Boy in the Box

Also known as: Joseph Augustus Zarelli

Active: 1957–1957
Region: Fox Chase, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
State: PA
Kind: Single
Status: Unsolved
Victims: 1

On February 25, 1957, the body of a young boy who had been beaten to death was found wrapped in a blanket inside a cardboard bassinet box in woods off Susquehanna Road in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia. He went unidentified for 65 years and became known as the "Boy in the Box". In December 2022 Philadelphia police, using DNA and genetic genealogy, identified him as Joseph Augustus Zarelli, born January 13, 1953, believed to be from West Philadelphia and never reported missing. His killing remains an open homicide investigation, and police continue to ask anyone who knew him to come forward.

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Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

Joseph Augustus Zarelli, 4 · February 1957
Born January 13, 1953; unidentified for 65 years and known only as the "Boy in the Box".

Timeline of locations

1957
West Philadelphia (believed home area) (Killer's residence, approximate area)
Investigators believe Joseph lived in West Philadelphia, in the area of 61st and Market Streets. He was never reported missing.
February 25, 1957
Woods off Susquehanna Road, Fox Chase (Recovery site, approximate area)
His body was found in a box in a wooded area along Susquehanna Road. The college student who found it reported it to police the next day.
1998
Ivy Hill Cemetery (Other)
First buried in a potter's field, he was reburied at Ivy Hill Cemetery in 1998. A headstone with his name was unveiled on what would have been his 70th birthday, January 13, 2023.

Sources

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.