A boy who was murdered 65 years ago in the US finally has a name: DNA analyzes identified him as “The Boy in the Box” as Joseph Augustus Zarelli. It is one of the oldest unsolved murder cases in the history of the American metropolis of Philadelphia. The boy’s body was found dead in a cardboard box in a rural area outside of Philadelphia in 1957 and puzzled investigators for decades.
DNA analyzes led investigators to the boy’s identity. This was used to locate relatives and also found a birth certificate. The family came from the area west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Zarelli was therefore born on January 13, 1953. Both parents are now deceased, but a number of brothers and sisters are still alive.
The police suspect who may have committed a murder
Investigator John Smith said there was suspicion as to who the perpetrator might be, but did not initially provide details. Even though so many years have passed, charges of murder can still be filed in this cold case.
Blunt trauma as a cause of death
The unclothed corpse of the then four-year-old boy was wrapped in a blanket and showed signs of being beaten several times. “The cause of death was blunt force trauma,” a now-retired investigator told CBS in 2021. In addition, the victim had been washed and had his hair cut.
The investigations, which dragged on for years, did not lead to a breakthrough for a long time. Papers with the blond boy’s face were distributed throughout the city asking the population for help. He was also known as “America’s Unknown Child”. His remains are interred in Ivy Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia. The remains were last excavated there in 2019 to take DNA samples.
Source: Krone
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