Police have identified a young boy found dead in a box in the city of Philadelphia more than 60 years ago. The child, known to generations as the “Boy in the box”, has been identified as Joseph Augustus Zarelli. Police say DNA technology and detective work helped them finally name the youngster in the case that remains the city’s oldest unsolved murder. The mystery had “haunted this community”, said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw. At a press conference on Wednesday, police said they would not release the name of the boy’s parents and declined to say who was responsible for his death. The case remains an active investigation, the police said, calling on the public for help filling in the details of the boy’s life. Detectives had attempted to use DNA testing to identify the boy from his remains before, but the sample was insufficient. A forensic specialist was later able to use the same DNA sample to identify relatives of the boy. Authorities searched birth and adoption records to connect the boy to his relatives. He was born 13 January, 1953, the department said. In February 1957, the remains of a boy between the ages of four to six were found wrapped in a blanket inside a cardboard JC Penney bassinet box in a wooded area in the Fox Chase neighbourhood of Philadelphia. The boy, who was naked and badly bruised, weighed only 30 pounds and had several small scars on his body, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. He was beaten to death, according to police. Posters with the boy’s photo were distributed all across the city. Local police, detectives doctors and DNA analysts have tried for decades to crack the case, following hundreds of local and national tips. The case also became a fascination for volunteer professional sleuths, including one group called the Vidocq Society who police thanked for their assistance during the Wednesday press conference. Detectives have followed thousands of leads with no success, including that the boy was kidnapped from a Long Island, New York supermarket and that he was a Hungarian refugee. The boy’s remains have been buried at a local cemetery with a tombstone that reads “America’s Unknown Child”. https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268054 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/266578 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/269185 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268084 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268059 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268089 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268064 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/267351 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/266608 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268104 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/266512 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268069 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268074 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/269220 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/267421 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/267426 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/266537 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/269270 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/269280 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/266532 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/269195 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268054/WATCHFREE_Argentina_vs_Netherlands_LiveStream_Onli https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/266578/beIN_SPORTS_Netherlands_vs_Argentina_Live_Stream%F0%9D%9A%81 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/269185/FREE_STREAMING_Watch_Netherlands_vs_Argentina_Live https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268084/CrackstreamsFIFA_World_Cup_2022_Live_StreamReddit_ https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268059/Reddit_FIFA_World_Cup_2022_StreamS_-_Argentina_vs_ https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268089/TOTAL_SPORTEK_Argentina_vs_Netherlands_Free_LIVE_S https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268064/Blacktie_Sports_-_Free_Reddit_Netherlands_vs_Argen https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/267351/++RedditStreamS_Argentina_vs_Netherlands_Live_Stre https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/266608/+RedditStreamS_Netherlands_vs_Argentina_Live_Strea https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268104/LIVESTREAMSTV_FIFA_World_Cup_2022_Netherlands_vs_A https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/266512/LiveStream_Netherlands_vs_Argentina_Live_Stream_20 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268069/OfficialRedditFIFA_World_Cup_Netherlands_vs_Argent https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/268074/RedditStreamS_Netherlands_vs_Argentina_Live_Stream https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/269220/Netherlands_vs_Argentina_Live_Stream_Reddit__Crack https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/267421/OfficialRedditFIFA_World_Cup_Qatar_2022_LiVe_Strea https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/267426/CrackstreamsFIFA_World_Cup_2022_Live_StreamReddit_ https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/266537/Blacktie_Sports_-_%F0%9D%99%B5r%F0%9D%9A%8Ee_Reddit_FIFA_World_Cup_Buf https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/269270/RedditStreams_FIFA_World_Cup_Live_StreamReddit_ON_ https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/269280/FIFA_World_Cup_Live_Stream_Reddit__Crackstreams_Re https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/266532/TOTAL_SPORTEK_FIFA_World_Cup_%F0%9D%99%B5r%F0%9D%9A%8Ee_LIVE_STREAM_12 https://new.c.mi.com/ph/post/269195/%F0%9D%90%8B%F0%9D%90%88%F0%9D%90%95%F0%9D%90%84%F0%9D%90%92%F0%9D%90%93%F0%9D%90%91%F0%9D%90%84%F0%9D%90%80%F0%9D%90%8CTV_Argentina_vs_Netherlands_Li No one should “have to wait this long” for their name and story of their life to be told, Police Commissioner Outlaw said Wednesday.