On Thursday, Philadelphia police announced the identity of the “Boy in the Box” – 66 years after a 4-year-old child was found dead inside a container in woods outside the city.
Joseph August Zarelli was the identity of the body found naked and badly bruised on Feb. 25, 1957 in a wooded portion of Philadelphia’s Fox Chase neighborhood, police announced.
The 4-year-old had been wrapped in a blanket and placed inside a large JCPenney bassinet box. He was severely malnourished, covered in bruises, and had been beaten to death, police said.
“When people think about the boy in the box, a profound sadness is felt, not just because a child was murdered, but because his entire identity and his rightful claim to own his existence was taken away,” Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw stated.