Daily News | What we know and don’t know about Joseph Augustus Zarelli, also known as the Boy in the Box
“In his very short life, it was apparent that this child experienced horrors that no one should ever be subjected to,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a news conference. “When people think about the Boy in the Box, a profound sadness is felt. Not just because the child was murdered, but because his entire identity and his rightful claim to own his existence was taken away.
Now, with the boy’s identity revealed, there is a small amount of closure in the case. But it still remains an active homicide investigation.The Box in the Box’s name was Joseph Augustus Zarelli. He was born Jan. 13, 1953, and died in 1957, when he was just four years old. He never had a social security number issued to him, and no missing persons report was ever filed, police said Thursday.
Joseph’s family resided in West Philadelphia near the area of 61st and Market during his life, said Capt. Jason Smith, commanding officer of the Homicide Unit. There are a number of living family members, but police did not say where they live or reveal any further details. The boy’s mother and father, whom police declined to identify, are deceased.
Joseph’s death certificate will be amended to reflect his birth name, police said. The Vidocq Society, a Philadelphia-based group that works on unsolved homicides, plan to work with Ivy Hill Cemetery, where Joseph is buried, to put the boy’s name on his grave.After Joseph’s body was found, an autopsy found that he was emaciated and had sustained abrasions, contusions, a subdural hemorrhage, and pleural effusions. His cause of death was likely blunt force trauma, Smith said.
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