Boy in the Box (Joseph Augustus Zarelli)

On February 25, 1957, a boy's battered body was found wrapped in a plaid blanket inside a cardboard box in the Fox Chase area of Philadelphia. He appeared to be about 4 to 6 years old, malnourished, with recent haircut marks. He had been beaten to death.

Despite one of Philadelphia's most extensive investigations, the boy could not be identified. His fingerprints were taken and his photo was distributed on thousands of flyers placed in gas company bills across the region. He became known as 'America's Unknown Child.'

The case became one of the most famous unidentified person cases in American history. Multiple theories emerged over the decades. The boy was buried in a potter's field and later reinterred at Ivy Hill Cemetery under the name 'America's Unknown Child.'

In December 2022, genetic genealogy finally identified the boy as Joseph Augustus Zarelli. The identification came 65 years after his death. While his identity was established, no one has been charged with his murder, as the likely suspects have all died.