Identified! PA - Philadelphia, 'Boy in the Box', WhtMale 4-6, 4UMPA, Feb'57

[phenolred]

I had a thought on the Boys brusies on his legs, what if they werent bruises. I just saw someone who's vein had been infiltrated.

infiltration occurs when an I.V. needle or catheter becomes dislodged or the vein wall is disrupted. ...

I looks alot like the bruises on the boys legs. If someone were giving him shots in the legs they could have infiltrated his veins thus causing the brusing. I doubt at the time they were looking for needle marks near the bruises.

It would make sense based on all the other medical type treatments it appeared he had.

Here is a link to a pic of infiltrated vein....
http://stanishjohnd.wordpress.com/2007/09/25/why-i-wont-donate-at-zlb-bioplasma/

 

[BeavisMom62]

That could make sense, phenol. Especially if he had been subject to many medical treatments, ie injections, IV etc in the arms, particularly since he seemed so thin and sickly to begin with, his arm veins could have collapsed and they could have had to use his legs instead.

 

[badhorsie]

I came across some photos of this case-pic of box as it was found, with little boy inside, also terrible close up PM photos of his head, legs, arms, chest. He was severely beaten.
Has anyone else seen these? I could find it again.
Was the anonymous phone tip common knowledge when the mentally ill lady made her claim?

 

[Ms Suzanne]

Hi
It looks like his little legs got most of the beatings.To me it looks like he died fighting trying to not get his hair cut.

suzanne

 

[badhorsie]

I agree, they look like hefty finger bruises on the little lad's forehead

 

[badhorsie]

I would go to the Vigil but obviously cannot! If I could send a card could someone pm me with details of where to send it. I'd like to do something for this little boy

 

[NJshrink]

I recently read the new book by David Stout "The Boy in the Box." What struck me is that the focus in the investigation seemed to be with whom the boy was living. This was during a time when Black Market baby selling was prevalent. Georgia Tann and Bessie Bernard were notorious baby sellers during that era. There was some notion that a young girl "Mary" reported her mother paying a couple in PA for the boy. While this may or may not be factual, it has been suggested that the boy may have been mentally retarded or handicapped. These children were harder to place illegally. I wonder if anyone tried to follow the leads of baby sellers. The records were often altered, however, there may be some siblings or parents trying to locate this "adopted" boy on-line.

 

[Filly]

I can't believe it, I actually spoke to William Kelly yesterday! Mr. Kelly is one of the original investigators on this case and he is also with the Vidocq Society. He is such a kind and generous soul.

He is more than happy to be present at the service, which will be held at the Ivy Hill Cemetery in Philly on February 25, 2009. Hopefully Joe McGillen will be able to attend as well.

This is really going to happen! Words cannot express how excited I am!

Vadersbabe, I just wanted to say that you and findlorne are such compassionate souls. Actually, everyone posting here is.

Can I ask that everyone remember in their prayers Detective Weinstein? Sadly Detective Weinstein passed away about two years ago. He was on Philly's police force for 35 years. My own father worked with him through most of his career and had great respect for him. Anytime it came up in the press or someone spoke of the little boy in the box my dad always reminded us just how Detective Weinstein was touched by this little boy and how he worked so hard to try and find the people responsible for leaving this little boy out in the cold, in a box, just discarded.

Hope it's O.K. I put this here. Detective Weinstein I know carried this with him his entire career and years after he retired. May he rest in peace. God willing I will definately be at the service. You guys rock. Know you are appreciated.

 

[believe09]

I received "The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's Unknown Child" by David Stout yesterday and read it in two hours. I helped me mightily to get a better handle on the whispers of evidence and leads out there as well as what had been done to date. David Stout actually references a number of "throw away child" cases, including Riley Sawyer's.

I thought it was interesting that about 10 years ago the Philly ME took another look at the autopsy notes and concluded that the boy had likely had hernia surgery for potentially undescended testes-I had to laugh because I sent that to the Vidocq society in January as a tip...

In any case, it energized me-please read the book if you haven't already and maybe we can tighten up our focus to some under researched leads...I don't want to give away all of it's secrets, but I do think that there is a way for us to help. I still think that checking into the hemophilia angle might be worthwhile...

 

[Dr_Jimmy]

Does anyone know if the results from the toxicological analysis and microscopic examination are available online?

Only in the Jim Hoffman Book (ISBN 978-1-60008-034-051895) it mentions that "During the autopsy, blood and other body fluids, hair, gastric contents, and tissue samples from vital organs including the heart, liver, and lungs were extracted for toxicological analysis and microscopic examination."

Only I have never been able to find the results from these tests!

Does anyone know if they ever discussed the possibility of the boy dying from natural causes, only in the book it gives the cause of death as him being "beaton to death!" yet no bones were actually broken... surely if this was the case in someone so young something must have give way?

Due to the large number of bruises observed on his body and the fact that he did not have any apparent bone fractures, I personnally feel that he died from natural causes possibly due to an illness or disease such as Leukaemia, from some research that I did I found that in the 1950s, nearly all children with leukaemia died.

Common symptoms of leukaemia in 1950: -

• Fevers or night sweats
• Frequent infections
• Feeling weak or tired
• Headache
• Bleeding and bruising easily (bleeding gums, purplish patches in the skin, or tiny red spots under the skin)
• Pain in the bones or joints
• Swelling or discomfort in the abdomen (from an enlarged spleen)
• Swollen lymph nodes, especially in the neck or armpit
• Weight loss


It was observed during the post mortem that the boy suffered from some of the symptoms above, which might also account for the fact that no one ever saw the boy alive due to him being kept at home.

Was it ever discussed... only I have not read any discussions along these lines... either on this thread or in any of the books... unless I missed it some where...

 

[believe09]

Does anyone know if the results from the toxicological analysis and microscopic examination are available online?

Only in the Jim Hoffman Book (ISBN 978-1-60008-034-051895) it mentions that "During the autopsy, blood and other body fluids, hair, gastric contents, and tissue samples from vital organs including the heart, liver, and lungs were extracted for toxicological analysis and microscopic examination."

Only I have never been able to find the results from these tests!

Does anyone know if they ever discussed the possibility of the boy dying from natural causes, only in the book it gives the cause of death as him being "beaton to death!" yet no bones were actually broken... surely if this was the case in someone so young something must have give way?

Due to the large number of bruises observed on his body and the fact that he did not have any apparent bone fractures, I personnally feel that he died from natural causes possibly due to an illness or disease such as Leukaemia, from some research that I did I found that in the 1950s, nearly all children with leukaemia died.

Common symptoms of leukaemia in 1950: -

• Fevers or night sweats
• Frequent infections
• Feeling weak or tired
• Headache
• Bleeding and bruising easily (bleeding gums, purplish patches in the skin, or tiny red spots under the skin)
• Pain in the bones or joints
• Swelling or discomfort in the abdomen (from an enlarged spleen)
• Swollen lymph nodes, especially in the neck or armpit
• Weight loss


It was observed during the post mortem that the boy suffered from some of the symptoms above, which might also account for the fact that no one ever saw the boy alive due to him being kept at home.

Was it ever discussed... only I have not read any discussions along these lines... either on this thread or in any of the books... unless I missed it some where...

I am with you in this quest-In the David Stout book it indicated that the boy had head trauma-I have never seen anything other than the bruises across his forehead that spoke to that DX.

He had cut downs and hernia surgery-someone cared about this little boy at one point. I wonder if they have ever done the isotope testing that indicates where someone has lived??? Do I have the name of the test right?

 

[Dr_Jimmy]

I am of the opinion that this boy’s family probably had money/income at one time due to some of the marks on the boy’s body being consistent to him receiving medical treatment at some point, which would have had to been paid for by the family.

One such mark is the scar on the boy's left ankle, which looked like a "cut-down" incision. Such an incision is only made to expose a vein so that a needle may be inserted to give an infusion or transfusion.

But that the boy and his family were possible immigrants, who came over during or shortly after WW2, prior to the passing of the McCarran-Walter Act in June 1952 that imposed more rigid restrictions on entry quotas to the United States.

Due to 20 years of economic stagnation and WW2, suddenly the american economy was on an upswing and the job market was booming creating a surge in the number of people starting families causing a huge housing crisis.

This resulted in a nationwide trend referred to as “white flight” when upper and middle class families, enabled by nationwide improvements to infrastructure, left cities in favour of their surrounding suburbs.

This meant that the boy’s family might have only just moved into the area, so were possibly unknown to local residents, but if the boy was also extremely ill they might have had to sell there city appartment and find something smaller, hence they probably might not have been able to afford a decent funeral for him... and hoped that someone would quickly find him and give him a decent burial.

These are my personal thoughts on this subject and are open to discussion... I found whilst discussing this case at College the other week... everyone jumped to the same conclusion that he was "beaten to death" was he?

There are a number of different factors that can cause bruising to the body, and I do feel that the police let there personal opinions interfere with their judgement!

From the onset of the investigation there were no official cordons put in place and the scene was compromised by their being too many people wondering about disturbing the evidence. The Fire Rescue Squad No12 was also allowed access to the scene. Why?

Detective Joseph Tomaselli and twelve policemen searched the underbrush looking for evidence, mainly the boys clothing. Yet with all the rubbish found at the scene, very little evidence was actually collected and examined, why was this?

 

[Dr_Jimmy]

Hi Beleive09,

I am so pleased that I am not alone on this one... I did feel raising my head and saying what I did might have given people cause to feel upset and send me some non too polite comments back.

I think it is all too easy to jump on the same bandwagon and say he was tortored or beaten to death... but the evidence contradicts this theory!

I am sorry if this offends peoples theorys... but he was LOVED... we can only try and understand why he was left the way he was.

But he was washed and cleaned... almost ready for a burial... but something happend and this never occured...

What was the social aspect at the time... was there plenty of work in the area...

I am looking at this case from accross the sea's and can only read and find so much information... but someone living in the area at the same time might understand what the social climate was like far better than me...

 

[kitbits]

I am of the opinion that this boy’s family probably had money/income at one time due to some of the marks on the boy’s body being consistent to him receiving medical treatment at some point, which would have had to been paid for by the family.

One such mark is the scar on the boy's left ankle, which looked like a "cut-down" incision. Such an incision is only made to expose a vein so that a needle may be inserted to give an infusion or transfusion.

But that the boy and his family were possible immigrants, who came over during or shortly after WW2, prior to the passing of the McCarran-Walter Act in June 1952 that imposed more rigid restrictions on entry quotas to the United States.

Due to 20 years of economic stagnation and WW2, suddenly the american economy was on an upswing and the job market was booming creating a surge in the number of people starting families causing a huge housing crisis.

This resulted in a nationwide trend referred to as “white flight” when upper and middle class families, enabled by nationwide improvements to infrastructure, left cities in favour of their surrounding suburbs.

This meant that the boy’s family might have only just moved into the area, so were possibly unknown to local residents, but if the boy was also extremely ill they might have had to sell there city appartment and find something smaller, hence they probably might not have been able to afford a decent funeral for him... and hoped that someone would quickly find him and give him a decent burial.

These are my personal thoughts on this subject and are open to discussion... I found whilst discussing this case at College the other week... everyone jumped to the same conclusion that he was "beaten to death" was he?

There are a number of different factors that can cause bruising to the body, and I do feel that the police let there personal opinions interfere with their judgement!

From the onset of the investigation there were no official cordons put in place and the scene was compromised by their being too many people wondering about disturbing the evidence. The Fire Rescue Squad No12 was also allowed access to the scene. Why?

Detective Joseph Tomaselli and twelve policemen searched the underbrush looking for evidence, mainly the boys clothing. Yet with all the rubbish found at the scene, very little evidence was actually collected and examined, why was this?

Very interesting theories. Sadly, as I pointed out on the Black Dahlia post, investigations were pretty sloppy back then. It could be a case of ignorance & not know enough about forensics back then. Not sure why the firemen would have been there...nowadays, they do show up to various scenes in the US, partly because they are trained in first aid or can help with potentially difficult/violent patients, for example. But back then...hmmm...no...unless they needed the 'manpower' for searching the area? Honestly can't think of any other reason, unless it was 'standard procedure'.

Agreed that contusions can be caused by a number of factors & that they probably could have looked at other causes. Again, I think it is a sign of the times that they didn't look at the case from different angles & that they missed out on a lot of other potential evidence. Ignorance & prejudice don't get one very far!

Here is a blurb from pbs.org re. healthcare in 1950s US:

At the start of the decade, national health care expenditures are 4.5 percent of the Gross National Product.

Attention turns to Korea and away from health reform; America will have a system of private insurance for those who can afford it and welfare services for the poor.

Federal responsibility for the sick poor is firmly established.

Many legislative proposals are made for different approaches to hospital insurance, but none succeed.

Many more medications are available now to treat a range of diseases, including infections, glaucoma, and arthritis, and new vaccines become available that prevent dreaded childhood diseases, including polio. The first successful organ transplant is performed.

 

[Dr_Jimmy]

Sad but true...

How times have changed!

Here is something else to ponder over...

D.N.A. sampling did not exist in 1957, when the body was exhumed for analysis on the 3rd November 1998. The remains were far too degraded to permit extraction of viable nuclear DNA.

Mitochondrial DNA from the boy's tooth and a fragment of bone taken from his arm was successfully extracted on the 16th October 2000.

Although a mitochondrial DNA profile is more limited than a nuclear DNA profile, due to it only being passed on from his mother and containing none of the fathers DNA. It is however more abundant in the body and can be used to confirm or rule out a genetic relationship through maternal lineage.

However as of yet no match has been found.

What are the chances of a relative ever appearing on the American DNA Database (CODIS), he might have been an only child... so chances are everything died with him... but has his mtDNA ever been sent to other countries in the world that also has a DNA Database... if he was an immigrant then he might still have family in Germany - Ireland - etc

 

[badhorsie]

I would go to the Vigil but obviously cannot! If I could send a card could someone pm me with details of where to send it. I'd like to do something for this little boy

And I would like to send a card and light a candle here in England for this dear little lad who haunts me :boohoo:

 

[badhorsie]

Sorry for my ignorance but does anyone know the cause of death on the death cert.?:crazy:

 

[kitbits]

hey, dr jimmy--yep! good ol' dna but yeah, what's the use if no one is around for comparisons still...old cold cases do get solved, so...*fingers crossed*

& yes, badhorsie...no doubt...poor little mite i really hope he finds a 'home' in our lifetime.

 

[amethyst]

Though I agree that economic downturns could have affected a family's ability to give the child a proper burial, I still can't see leaving him in a cardboard box amongst the trash.

 

[kitbits]

Though I agree that economic downturns could have affected a family's ability to give the child a proper burial, I still can't see leaving him in a cardboard box amongst the trash.

That bit does bother me, so I do have to agree with your point, amethyst. The city surely would have taken on that responsibility for the family.