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Thread: Joseph Augustus Zarelli/Boy In The Box.

  1. #1
    endsleigh03 Guest

    Joseph Augustus Zarelli/Boy In The Box.

    I saw a few brief mentions here on the board and suggested a thread but nobody did so here goes....I remember reading about this and it was horribly sad. In Philly, in 1957, someone found a young boy in a box, dead, battered and naked. He was wrapped in a blanket, and the box was a JC Penney bassinette box. Despite exhaustive attempts to find out who he was and what happened to him, they were unable to. The police even went so far as to put his photo inside everyones gas bill, and posed his body in typical childrens clothing for photos, all to no avail. Anyone have any other updates/info on this?

  2. #2
    SuckMyKiss Guest
    I remember hearing about this YEARS ago. I think we actually did about it at school in history class.

    There's a website dedicated to it, you can see the original posters and stuff.

    It's here:
    http://americasunknownchild.net/

  3. #3
    magblax Guest
    Here's an update site I found. The most recent article is from 1982 (they gave him a memorial service).
    http://americasunknownchild.net/Archives9.html

    P.S. Love your Avtar..I have an awesome recipe for absinthe.

  4. #4
    RubySlippers Guest
    Interesting they chose to show pictures of this boy. I mean, I know they doctored them up...sorta. But to me a few still look a little graphic. To me, they still look like a very dead little boy. I guess phot alteration is not what it used to be....sheesh.

  5. #5
    KristinEileen Guest
    I remember an episode of Cold Case when they did a case kinda like this but they changed some of it around. The whole this is really weird I can't figure out why a parent or a loved one of the kid wouldn't come forward unless it was the parents who did that to him...

  6. #6
    ST Moron Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by KristinEileen View Post
    I remember an episode of Cold Case when they did a case kinda like this but they changed some of it around. The whole this is really weird I can't figure out why a parent or a loved one of the kid wouldn't come forward unless it was the parents who did that to him...
    It's not that uncommon for bodies to go unclaimed.

    There was a little girl from the Hartford Circus Fire who came to be know as "Little Miss 1565." Her picture was in all the local newspapers (and national magazines). Despite this, her body was never claimed.

  7. #7
    endsleigh03 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by RubySlippers View Post
    Interesting they chose to show pictures of this boy. I mean, I know they doctored them up...sorta. But to me a few still look a little graphic. To me, they still look like a very dead little boy. I guess phot alteration is not what it used to be....sheesh.
    I guess they thought they needed to do the photos since they were not getting anywhere with the investigation. But you are right the photos are very graphic. The one where they have him reclining in the overalls is bad. Poor little guy, not bad enough he was murdered, then he has to be "posed" after death.

  8. #8
    Mrs. Watson Guest
    Here's a good update from 2003:

    http://americasunknownchild.net/PhillyMag.html

    Some interesting theories, there.

  9. #9
    miz rosebud Guest
    those pics are sooo sad.distubing seeing a lil boy like that.

  10. #10
    Mrs. Watson Guest
    It's a fascinating case. I really thought by now the Vidcoq guys would have some definitive ansers.

  11. #11
    Daphne Guest
    This case has fascinated me for years.. and there is a society (cannot remember the name) of retired homicide detectives that have been trying to solve it-to no avail-however they reburied the boy in a respectable graveyard and visit the sight every year. There has been many theories over the years, but no closure. This poor child.

  12. #12
    SatyricAvenue Guest
    Dangit, the Americasunknownchild website made me cry. I was fine until I got to the last sentence and they said his name. Grrr!

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    That site almost got a tear outta me as well. So I hugged my 3 years old son instead.

  14. #14
    MIZIZVOGUE Guest
    Such a precious angel! I have a 4 year old Grandson. I can't even imagine what that little boy suffered.

  15. #15
    Noor 7ayaty Guest
    It's amazing that these dear men stayed vigilant all those decades and finally got a break on who this poor child was. I love that.

  16. #16
    SanDiegodeathhag19 Guest

    boy in the box mystery

    very sad story

    here

  17. #17
    Kathyf Guest
    That Is unbelievable. All these years you would think some would know something.

  18. #18
    Lifeisafataldisease Guest
    You never know but I'd say this one is one of history's mysteries.

  19. #19
    Guest Guest
    I know this has been addressed on another thread....lemme find it...because investigators do believe they have solved it.

  20. #20
    Jaxxx Guest
    Just terrible...............

  21. #21
    different kind of girl Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Dearheart View Post
    I know this has been addressed on another thread....lemme find it...because investigators do believe they have solved it.
    Update here if you find it, thanks!

  22. #22
    endsleigh03 Guest
    It's on page 5 of "everything else"

  23. #23
    Dotty Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by endsleigh03 View Post
    It's on page 5 of "everything else"
    It's probably me being dense, but I'm blowed if I can find it can you give me a hand please?

  24. #24
    endsleigh03 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Dotty View Post
    It's probably me being dense, but I'm blowed if I can find it can you give me a hand please?
    Now I can't find it either, and it's my thread! lol
    Hang on I'll put it at the top if I can find it) and maybe they can merge the two...I'll PM one of the mods.

  25. #25
    endsleigh03 Guest
    Here it is.

  26. #26
    endsleigh03 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Dotty View Post
    It's probably me being dense, but I'm blowed if I can find it can you give me a hand please?
    Ok, its at the top under "other deaths" sorry I was in the wrong place.

  27. #27
    Join Date
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    Merged

  28. #28
    endsleigh03 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by JefeStone View Post
    Merged
    Thanks, Jefe

  29. #29
    RoRo Guest
    what a sad story......i hate when children are hurt and this is insult to injury in this case

  30. #30
    Dotty Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by JefeStone View Post
    Merged
    Thank you.

  31. #31
    Dotty Guest
    Wow.

    I too have been fascinated by this case for years, I came across the website a few years ago while looking for something else (I probably did a Google search for 'post mortem' or something, as one does) and the photo's of him as he was discovered, still in the box with the blanket are haunting.

    The account that 'Mary' gave made me cry; especially where she said she memorised the route home so she could go back and get him.

    Thanks for the link, even though I've looked at the website and read all the updates, somehow I missed this account every time.

  32. #32
    beautygirlsmom Guest
    My aunt is a nun, now a provincial general, but at the time the boy's body was found, she was in residence at the Good Sheperd school for Wayward Girls on Verree Road, which is right near where the body was found. She was very young then, but remembers police coming and asking about the girls and conducting interviews with the mother superior of the school at the time.

    My mother said she thought this case was recently solved, but I can't find anything that says that.

  33. #33
    endsleigh03 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by beautygirlsmom View Post
    My aunt is a nun, now a provincial general, but at the time the boy's body was found, she was in residence at the Good Sheperd school for Wayward Girls on Verree Road, which is right near where the body was found. She was very young then, but remembers police coming and asking about the girls and conducting interviews with the mother superior of the school at the time.

    My mother said she thought this case was recently solved, but I can't find anything that says that.
    I was wondering about the "solved" thing too.
    It's been a long time since I actually researched it, but I thought another poster also said it had been lt had been solved too?
    At any rate, that about your aunt is interesting.

  34. #34
    hoxharding Guest

    boy in the box

    They are making a film about this:
    Titled 'Boy in the Box' with Josh Lucas
    *my apologies for creating a new thread-I searched for the original thread and couldn't find it*

    *I found it-I am sorry!*
    Last edited by hoxharding; 11-18-2007 at 09:09 AM. Reason: found thread

  35. #35
    hoxharding Guest
    I could be wrong-but it looks as if this is being made into a movie.
    Go to www.imdb.com
    Look up Josh Lucas-you can see a film 'Boy in the Box' is being made in 2008

  36. #36
    imadeathhag Guest

    Unhappy Boy In The Box

    This murder has always bothered me. How could someone do this to a child? There are pictures on the website where I got the info from. Warning they are graphic. Scroll down and look for the teal box for the to them.

    http://www.americasunknownchild.net/

    [SIZE=2]Who was the mysterious "Boy in the Box"? How did he die? Was his death a tragic accident, or a cruel and deliberate act of child homicide? Who killed him, and why? How did the nude, badly bruised body of this little boy come to be placed inside a cardboard box and dumped in a remote, rubbish-strewn lot on the northern outskirts of Philadelphia? Why didn't anyone report the boy missing? Who were the boy's parents or guardians, and why hadn't they come forward to identify him and claim his body? Will this little boy's true identity ever be known, or will he forever remain "America's Unknown Child"? [/SIZE]
    [SIZE=2]These fundamental questions, and countless others, have puzzled investigators for more than four decades. The mysterious death of America's Unknown Child, (formerly known as "The Boy in the Box" or "The Fox Chase Boy"), is one of the most perplexing unsolved crimes of the twentieth century. The case has been relentlessly pursued by dozens of experts over the years, including numerous Philadelphia homicide detectives, eminent criminologists, the FBI, and most recently, the Vidocq Society - an organization that specializes in solving "cold" homicide cases.
    [/SIZE]




    [SIZE=2]The "Boy in the Box" case attracted both local and national media attention when the story broke in February, 1957, and police initially assumed that the identity of the unknown boy would be determined very quickly. Hundreds of thousands of posters bearing the slain boy's image and physical description were prominently displayed throughout the Philadelphia area. They were also distributed to thousands of police departments around the country. The detectives working the case in 1957 even dressed the body in typical children's clothing and posed it in a sitting position in the hope that this "lifelike" image of the boy might cause someone to recognize him and come forward.[/SIZE]
    [SIZE=2]Hundreds of promising leads were tracked down and several likely suspects were identified and interrogated, yet each time the investigators thought that the answer was finally within their grasp, it somehow eluded them. Over the years, the clues and leads in this case have been carefully examined time and time again. In November 1998 the boy's remains were exhumed to extract tissue samples for DNA analysis. He was subsequently re-buried at another location as "America's Unknown Child".[/SIZE]
    [SIZE=2]And yet, despite all of their efforts, investigators are not much closer to solving "The Boy in the Box" case today than they were when the mystery first began. In some respects they are worse off now because many of the people who might have had first-hand knowledge about the boy's identity or the circumstances surrounding his violent death are no longer alive themselves. Still, hope springs eternal, and investigators are looking to find someone who may have the key information, hitherto unrevealed, that will bring this case to a satisfactory conclusion.[/SIZE]
    [SIZE=2]This web site is dedicated to the goal of solving this baffling mystery, and you may be able to help, especially if you lived in the metropolitan Philadelphia area in the late 1950's or know someone who did.[/SIZE]

    [SIZE=2]
    Please take a moment to study this little boy's pictures closely. Have you seen his face before? Does he look strangely familiar to you? Could you have known him or known who he was at one time in your life? Could he have been a relative, a playmate or the child of neighbors perhaps? Search your memory as hard as you can. Perhaps you, or someone you know, has the essential information that is needed to finally unravel this baffling mystery!
    [/SIZE]
    Someone out there knows who this child was! Could that 'someone' be you?
    [SIZE=2] If you have definitive information as to the identity of the unknown boy or the circumstances surrounding his death, please don't hesitate to contact the investigators. Just go to our "Contact Police" page, or download and complete the [/SIZE][SIZE=2]Vidocq Society Response Form[/SIZE][SIZE=2]. Any information that you provide to the investigators will be held in the strictest confidence, and you may even remain anonymous if you wish.[/SIZE]
    [SIZE=2]Remington Bristow, an investigator who spent 36 years working on the case, offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the solution of the Boy in the Box mystery. While there is no official reward currently in effect, a Vidocq Society spokesman has stated that his organization will honor Mr. Bristow's $1,000 offer.[/SIZE]

  37. 02-08-2009, 12:18 AM

  38. #37
    Shano Guest
    I remember the first time I had ever heard of this case it was on Unsolved Mysteries in the 1980's, It was so sad then and still is now. It amazes me that they haven't gotten any closer to finding out who this little one belonged to or what his name was. You would think that if he was from the area that others would have come forward. But I don't think he was from the area. Just a hunch.

    The T.V. show Cold Case did a story that was based on "the boy in the box". The made it out that the Mother of the boy was a nun and he was one of the orphans in a home for children and another nun killed him because he was bad. I love Cold Case! I like how they take real stories weave them into the show.

    Anywho, I hope one day they find out who the boy is. There might still be hope. Didn't they figure out who the little girl was that went unclaimed for years and years after a horrible circus fire? So he might still have a chance.

  39. #38
    imadeathhag Guest
    I don't know how someone could do that and if they died, I hope it was a slow horrible death.

    The photo of him dressed and in a sitting position creeps me out.

  40. #39
    Long Gone Day Guest
    I..just..read..the..article..above..and
    saw..the..pictures....His..hair..in..the
    two..different..pictures..looks..different.
    In..the..one..where..he..is...dressed
    his..hair..looks..long.
    In..the..photo.of..I..assume..shortly
    after..he..was..found..his..hair..looks
    recently..cut.

    Also..this..article..linked..to
    two..other..unknown..children
    found..murdered(one..solved)

    But..the..case..where..they..found
    the..boy..in..the..bag..the..NJ
    dept..of..child..welfare..had..been
    called..numerous..times..and..I.
    guess..they..didnt..wonder..when
    he..went..missing?

  41. #40
    InBruges Guest
    This is so sad. They never actually found out who the little boy was ;( Why would someone do something like that? Makes me so mad.

  42. #41
    cachluv Guest
    Who wouldn't report a child missing? --unless it was his parent or guardian who murdered him....

    It makes me wonder what kind of life he had before he died. He can't have come from money or fame or he likely would've been reported missing and subsequently identified. How sad, and the pictures are heartbreaking.

  43. #42
    Long Gone Day Guest
    The..photos..are..sad
    beyond..description;of
    a.life..that..no.one..
    seems..to..have..
    remembered.

    I..dont..know..why..I..was
    thinking..had..he..recently
    had..his..hair..cut..or
    did..he..look..cared..for
    nails..clipped,etc...

    But..the..scars..by..his..groin.
    and..ankles(IV..something?)
    I..dont..know..what..they..meant
    by..that..in..the..article.
    Surely..a..doctor..would
    have..seen..him.
    Poor..little..soul.

  44. #43
    imadeathhag Guest
    So someone had already done this and that's why my thread is gone?

  45. #44
    cachluv Guest
    It does appear that way It happens to the best of us

    Look at it this way: you bumped a good story back into current discussion. Good job!

  46. #45
    cubbiecatz Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by imadeathhag View Post
    So someone had already done this and that's why my thread is gone?

    Your thread isn't gone, it was merged with the old one. Scroll up and you'll see your original post.

  47. #46
    octobersky Guest
    This story makes me so sad every time.

  48. #47
    Fujicakes Guest
    This story is so interesting and sad. As fascinating as the pictures are, they are also a little bit unsettling. He looks alive and beaten up a bit, but still, knowing the fact that he's dead...

    Then I started reading the story of the boy in the bag. Made me even sadder.

  49. #48
    Flowergrrl Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by InBruges View Post
    This is so sad. They never actually found out who the little boy was.
    Seriously, WTF?! I can understand a body that has severe decomposition but, how the heck couldn't somebody have come forward and claim to know who he was.

    I'm assuming he still hasn't been identified? Especially now with the internet. Someone has got to know who he was. Then the question would come up that maybe his family did it and that's why no one has come forward to identify him.

  50. #49
    Lisamarie Guest
    who are they talking about the foster family witht he stupid ass step daughter that married her staeofather after her mother died..they said not only dod they find a simaliar blanket but also the same bassinet in the basement...and really who the hell marries their stepfather....but in saying that if perhaps she was fooling around with her stepfather (( ewww))and had this kid and had to keep him a secret...and he bacema a vicitm of abuse and died...poor little guy...heartbreaking pics.....

  51. #50
    Long Gone Day Guest
    Oh..god.
    This..family..or
    if..you..can..call..it
    that..Could..they
    DNA..test..the
    stepfather..to..
    the..little..boy?
    .

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