The Box In The Box

On February 1957, Joseph Augustus Zarelli (The Boy In The Box) was found on the side of the road wrapped in a plaid blanket in a cardboard box badly beaten and severely malnourished. On November 30, 2022, the police department stated that they had identified The Boy In The Box but didn't publically release his name until December 8th, 2022. They identified him through the DNA database. With this new discovery maybe we can finally get more closure to this case.

EARLY LIFE

Not much is known about Joseph Zarelli's life before he was murdered, but we know a little bit. He was born on January 13th, 1953. He lived somewhere by 61st and market street in West Philadelphia. His parents are deceased and he has siblings which are still alive. We do not know the identities of his family. Other than that not much is known.

WHERE HE WAS FOUND

Joseph Zarelli's body was found on the side of Susquehanna Road in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He appeared to be freshly groomed, with trimmed hair and fingernail. He was badly bruised and had multiple scars. His cause of death is believed to be blunt force trauma.

On February 25, 1957, Joseph Zarelli's body was discovered by a young man who was checking his traps. Fearing the police would confiscate his traps he didn't report the body. The following day a college student was chasing a rabbit when he came across Joseph Zarelli's body. Reluctant to talk to the police he didn't report it. He finally did after he heard about the disappearance of another 4-year-old named Mary Jane Barker.

MARY JANE BARKER

Mary Jane Barker went missing from Bellmawr, New Jersey alongside her dog. After an extensive search, she was found in a closet of a vacant house on March 3, 1957. Suspicion of foul play was ruled out and her death was ruled an accident. The cause of death was starvation due to Mary Jane Barker not being able to escape the closet. Her dog was unharmed. It was concluded that she died on February 28th.

THE INVESTIGATION

The police received and opened a report on February 26, 1957. Joseph Zarelli's fingerprints were taken. No one came forward with any information on Zarelli's murder. Flyers were printed and distributed depicting the boy's likeness. The crime scene was combed over again and again. They discovered a man's blue corduroy cap, a child's scarf, and a white handkerchief with the letter "G" in the corner. Those clues led nowhere.

The police distributed post-mortem photos of Zarelli's fully dressed body. In hopes of finding someone that would recognize him. This didn't lead to anything and so pictures were taken of his body and he was buried in Potter's field. Later his body was reburied at Ivy Hill Cemetary in Cedarbrook, Philadelphia.

In 1998, his body was exhumed for DNA. On March 21, 2016, the NCMEC (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children) released a facial reconstruction of Zarelli and added him to their database. In 2019 his body was exhumed for another time for more DNA. After 65 years of not being able to identify Joesph Zarelli's body, they got DNA from a living relative through genetic testing and genealogy. They identified him after a second cousin once removed submitted DNA. Investigators used that to find a first cousin which made it easier to find his parents. After a court-ordered birth certificate, they identified him. The Philadelphia police department said that they are continuing the search for suspects.

Note: This next section talks about possible theories which could hold some answers, but none of these are confirmed and should NOT be taken as the truth.

THEORIES

THE FOSTER HOME THEORY

This theory involves a foster home located 1.5 miles from where Zarelli's body was discovered. In 1960, Remington Bristow a medical examiner contacted a psychic, who told him to look for a house that matched the foster home. Bristow went to the estate sale at the foster home where he discovered a bassinet similar to the box that Zarelli was found in. He also found blankets similar to the one Zarelli's body was wrapped in when he was found. Bristow's theory was Zarelli belonged to the stepdaughter of the man who ran the foster home. He believed that they disposed of Zarelli's body so the stepdaughter was not exposed as an unwed mother. He took his theory to the police who looked into it.

The police found that all children in the foster home were accounted for and the family was most likely not involved. In 1998, Tom Augustine (Philadelphia Police Lieutenant) interviewed the father and stepdaughter of the foster home and cleared them of any suspicion.

THE WOMAN KNOWN AS "M" OR MARTHA

In 2002 a woman known as "M" or Martha brought forth a theory. Police considered it plausible. Martha claimed her abusive mother "bought" an unknown boy in 1954. The boy was extremely abused both physically and sexually for two and a half years. One day the boy vomited up baked beans at dinner and received a beating where his head was slammed into the floor until he was semiconscious. He was then given a bath which he died in. This matched up with the contents of Zarelli's stomach and the water-wrinkled fingers. These details of the case were not released to the public. The fact she knew this gave her story some merit.

Martha continued to explain that her mother then cut his very long hair. In hopes of hiding his identity. Martha's mother forced her to help dump his body in the Fox Chase area. While they were on the side of the road a motorist stopped to ask if they needed any help. The man eventually drove off. This story corroborated a testimony given by a male in 1957.

Despite the plausibility of Martha's confession, the police couldn't verify her story. Neighbors of Martha's house during that time period denied that there was ever a young boy in the house. The neighbors called Martha's claims ridiculous.

RAISED AS A GIRL

Frank Bender (Forensic Artist) developed a theory that Joseph Zarelli was raised as a girl. The child's unprofessional haircut was the basis of this scenario. As well as styled eyebrows. In 2008 Bender published a sketch of the boy with longer hair. This never resulted in any clues.

POTENTIAL DNA

In 2016 writers Jim Hoffmann and Louis Romano believed they had discovered the identity of Zarelli. So, they requested DNA to be compared to Zarelli. The DNA had no link and the lead ran cold.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Joseph Augustus Zarelli was horrifically murdered and dumped on the side of a road. Having no identity he was given the name Boy In The Box and America's Unknown Child. 65 years passed until they could find his identity. Many theories have been thought of as to why and who murdered this innocent boy.

If you have any information on what may have happened to Joseph Augustus Zarelli call (215) 686-3280

Suspect a child is being abused call or text 1-800-422-4453

Need help escaping abuse call or text 1-800-799-7233

Want to learn more about The Boy In A Box Case click here or here.

Want to learn more about Mary Jane Barker click here.

Want to see more of what he looked like when found click here.

Authors note: This case has some dark things about it I hope that knowing the identity of Joseph Augustus Zarelli will lead to more being known and done. If anything is spelled wrong or wrong in general please let me know. Thank you for reading and may God bless you.