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

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Gypsysoul25 said:
https://images.findagrave.com/photos250/photos/2016/273/170742631_1475290365.jpg

One of Anna's infants below.the death certificate says the mother is not married.unfortunately I'm not good at reading cursive writing so I can't read out certain things

https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2020/365/220391935_f67c3673-237f-4a9d-ac22-85924aaf7afe.jpeg
Click to expand...

There's something weird about the father's name on the death certificate. It looks like originally, it was written as Richard (can't read initial) Nagle. Then Richard was crossed out, Harry was placed in front of it and an M was written over the unknown initial.
Not sure if that means anything, but figured it was weird enough to point out.
 
I don't remember the names of the "mexican"(as the archived text in the what looks to be defunct website that was americasunknownchild.net had posted).my God that is definitely not pc but hey if was the 50s.I couldn't find any findagraves of the Horsham suspects,or the lady that started her granddaughter to death or anyother suspects in this case

I did find some on the dudleys.I don't know if it would clear anything up or add more questions
Irene Adelle Gwynn Gwynn (1916-2001) - Find A...

Kenneth Edwin Dudley Sr. (1913-1980) - Find A...
 
Tabirey said:
There's something weird about the father's name on the death certificate. It looks like originally, it was written as Richard (can't read initial) Nagle. Then Richard was crossed out, Harry was placed in front of it and an M was written over the unknown initial.
Not sure if that means anything, but figured it was weird enough to point out.
Click to expand...

Old genealogist here. Usually the person answering the funeral director's questions has married into the family. We use the term informant for that person, even a relative may not know much about the deceased's early life. The death certificate is often filed soon after the death, people just answer the questions & don't go home to check the file cabinets & safe deposit boxes for facts.

Within my family, I have copies of death certificates with mistaken birthplaces, first & middle names reversed, parents' names confused, misspellings, among others.

There person might have the nickname "Rich" because they resembled Richie Rich as a child, say. The informant didn't see him as a child, so supplies the name Richard when asked.

Could be nefarious, subterfuge, transcription, simple human error.

jmpo ymmv lrr
 
Laughing said:
Old genealogist here. Usually the person answering the funeral director's questions has married into the family. We use the term informant for that person, even a relative may not know much about the deceased's early life. The death certificate is often filed soon after the death, people just answer the questions & don't go home to check the file cabinets & safe deposit boxes for facts.

Within my family, I have copies of death certificates with mistaken birthplaces, first & middle names reversed, parents' names confused, misspellings, among others.

There person might have the nickname "Rich" because they resembled Richie Rich as a child, say. The informant didn't see him as a child, so supplies the name Richard when asked.

Could be nefarious, subterfuge, transcription, simple human error.

jmpo ymmv lrr
Click to expand...

So true! My grandmother was the "informant" for her father-in-law. She stated his name as "Barney" and his name was actually "Barnard". Barney was his nickname. So, it was fun trying to find his birth certificate! LOL
 
So I was thinking about the boy in the box and where he came from, as there are way less cases from around that time and the potential matches are down to near nothing. This was 1957, and someone, after all these years would/should be looking for him. What child goes missing and it goes unnoticed? He must have a mother... so I started following some of the local rumor about him being sold by his parents to someone in 1954. Who buys a baby? Someone who can't have one.. but wait, he was found in a box for a bassinet... Perhaps, someone was able to have a baby and wanted to make room for their own child. So who would sell a baby in 1954? Not a married mother with 2.5 kids... Perhaps a teenager.. well I looked for his mother and believe I may have found a potential match.

I'm not sure but the circumstances would fit.
 
<modsnip: quoted post removed>
The late, great Frank Bender did the sketch of the Boy as a girl in 2008. But, apparently, someone else came up with that theory in '57.

Kelly said back in 1957 and 1958, renditions of the child as a girl by a West Coast artist were briefly published in newspaper accounts, but they produced no leads.

New theory for "Boy in the Box" | 6abc Philadelphia | 6abc.com
 
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CCJD said:
The late, great Frank Bender did the sketch of the Boy as a girl in 2008. But, apparently, someone else came up with that theory in '57.

Kelly said back in 1957 and 1958, renditions of the child as a girl by a West Coast artist were briefly published in newspaper accounts, but they produced no leads.

New theory for "Boy in the Box" | 6abc Philadelphia | 6abc.com
Click to expand...
Aha! Thanks. I’ll look through newspapers and see what I can find. I remembered Frank’s but, no disrespect meant, the image is a bit terrifying. :eek:
I thought maybe someone could do a more life like one.
 
127
There's this other sketch by a different artist (Joseph Mcgillen according to americasunknownchild.net) It's not in color but maybe a little more life-like?? I believe I saw somewhere else (I can't remember where) that Mcgillen was from California, so I believe this could be the West Coast artist.
Edit: I just found his obituary and he was from Philadelphia. That means there might be a third recon floating around somewhere from a west coast artist
 
Natasha Mullins said:
I'm not sure what lab is handling it, but I know Barbara Rae-Venter is the genetic genealogist overseeing the process. Maybe she has her own lab? Does anyone else know more?
Click to expand...

AFAIK, BRV is no longer working on the boy's case.

By Joe Holden
April 30, 2021 at 8:22 am
Filed Under:CBS3 Mysteries, Local, Local TV, Philadelphia News, The Boy in the Box

Philadelphia homicide detectives two years ago got an order to exhume the remains of the Boy in the Box. What they were able to retrieve this time for DNA purposes was sent to a lab in Europe that now has given them their biggest break yet.

“This is the closest, this is the closest we have gotten,” Smith said of being able to find out the boy’s name.

Police now have a DNA profile they hope leads them to family members of the little boy. Investigators say this gives them a new direction.

EXCLUSIVE: Philadelphia Police Hope Break In 1957 Unsolved Murder Leads To The Boy In The Box's Identity
 
Is ID imminent?

Anyone else watch the YT video where the ID of the Bibb County John Doe was announced? At the 59:15 minute mark Misty Gillis and Allison Peacock from Identifinders discuss which case announcements they have coming up. Allison mentions the "double duo" (UP701 and 703) and then says boy in the box isn't far away either.
 
Laughing said:
Old genealogist here. Usually the person answering the funeral director's questions has married into the family. We use the term informant for that person, even a relative may not know much about the deceased's early life. The death certificate is often filed soon after the death, people just answer the questions & don't go home to check the file cabinets & safe deposit boxes for facts.

Within my family, I have copies of death certificates with mistaken birthplaces, first & middle names reversed, parents' names confused, misspellings, among others.

There person might have the nickname "Rich" because they resembled Richie Rich as a child, say. The informant didn't see him as a child, so supplies the name Richard when asked.

Could be nefarious, subterfuge, transcription, simple human error.

jmpo ymmv lrr
Click to expand...
My great grandfather's death certificate lists his father's name as, "Achie".....I could not find anything, anywhere about this person's existence.
His wife was the informant.

She was his second wife and they were married less than 10 years, She was also quite young(same age as his daughter) and he was also quite old...

Parents never told me about this relationship either (well that's another story)

Anyway one day, out of the blue, an unknown great uncle called me and told me the family story and his real name. The death certificate name was a nickname. His real name was "Noble"

(He had obtained my phone number via my dad's obituary and a little bit of sleuthing)
 
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Melt71 said:
Is ID imminent?

Anyone else watch the YT video where the ID of the Bibb County John Doe was announced? At the 59:15 minute mark Misty Gillis and Allison Peacock from Identifinders discuss which case announcements they have coming up. Allison mentions the "double duo" (UP701 and 703) and then says boy in the box isn't far away either.
Click to expand...
In the Bibb County Zoom conference today, Colleen stated that while his was the oldest NCMEC case to be solved with FGG (1961), that record would soon be broken... so it does sound like it.

It'd be intriguing to hear about the DNA extraction process if this case was indeed solved, as it seems that the earlier FGG investigations were hampered by poor DNA quality.
 
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Snackcakes66 said:
NBC10 Philadelphia
had a teaser about a possible break in the case, to be on tonight during 11pm news.
Click to expand...
I really hope they've finally learned the name of this sweet boy. I used to drive by the area near where he was found and would always think of him...it's comforting to know that so many people are still working to solve his case.
 
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