PA THE BOY IN THE BOX: WM, 4-6, found in Philadelphia, PA - 25 February 1957 *JOSEPH ZARELLI*

America's Unknown Child

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

America's unknown child, the Boy in the Box, was found in Philadelphia, #PENNSYLVANIA in February of 1957 & identified in 2022 to be Joseph A Zarelli!

An unidentified Caucasian male, probable age 4 to 6 years, whose nude body, wrapped in a cheap flannel blanket, was found lying face up inside a large cardboard carton.

www.crimewatchers.net

 

[Akoya]

When the librarian became senile and disabled, she was brought to a beautiful care facility in Ohio.

When Jonathan became disabled, he was sold to pedophiles, kept in a refrigerator box, left in a coal bin, and murdered. Jonathan needs JUSTICE

 

[Akoya]

The librarian had an excellent reputation. She was an established member of Philadelphia's Main Line and she came from a well-established family. I have felt that there was probably a history of sexual abuse in the families of origin for both the librarian and the science teacher. There didn't seem to be any hesitation to abuse their own daughter and allows others to do so. The science teacher's brother obviously was aware of Jonathan in the coal bin. The school district where the librarian and the science teacher worked is one of the top districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The science teacher was also an athletic coach. Friends came to the defense of the librarian when they were questioned by the Philadelphia Police. This pedophile group was well organized and very careful. They were brazen, though, for bringing Jonathan to live in the coal bin as their sex toy. They were arrogant and obviously felt above the law and above any standard moral codes. Friends of the librarian attacked Martha for everything she told the police.



My parents were educators. He was a high school teacher, and she was a librarian. The students liked them very much. I bet my parents autographed a thousand yearbooks. "No one outside our house could have imagined what went on inside those walls.

David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's Unknown Child (Kindle Locations 1908-1909). Kindle Edition.



Poring over old property and tax records, Castor's people have also managed to track down people who lived in Mary's neighborhood during her childhood but had since moved away. No one remembered a little boy like Jonathan.

David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's Unknown Child (Kindle Location 2151). Kindle Edition.

 

[Akoya]

Weinstein didn't live long enough to hear Mary's story shredded by people who knew her parents. To hear them tell it, Mary's mother and father were just what they appeared to be in the old high school yearbooks: educators, parents, salt-of-the-earth Americans.

Some of these former neighbors say they were in the home of Mary's parents often enough to be quite familiar with it. And now somebody is saying that a little boy was held captive tive in the basement? Ridiculous!

David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's Unknown Child (Kindle Locations 2233-2234). Kindle Edition.

 

[Akoya]

DNA testing has proven that Anna Marie Nicoletti is not related to Jonathan, She is not his mother.

Of course, the DNA of Anna Marie Nagle Nicoletti would be of particular interest. Investigators for the Vidocq Society learn that she has been moved to another nursing home in Bucks County. They don't know why and don't much care. They have not given up hope of getting a sample of her DNA. What they need is a court order. But first they need some reason to apply for one.

David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's Unknown Child (Kindle Locations 2250-2253). Kindle Edition.



But in 2007, a judge agrees that there are sufficient grounds to obtain a DNA sample of Anna Marie Nagle Nicoletti. One day in autumn, three detectives (two from Philadelphia and one from Bucks County) visit the nursing home where she may spend the rest of her life.

David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's Unknown Child (Kindle Locations 2259-2260). Kindle Edition.



One day in October 2007, Bill Kelly gets a call from a Philadelphia homicide detective.

"The DNA test results are in," the detective says. "Anna Marie was not the mother of the unknown boy."

David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's Unknown Child (Kindle Locations 2335-2336).

 

[Akoya]

Martha believed that he was probably Jonathan's father, although he was married and had a daughter. Martha described her uncle as spending time with Jonathan and being affectionate. I just hate to even think of falsely accusing anyone of a despicable action without cause, but this man's behaviors really bother me.

How could Martha's uncle be so caring and affectionate with Jonathan, unless the uncle was also part of the pedophile group? Any normal human being would find Jonathan's situation repulsive and unacceptable. If he was a normal father, how could he arrange for the sale and sexual abuse of his own flesh and blood? How could this man accept what he saw in that coal bin unless he was part of the pedophile group? Martha's uncle had to have been very much involved and not just as a means for the librarian to purchase her illegitimate sex toy.



But other snippets of Mary's account raise eyebrows. Months after her initial, riveting session with Kelly, McGillen, and Tom Augustine, she has related something new. Now she says her uncle may have been the biological father of the boy she knew as Jonathan. No, she acknowledges, she has no hard evidence. But she recalls that her uncle was especially attentive and affectionate toward the child whenever he visited the home of Mary's parents. Alas, the uncle was on Mary's father's side of the family, so the unknown child's mitochondrial DNA would be useless in trying to establish a relationship-if the uncle could be tracked down, that is.

David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's Unknown Child (Kindle Locations 2207-2209). Kindle Edition.

 

[Akoya]

For many years, the family of the science teacher was living in a community near Scranton, Pennsylvania. Both of the science teacher's brothers married women from the Scranton area. Although the science teacher and one brother relocated to suburban Philadelphia, the rest of the family was very entrenched in the Scranton area before retiring to New Jersey beach locations.

For over one hundred years, St. Joseph's Center in Scranton was a hospital for deserted orphans, unmarried women, and severely disabled children. The hospital has financial support as a sponsored mission of the Congregation of Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The science teacher and his family would have had knowledge of this well-known residential facility for severely disabled children. Jonathan could have been well cared for at no expense to his mother. Instead, she chose to sell him as a sex toy.


Through both Intermediate Care Facilities and Community Living Arrangements, individualized, around-the-clock care is available to both children and adults diagnosed with Intellectual Disability.

https://www.stjosephscenter.org/intellectualdisability/

 

[Akoya]

http://www.zmescience.com/other/science-abc/about-mitochondrial-dna-42423/

What is Mitochondrial Inheritance?

Mitochondrial DNA is a special type of DNA and many people are not even aware this type of DNA actually exists. The human cell has two type of DNA: Nuclear DNA and Mitochondrial DNA. We even have 2 separate genomes – thenuclear DNA genome(which is linear in shape) and the Mitochondrial DNA genome (which is circular). Mitochondrial DNA is pretty basic in that it only contains 37 genes. Compared to nuclear DNA, which contains some 20,000 encoding genes, we can see that MtDNA has limited but important protein-coding functions. 13 of the 37 genes carried on MtDNA are involved in enzyme production.

What is also peculiar to MtDNA is the fact that this DNA is maternally inherited – males and females inherit a copy of MtDNA from their mother. Nuclear DNA, on the other hand, is inherited equally from both parents; a child will inherit 50% of their nuclear DNA from the mother and the other 50% from their father.

A MtDNA copy is passed down entirely unchanged, through the maternal line. Males cannot pass their MtDNA to their offspring although they inherit a copy of it from their mother.

This mode of inheritance is called Matrilineal or Mitochondrial Inheritance. There are a mitochondrial DNA testing services available which can help determine maternal lineage or whether the people tested share the same maternal line. Lineage DNA testing using MtDNA is ideal for testing ancient biogenetic origins and tracing one’s unique lineage. For instance, scientists have used MtDNA to compare the DNA of living humans of diverse origins to build evolutionary trees. MtDNA analyses suggest humans originated in Africa, appeared in one founding population some 170,000 years ago, then migrated to other parts of the world.

 

[Akoya]

 

[Akoya]

Jonathan was never cleaned up or made to look respectable. He wore only a diaper and he was kept 24/7 in a refrigerator box that was located in a coal bin. Jonathan was severely disabled. The uncle certainly understood what was taking place in the coal bin.

Perhaps most shocking was “M”’ s assertion that her mother severely abused her and the boy physically, as well as sexually. “M” claims the boy was purchased essentially to participate in lewd acts with her mother, a public school librarian, and her mother’s “evil circle of friends” (McGillen 2006). The two children were malnourished.

Hoffmann, Jim. The Boy in the Box: America's Unknown Child (Revised Edition) (Kindle Locations 706-708). . Kindle Edition.


My parents ... my parents did not have normal sexual desires. My father molested me. Oh, I know it's more common than people used to realize, especially back then. What was different with us is that my mother didn't just silently let it happen, which is the usual scenario. She was enthusiastic about it. Even joined in. The agreement was that my father let her indulge her taste in little boys. She preferred them to adult men because she thought them purer, somehow. I think that was it. Anyhow, one night a little boy came into our home, into our lives."

David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's Unknown Child (Kindle Locations 1910-1913). Kindle Edition.

 

[Akoya]

I really believe this case might have been solved if the Montgomery County District Attorney had not refused to prosecute the case. I have always been concerned about additional children who may have been abused. Perhaps some of them could have been identified. Jonathan's mother was probably still alive at that point in time. Instead. the librarian eventually obtained a very public position in Montgomery County until she retired and moved to Florida.

 

[Akoya]

Martha's concern was for her reputation, although she was also concerned about her mother's "evil circle of friends". Martha spent many years acquiring a PhD and working as an executive for one of the largest drug companies in the world. She was concerned about people in her profession learning about Jonathan, her childhood, and her parents. Although she is now retired, she certainly still has contact with many of these people. She has also returned to a major university where she is taking courses for her new hobby/business. She doesn't need to hear internet forum posters claiming to know her identity.


"I'm a scientist," the woman says. "I have a doctorate in chemistry, actually." She names her employer, one of the biggest drug companies in the world, then gasps. "They mustn't know about this."

David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's Unknown Child (Kindle Locations 1904-1905). Kindle Edition.

 

[Akoya]

http://6abc.com/historic-marker-placed-for-boy-found-in-box-6-decades-ago/2634177/

Historic marker placed for boy found in box 6 decades ago in Philadelphia

Sunday, November 12, 2017
FOX CHASE (WPVI) -- It is one of the highest-profile unsolved-mysteries in Philadelphia history.

The body of a little boy was found in a box on the side of Susquehanna Road in Fox Chase in 1957. His remains have never been identified.

But the case is gaining renewed interest courtesy of a local boy scout.

A historic marker about the 'Boy in the Box' was created thanks to Eagle Scout Nicholas Kerschbaum of Troop 522 in Wilmington

"Four to six-years-old, his life was taken and it shouldn't happen like that," Kerschbaum said.

Kerschbaum needed an Eagle Scout service project.

He could have picked anything, but became familiar with the case of what's now known as "America's Unknown Child" through his father, a former Philadelphia police officer.

"He tossed me the idea and I looked into it, reading about the boy himself," Kershbaum said.

It was back in 1957, two Philadelphia officers responded to a call of a body in a box.

The case was never solved.

Kerschbaum hopes the marker will somehow bring new leads in the 60-year-old case.

"In the small, small possibility someone could be walking by and maybe in the back of their mind go 'I remember something,'" he said.

Funds for the marker were made by the Vidocq Society. They are a group of forensic experts who try to piece together cold cases, just like this one.

Bill Fleisher, the founder of the Vidocq Society, thinks this case could make major progress in the near future through DNA.

"We've been comparing against many suspected relatives," Fleisher said.

He vows his group will never stop working on trying to find out who could commit such a disturbing crime.

"In my view, he wasn't beaten to death. I think he was abused and neglected to the point his little flame went out," Fleisher said.

This case is still open 60 years later. As it stands right now, it is the longest active investigation with the Philadelphia police.

 

[Akoya]

Philadelphia Inquirer
November 12, 2017

 

[Akoya]

The large addition on the back of the house was built after the family lived there.


She carried him down to the basement, with me right behind her. We had this side door in the basement that opened onto the driveway. Nobody could see from the street, and there was a hedge that blocked the neighbors' view. The car was right there.

David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's Unknown Child. Kindle Edition.

 

[Akoya]

The Philadelphia Inquirer
February 26, 1957

 

[Akoya]

https://northeasttimes.com/marking-his-memory-78e96822073f

Tom Waring
Nov 21, 2017

Marking his memory
Sixty years after America’s Unknown Child was discovered in a box on Susquehanna Road, a Boy Scout is making sure he won’t be forgotten.

A sign of remembrance: Nicholas Kerschbaum, a Troop 522 Boy Scout, spearheaded the effort to erect a historical marker for “America’s Unknown Child.” On Feb. 26, 1957, a boy’s body was dumped in a box on Susquehanna Road in Fox Chase. The case was never solved. TOM WARING / TIMES PHOTOS

Sixty years after a boy’s body was dumped unceremoniously in a JC Penney box on Susquehanna Road in Fox Chase, a Boy Scout from Delaware has made sure he’ll never be forgotten.

Nicholas Kerschbaum, a Troop 522 Boy Scout, chose a boy who has become known as America’s Unknown Child for a memorial marker.

The ceremony took place on Nov. 11 on the 700 block of Susquehanna Road, a little west of Verree Road.

“America’s Unknown Child will forever be memorialized with this marker,” Kerschbaum said.

Kerschbaum chose America’s Unknown Child (formerly known as the Boy in the Box) for his Eagle Scout Project.

The 17-year-old senior at Salesianum School had petitioned the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, seeking the erection of a historical marker on Susquehanna Road, near the location where the boy’s remains were found.

However, the commission rejected the application.

To make matters worse, the commission approved a marker commemorating the city’s confrontation with MOVE in 1985, when Mayor Wilson Goode approved the dropping of a bomb on the roof of the radical group’s Osage Avenue home, resulting in a fire and 11 deaths, including five kids.

“I was disillusioned,” said Kerschbaum, son of a retired Philadelphia police officer.

But he wouldn’t give up on his quest.

“I decided to have a private marker made,” he said.

Back in February, Kerschbaum organized a memorial service marking the 60th anniversary of the death of America’s Unknown Child.

Supporting him then and throughout the process of erecting the marker has been the Vidocq Society, a private organization of law enforcement and forensic professionals who try to crack tough cases.

On Feb. 26, 1957, Philadelphia Police Officer Elmer Palmer was dispatched to then-rural Susquehanna Road, where he discovered the body of a boy believed to be about 4 years old. The boy was in a cardboard box that once contained a bassinet bought at the JCPenney at 69th and Chestnut streets in Upper Darby.

No one has ever come forward to identify the boy, and the police investigation into his murder has never been solved.

Olney’s Mann Funeral Home buried America’s Unknown Child in Potter’s Field along Dunks Ferry Road and assisted in his move to West Oak Lane’s Ivy Hill Cemetery. The reburial took place on Nov. 11, 1998.

Many years after the boy was found, the story was chronicled on America’s Most Wanted and dramatized on Cold Case.

Bill Fleisher, a retired FBI and U.S. Customs agent and commissioner of the Vidocq Society, praised Kerschbaum’s efforts.

“He worked hard to get this done, let me tell you that,” he said.

St. Christopher Parish-based Boy Scout Troop 367 led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance.

David Teesdale, the senior patrol leader, said Troop 367 will conduct a memorial service each February at the marker location.

Chaplains from the 7th Police District, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Vidocq Society offered prayers.

James Palmer, son of Elmer Palmer, said his dad always held out hope the boy would be identified. He credited Kerschbaum with tenacity and dedication in his effort to place the marker.

To raise money for the marker, Kerschbaum held a car wash and a bake sale, and continued to work with the Vidocq Society.

“The Vidocq Society has been there the whole time,” he said.

As the marker is on property owned by Holy Redeemer Health System, Kerschbaum had to gain permission before the pole could be placed in the ground.

Kerschbaum is satisfied that the marker is in place and is looking forward to official approval of his Eagle Scout project.

“I’m happy and relieved,” he said.

 

[Akoya]

The Historical Marker is actually directly across Susquehanna Road from the location in the woods where The Boy in the Box was found.

 

[Akoya]

Jim Hoffman has released Edition #3 of his book, The Boy in the Box: America's Unknown Child (3rd Edition): My Obsession with America's Greatest Crime.

Mar 3, 2018 | Kindle eBook
by Jim Hoffmann

This edition of Jim's book has a lot more information that he has learned since his last edition. It also contains information that has never been released. Jim's book was the first book written about the boy. It was based on the investigation files from the Philadelphia detectives who worked on the case. It's available from Amazon for Kindle.



https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=digital-text&field-keywords=boy+in+box

This is the THIRD EDITION! It includes the author's tantalizing backstory to his research; the haunting of his home from the evidence boxes; the latest, up-to-date investigation of the most prolific lead since "M" - the Memphis Man - a resultant five years spent "down the rabbit hole" to another dead end, including a joint investigation with New Jersey author Louis Romano and Philadelphia's "Rutt Rutledge"; new evidence about "M" and much, much more. This work includes the original comprehensive book about one of America's greatest crimes: the Boy in the Box case. Using archived news stories, interviews with leading investigators and witnesses, and an analysis of the official Philadelphia Police Department's evidence box, "The Boy in the Box: America's Unknown Child (Revised Edition)" set the standard for other researchers to follow. It is a succinct outline of the facts, the events, and the players to one of the true crime genre's most prolific stories. Included in the work are photos, charts, and a painstakingly created timeline of key events in the case. Also included in this unique work is a second book, "Susquehanna Road," a Power Prose fictionalized edition of the story (and a completely new literary genre) dedicated to the little, unknown boy and the battle-hardened investigators who fought valiantly for him.

About the Author
Jim Hoffmann hails from Glendale Heights, Illinois, west of Chicago. He has recently written biographies about famous rock stars including his childhood friend, Jim Ellison (Material Issue) and his current friends, Pat Vegas and Pete De Poe (Redbone). Hoffmann lives with his family in Apple Valley, California - the High Desert of So Cal.

 

[Akoya]

However, Source R pointed out to me that when you consider the timeline, it’s basically impossible. Hurricane Hazel, which struck Philly in October of 1954, is when “M” claims her mother bought the boy at the row home.

Hoffmann, Jim. The Boy in the Box: America's Unknown Child (3rd Edition): My Obsession with America's Greatest Crime (p. 193). Susquehanna Road Publishing. Kindle Edition.


http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/20...hit-the-jersey-shore-and-philadelphia-region/

Hurricane Hazel — A category four hurricane that smashed North Carolina in October, 1954, and then brought hurricane force winds as far inland as Canada. Passing 95 miles to the East of Charleston, South Carolina, Hazel made landfall very near the North Carolina and South Carolina border, and brought a record 18 foot storm surge at Calabash, North Carolina. Wind gusts of 150 mph were felt in Holden Beach, Calabash, and Little River Inlet 100 mph gusts were felt farther inland at Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York. Hazel carved a path of destruction that left over 600 dead, and damages exceeded $350 million 1953 U.S. dollars.


http://www.phillytrib.com/lifestyle...cle_5c066c5c-7300-5183-888c-92986f654e1e.html

Those who lived through this storm may best remember it for the dark clouds and the darkness that evening of Oct. 15, and wind gusts from 75 to 100 miles per hour. Documented reports clocked winds at Philadelphia International Airport at 94 miles per hour.

 

[Akoya]

We know the librarian abused her own daughter, encouraged her husband to abuse their daughter, purchased a severely disabled toddler as a sex toy, housed the child in an old coal bin, and eventually murdered the little boy. These actions are heinous. I just can't accept that these evil crimes are the limit of this woman's vile activities. My ongoing concern is with actions the librarian and her friends may have done to other children after they retired to Fort Myers, Florida and after Jonathan was beaten to death. These possible victims may still be very much alive.