Identity of 'Boy in the Box' uncovered in 65 years old cold case after police make major DNA breakthrough
PHILADEPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia police have secured a significant breakthrough in a 65 years old cold case after DNA revealed the identity of a 1957 child murder victim known as the 'Boy in the Box.'
The Philadelphia Police Department next week will publicly reveal the name of the boy who was found dead, naked, and severely beaten in a cardboard box in Philadelphia’s Fox Chase neighborhood in February 1957. The major breakthrough in the cold case came after DNA led to the birth certificate of the victim. The victim has been simply referred to as "America's Unknown Child" on his headstone for 60 years.
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“It is the longest continuously investigated homicide in the history of the Philadelphia Police Department,” Bill Fleisher, of the Vidocq Society, told NBC10 on Wednesday, November 30. With the victim’s identity in their possession, investigators believe they can still file criminal charges. Police are believed to have used genealogical DNA to obtain the identity of the boy. For the unversed, genetic genealogy is the use of DNA testing to determine relationships between individuals, find genetic matches and discover one’s ancestry.
BREAKING: Philadelphia Police sources confirm they have identified the 1957 murder victim known as “The boy in the box.” The department is expected to provide an update on the case next week. DNA and genealogical information helped detectives crack the case @CBSPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/xN9sjFrYWT
— Joe Holden (@JoeHoldenCBS3) November 30, 2022
The boy was originally found in a cardboard box, which originally contained a bassinet purchased from a JC Penney store in Upper Darby for $7.50. The investigators also found a man's newsboy cap in royal blue corduroy near the body, which made them believe it was tied to the killer. Another clue for officials was a freshly cleaned and repaired flannel blanket that was placed over the body. After the initial investigation, the age of the boy was determined to be between 3 and 7 years. Over the years, numerous leads and theories have emerged regarding who the boy was and what happened to him. But the department had only a few evidences on hand.
In 1998, the boy's remains were transferred from Philadelphia's Potter's Field to the Ivy Hill cemetery, where the remains were exhumed again in order to retrieve more DNA. Cemetery workers at Ivy Hill were brought to tears when they were told that police now know the name of "The Boy in the Box." "I think it's wonderful," Dave Drysdale, cemetery secretary, and treasurer at Ivy Hill, told CBS. "I just wish that the police officers and all the people involved who long passed away were still here to see it because that was one of their goals and a couple of them said 'I hope they live long enough to see a name put on there.'"
Drysdale was there on the day in 1998 when the remains were transferred to Ivy Hill from Potter's Field. He can't believe police have a name. "Some day, there will be a name on there and it will be great," Drysdale added. "It will be great."