Age, Biography and Wiki

Joseph Augustus Zarelli was born on 1953, is a Formerly unidentified American murder victim, d. 1957. Discover Joseph Augustus Zarelli's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 4 years old?

Popular As N/A
Occupation N/A
Age 4 years old
Zodiac Sign Capricorn
Born 13 January 1953
Birthday 13 January
Birthplace N/A
Date of death 1 February, 1957
Died Place N/A
Nationality

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 13 January. He is a member of famous with the age 4 years old group.

Joseph Augustus Zarelli Height, Weight & Measurements

At 4 years old, Joseph Augustus Zarelli height is 3ft 6in .

Physical Status
Height 3ft 6in
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Dating & Relationship status

He is currently single. He is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, He has no children.

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Not Available
Sibling Not Available
Children Not Available

Joseph Augustus Zarelli Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Joseph Augustus Zarelli worth at the age of 4 years old? Joseph Augustus Zarelli’s income source is mostly from being a successful . He is from . We have estimated Joseph Augustus Zarelli's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income

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Timeline

1953

Joseph Augustus Zarelli (January 13, 1953 – February 1957), previously known as the "Boy in the Box", "Boy in a Box" or "America's Unknown Child", was an American 4-year-old male whose nude, malnourished, beaten body was found on the side of Susquehanna Road, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 25, 1957.

Joseph appeared to have been cleaned and freshly groomed, with a recent haircut and trimmed fingernails, although he had suffered extensive physical attacks prior to his death, with multiple bruises on his body.

He was also severely malnourished.

His body was covered with scars, some of which were surgical (most notably on his ankle, groin and chin).

Authorities believe that the cause of death was homicide by blunt force trauma.

Despite the publicity and sporadic interest throughout the years, the boy's identity remained unknown for over half a century.

On November 30, 2022, the Philadelphia Police Department announced that detectives had determined the boy's identity using DNA and genealogical databases.

On December 8, 2022, more than 65 years after his body was found, he was publicly identified.

Despite the identification, the exact circumstances leading to his death are uncertain and the case is still considered an open homicide investigation.

1957

On February 25, 1957, Zarelli's body, wrapped in a plaid blanket, was found in the woods off Susquehanna Road in the Fox Chase neighborhood of Philadelphia.

The body was discovered by a young man who was checking his rabbit traps.

Fearing that the police would confiscate his traps, he did not report what he had found.

A few days later, a college student spotted a rabbit running into the underbrush.

Knowing that there were animal traps in the area, he stopped his car to investigate and discovered the body.

He was also reluctant to have any contact with the police, but he did report what he had found the following day, after hearing of the disappearance of Mary Jane Barker.

The naked body was inside a cardboard box that had once contained a bassinet of the kind sold by J. C. Penney.

Zarelli's hair had been recently cropped, possibly after death, as clumps of hair clung to the body.

There were signs of severe malnourishment, as well as surgical scars on the ankle and groin, and an L-shaped scar under the chin.

The police received the report and opened an investigation on February 26, 1957.

The dead boy's fingerprints were taken, and police at first were optimistic that he would soon be identified.

However, no one ever came forward with any useful information.

The case attracted considerable media attention in Philadelphia and Delaware Valley.

The Philadelphia Inquirer printed 400,000 flyers depicting the boy's likeness, which were sent out and posted across the area, and were included with every gas bill in Philadelphia.

The crime scene was combed over and over again by 270 police academy recruits, who discovered a man's blue corduroy cap, a child's scarf, and a man's white handkerchief with the letter "G" in the corner, all clues that led nowhere.

The police also distributed a post-mortem photograph of the boy fully dressed and in a seated position, as he may have looked in life, in the hope it might lead to a clue.

1960

In 1960, Remington Bristow, an employee of the medical examiner's office who doggedly pursued the case until his death in 1993, contacted a New Jersey psychic, who told him to look for a house that matched the foster home.

1998

In 1998, his body was exhumed for the purpose of extracting DNA, which was obtained from a tooth.

2016

On March 21, 2016, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released a forensic facial reconstruction of the victim and added him into their database.

2019

The body was then exhumed yet again in 2019 to retrieve additional DNA samples.

The child was an unidentified murder victim for decades.

However, on November 30, 2022, the Philadelphia Police Department announced that they had identified the child through the use of genetic testing and investigative genetic genealogy, and that they would provide a case update in the following week.

Sources stated that he was the child of a prominent family in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

Authorities said that an investigation would use the new information to continue the search for suspects.

On December 8, 2022, the child was publicly identified as 4-year-old Joseph Augustus Zarelli, born on January 13, 1953.

Genealogists had uncovered his name more than a year earlier, in October 2021.

On January 19, 2023, the names of Zarelli's parents were reported.

Investigators were finally able to identify him after a cousin uploaded DNA to a public database.

Investigators subsequently encouraged that person's mother (a first cousin of Zarelli) to submit a genetic profile to GEDmatch, which she did, allowing investigators to identify his parents.

A court order for the child's birth certificate was then made, which revealed the child's name and his parents' names (subsequently verified by DNA).

This theory concerns a foster home that was located approximately 1.5 miles (2.5 km) from the site of the body.