02 December 2022
3:46 pm
65 years ago, the murder of a child shook the American city of Philadelphia. The case became known as “The Boy in the Box”, but was still unsolved. Now a breakthrough has been made in the investigation with the help of DNA analysis and the case could be solved.
More than six decades later, police were able to identify the boy whose body was found on Feb. 25, 1957 in a cardboard box outside the city, police sources said, BTV reported.
With the help of DNA analysis, the relatives of the previously unnamed boy were also found. His birth certificate was also found. His family lived in the Philadelphia area.
Even though it’s been so many years, murder charges can still be filed. The body of the boy, who was about 4-6 years old, was found undressed and wrapped in a blanket. Multiple marks of beatings and several scars were also recorded. The cause of death was blunt force trauma. The baby was hastily and unprofessionally washed and cut.
After the boy’s body was found, police thought they would be able to quickly identify him. But the investigation dragged on for years and did not lead to a breakthrough. The blond boy’s face was spread throughout Philadelphia with a call for help from city residents.
Over the years, various approaches to investigations have shown promise, but none of them have solved the crime. The child became known as “The Boy in the Box” and “America’s Stranger Child”. The mystery case is the oldest cold case in Philadelphia and one of the oldest cold cases in the United States.
The boy was buried in the city cemetery after his death. His remains were last exhumed in 2019, when DNA samples were taken.
Since the boy’s identity was unknown until the end, the tombstone bears the inscription “America’s Unknown Child”. His real name is now to be inscribed, prompting emotional reactions from cemetery park officials.
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