The boy in the box finally has a name.
According to the Philadelphia Police Department, the boy’s body, known in the media as “The Boy in the Box,” was discovered naked and severely battered. The infant is buried at Philadelphia’s Ivy Hill Cemetery, where his monument refers to him as “America’s Unknown Child.” However, after his identity is made public, a name might be added.
A memorial at the site of the discovery of the child’s body reads: “Police Officers Elmer Palmer and Samuel Weinstein responded to the then-rural Susquehanna Road on February 26, 1957, to investigate a report of a body found in a box. They found a young boy’s naked, beaten body there who was thought to be between 4 and 6 years old. The “Boy in the Box” was this unidentified child. He’s never been given a name. His case is still pending. Now referred to as “America’s Unknown Child,”
The youngster, who is thought to have been between 4 and 6 years old, was placed in a box and dumped by the side of Susquehanna Road in Fox Chase in 1957. It is one of the most infamous unsolved homicides in the city. He was starved, beaten to death, and naked.
Ivy Hill Cemetery’s gravestone for him has the inscription “America’s Unknown Child.”
Investigators worked on the case nonstop for decades, and since the boy was discovered, homes have been built nearby. Authorities have scoured tips for years and proposed theories, all of which have since been disproved.
According to sources who spoke with NBC10 on Wednesday, authorities have successfully identified the boy and located the boy’s birth certificate thanks to DNA evidence.
At a news conference sometime next week, authorities are anticipated to reveal their conclusions.
Philadelphia Police Capt. Jason Smith said, “There have been quick developments as it relates to that investigation,” but he couldn’t reveal the new information until the planned news briefing.
The search for a suspect will then begin after the investigation is restarted, he added.
According to reports, the boy is related to a well-known Philadelphia family.
“To have a name on that stone, that’s what everybody has been wishing forever,” Linda Tamburri said. “I’m just glad I’m here to actually know I’ll see that little boy’s name on the stone.”
Cemetery workers at Ivy Hill were brought to tears Wednesday when CBS3 Investigations told them Philadelphia police now know the name of “The Boy in the Box.”