His headstone read "America's Unknown Child" for 65 years. In 2022, a distant cousin's curiosity about her family tree finally gave him back his name.
On February 25, 1957, the body of a young boy was found in a wooded area of Philadelphia's Fox Chase neighborhood. Known for decades only as "the Boy in the Box," he was identified in 2022 as Joseph Augustus Zarelli, though his killer has never been found.
Discovery
A passerby found the boy's body wrapped in a blanket inside a cardboard bassinet box. He was between 3 and 7 years old, severely malnourished, and had suffered blunt force trauma resulting in his death. Investigators noted he appeared to have been recently bathed and groomed, with a fresh haircut and trimmed nails, despite the evidence of prolonged abuse and old surgical scars on his body. Given his age, we won't detail the extent of his injuries further here. No one had reported him missing, and fingerprinting turned up no match.
Decades of False Leads
Over the years, investigators pursued numerous tips that never panned out. A woman named Martha claimed her abusive mother had purchased the boy and that he'd suffered ongoing abuse in their home, and she knew several non-public details about his death that matched the autopsy — but her documented history of mental illness made her an unreliable witness. Separately, a psychic gave a medical examiner's office employee directions that led him to a foster home with items resembling those found with the boy's body, but investigators found no evidence directly implicating the family, and the lead went nowhere.
A Case Kept Alive
The boy's body was exhumed twice, in 1998 and again in 2019, to extract usable DNA for testing as forensic technology improved. In 2016, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released a facial reconstruction of what he might have looked like, hoping to generate new leads. None of these efforts produced an identification on their own.
A Breakthrough Through Genetic Genealogy
The case was finally solved through investigative genetic genealogy, the same method used to identify California's Golden State Killer. A distant cousin had casually taken an at-home Ancestry.com DNA test in 2017; when a genealogist working the case reached out asking if his family would contribute additional samples, his mother agreed to upload her DNA to a public genealogy database. That match, combined with additional DNA work, eventually led investigators to the boy's birth mother and, through a court-ordered birth certificate, to his full identity.
Joseph Augustus Zarelli
On December 8, 2022, Philadelphia police announced the boy's name: Joseph Augustus Zarelli, born January 13, 1953, and raised in West Philadelphia before his death at around age 4. His biological parents, later identified as Augustus "Gus" Zarelli and Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Abel, were both determined to be deceased; an attorney for the Zarelli family has said there's no evidence Gus ever knew of Joseph's existence, suggesting Betsy may have placed him for adoption. In 2024, his unmarked grave received a new headstone bearing his full name and image.
The Killer Remains Unknown
Despite identifying Joseph, investigators have not disclosed the identity of any suspect or confirmed a motive. Police have said they have suspicions but have declined to share them publicly while the investigation remains active. The Philadelphia Police Department has said it hopes the genetic genealogy techniques used in this case will help resolve other long-unidentified remains going forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the Boy in the Box?
Joseph Augustus Zarelli, born January 13, 1953, identified in December 2022 through investigative genetic genealogy after 65 years as an unidentified murder victim.
Has anyone been charged in his death?
No. Despite his identification, no suspect has been named publicly and no charges have been filed.
How was he finally identified?
Through genetic genealogy: a distant cousin's ancestry DNA test led genealogists to Joseph's birth mother, and a court-ordered birth certificate ultimately confirmed his full identity.