On February 25, 1957 the body of a young boy around the ages of 4-6 was found in a bassinet box on illegal dumping grounds.
He was found in Philadelphia, PA. He was reported to be naked and wrapped in a blanket. His hair had been recently cut and his body was recently washed clean. Small scars were found around his chin, groin, and left ankle. Medical examiners determined that they were likely from medical procedures. His cause of death was due to blunt force trauma.
The body was first found by a young man while he was walking through the abandoned lot. For some odd reason, he waited a full day to call the police. Then, a second unknown man had also stumbled upon the body, but refused to call the police due to not wanting to be involved in the case. With the snowy weather conditions and the delayed call, it wasn’t possible to accurately estimate the boy’s time of death.
The boy was held in a morgue while visitors from over 10 states tried to identify his body, but nothing came up. Police had even sent out 400,000 flyers of an image of him to police stations, courthouses, and even post offices all over the country. Even the American Medical Association (AMA), had sent out a description of the boy, but it all led nowhere.
His footprints were compared to other hospital records as well fingerprints were taken, but no record was found to prove that the boy had ever even existed.
One promising clue that led to this case was the serial number contained on the box. This allowed investigators to pinpoint the location, which was traced to a JCPenney store 15 miles away. Before the box was occupied by the boy, it was used to ship a bassinet. 12 of these boxes were shipped, but all customers paid in cash, leaving no possible record.
Although 8 customers contacted the police after hearing the news. Police were sure that the box was delivered somewhere around Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the box lead didn’t get any farther than this.
The blanket he was wrapped in had been examined by the Philadelphia Textile Institute, which they believed was manufactured in either Granby, Quebec, or Swannanoa, N.C. It was hard to figure out because thousands of these blankets were made. In the end, the blanket lead was overall a dead end as well.
Another clue was a hat found around 15 feet near the box. A blue corduroy ivy league, size 7 ⅛ specifically. It was labeled “Eagle Hat and Cap Company.” They traced the maker and owner, Hannah Robins. She was also located in South Philadelphia. She had said she remembered the man who had bought the hat. She even customized it for him. His description was blonde, around the ages 26-30, requested a leather strap and buckle. He paid in cash to leave no trace. Around 100 stores were visited in the area, but nobody recognized the hat, nor the boy.
Another clue was hair found on his body, which suggested back to his haircut. A forensic artist – Frank Bender, spoke out saying he believed the boy was actually raised as a girl. Also a lead investigator of the case – Bill Kelly recalled that in 1957 and 1958, a west coast artist had drawn the boy as a girl to see if it could spark any memories. Though again it led to no leads.
On November 20, 2022, the Philadelphia police department announced that detectives were able to determine the boy’s identity using DNA and genealogical databases. On December 8th 2022, more than 65 years after his case, the boy was identified as Joseph Augustus Zarelli.
Despite his identification, what led to his death is still very clouded and unknown. For 65 years, he was referred to as “America’s Unknown Child” due to his “hidden” identity. With this information, it gets you thinking – someone knows something and won’t say anything, what actually happened to Joseph Augustus Zarelli?