other than place/building names and cemetery markers, and that their house was an Underground Railroad site. Now I know they were still prominent in the 1950s!

 

[Alleykins]

Even more off topic - I used to live in an area of eastern Delco that was developed from the Sellers family's historic estate lands. I never knew much about them other than place/building names and cemetery markers, and that their house was an Underground Railroad site. Now I know they were still prominent in the 1950s!

Wow. What a coincidence, too.
I'd never heard of them before, but it turns out they were a very intelligent family of engineers, scientists, inventors, philosophers, and artists. It appears they weren't your typical prominent family on that score.

 

[Susikatze]

Just throwing a thought out here...I know it has been speculated by many, including if I'm not mistaken M herself? that BITB may have been secretly fathered by M's uncle, which would make him M's biological cousin . Now, if we are assuming that that information is correct (I guess we may find out?), maybe BITB was born to the daughter of a promeninent Delaware County family and M's uncle. On top of this, he may have disabilities or developmental delays. M's uncle is uninvolved with his life, the mother's family sells him to M's family, to keep him at least with his father's family, and washes their hands of him, so to speak. It explains him being traced to that family at least.

I also think that theory may be true and we know that M actually came from a fairly prominent family. Not socialites and multimillionaires but her parents held a good education and very respectable professions with a very good standing in society.

 

[hafom8840]

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

 

[squish]

On a genealogy site, there is a private family tree that contains the names of the relatives of M, the lady who claimed her mother killed the little boy. The family tree is named after this little John Doe. I am unsure if the tree is named for the case, and is just the family tree of witness M, or if I've actually stumbled across the (mostly unviewable) family tree of our boy, and the names of M's relatives are there because she was actually related to the boy.

 

[Alleykins]

I'm confused.
Has it been officially confirmed that M is related to this boy or are folks still speculating about that while waiting for his name to be announced?

 

[squish]

No, just speculating.

M had thought it was a possibility that "Jonathan" was related to her paternal uncle, as this uncle was affectionate to the boy.

 

[iamshadow21]

Somerton Man, Lady of the Dunes, Boy in the Box. Who’s next?

Don't forget, we also got Sharon Gallegos (Little Miss Nobody), Kelly (EDJD), and Derek and David D'Alton (Babes in the Woods - Stanley Park) this year! It's been a great year for IDing Does.

I want St Louis Jane Doe and both Christmas Does to get their names back. It's been too long for these little black girls to go without names, without faces. It's nearly forty years they've been unknown. That's too long. It's time for them to be named. It's time for them to be known.

 

[Springrain]

On a genealogy site, there is a private family tree that contains the names of the relatives of M, the lady who claimed her mother killed the little boy. The family tree is named after this little John Doe. I am unsure if the tree is named for the case, and is just the family tree of witness M, or if I've actually stumbled across the (mostly unviewable) family tree of our boy, and the names of M's relatives are there because she was actually related to the boy.

Sorry, I'm a bit confused, is it called "Boy in the Box Family Tree" or something similar or does it have a name? (I'm NOT asking what it's actually called or what names are shown, just seeking clarification)

 

[jpo74]

Somerton Man, Lady of the Dunes, Boy in the Box. Who’s next?

so relieved this little guy is getting his name back. cant wait to hear what they have to say next week. with the advancement of ancenstrial dna would love to know what happed to older cases and older missing people cases also

 

[squish]

Sorry, I'm a bit confused, is it called "Boy in the Box Family Tree" or something similar or does it have a name? (I'm NOT asking what it's actually called or what names are shown, just seeking clarification)

Yes, it's named for the case, similar to what you suggested. It doesn't have an actual name.

There is also another private tree of M's family called something similar to "research".

 

[Ozoner]

Prominent families can have secrets and “black sheep” relatives.

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.

 

[squish]

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.

Yes. I wish I could like this a million times.

Also… if M is right, given that she herself comes from a somewhat successful family, this could be a reason she was dismissed so easily.

 

[Blackbirdsitdon]

Yes, it's named for the case, similar to what you suggested. It doesn't have an actual name.

There is also another private tree of M's family called something similar to "research".

I believe the website you are talking about is not available in the country where I live so I am always impressed and confued by these kinds of side conversations.

 

[Blackbirdsitdon]

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 had a similar thought. But if he had congenital medical problems he may have been born at home and then taken to a doctor/hospital shortly thereafter. That could also result in a birth certificate without a hospital birth in most places.

 

[elmomom]

I had a similar thought. But if he had congenital medical problems he may have been born at home and then taken to a doctor/hospital shortly thereafter. That could also result in a birth certificate without a hospital birth in most places.

He was almost certainly born in a hospital. He was professionally circumcised, and it is most likely he was either disappeared into a different family, or just killed and discarded by his own. The story from M is that he was kept in the basement, so if he went missing, no outsider would have known.

 

[Blackbirdsitdon]

He was almost certainly born in a hospital. He was professionally circumcised, and it is most likely he was either disappeared into a different family, or just killed and discarded by his own. The story from M is that he was kept in the basement, so if he went missing, no outsider would have known.

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.

 

[Shamrock1]

There were - and are - many “prominent” families on the Main Line.