Child bodies identified in the cardboard box: US cold case after 65 years for a solution US Congress votes to protect same-sex marriage

Whether the perfect murder exists will likely remain an eternal mystery. But at least a supposedly perfect killer could soon be convicted. Because in one of the oldest unsolved murder cases ever, detectives have made decisive progress after more than 65 years.

Police in the American metropolis of Philadelphia identified the body of a previously unknown child found in 1957 who became known as the “boy in the box”. The dead child was found in a cardboard box in what was then a rural area outside of Philadelphia.

The boy’s tombstone said so far “America’s Unknown Child” (America’s unknown child). But thanks to DNA analysis, it has now been determined that the dead person is Joseph Augustus Zarellithe officials announced on Thursday.

DNA turned the tide

In the 1950s, the police tried to clarify the identity of the child in the box with pamphlets: the pamphlets showed the face of the blond boy and a note asking the population for help. But the investigations dragged on for years — and remained fruitless. In 2019, the remains were exhumed to take DNA samples, it said.

And the DNA analyzes actually brought the breakthrough. Investigators discovered the boy’s identity. Relatives were traced and a birth certificate was found. Joseph Augustus Zarelli was therefore born on January 13, 1953. Little was said about the family by the police. She is from the area west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both parents are now deceased, but a number of brothers and sisters are still alive.

Murder charges may follow

The naked body of the then four-year-old boy was found wrapped in a blanket. In addition, the victim had been washed and had his hair cut. “The cause of death was blunt force trauma,” a now-retired investigator told CBS in 2021.

There is an assumption about who the perpetrator could be, researcher John Smith told the media. No details are being shared with the public at this time. Because: Even though so many years have passed, murder charges can still be filed in this cold case.

(yam/sda/dpa)