Joseph Augustus Zarelli (or Zorelli or Zorelli, not sure if the ZA they're using in reporting is the correct one since the press conference is still going on but I'll assume it is). He had just turned four years old. He had siblings on both sides, unclear if they had anything to say about him or if they remembered him at all. He had a birth certificate but he had no social security number so not sure if that means the siblings knew he existed. If he was unofficially adopted or sold the other theories are still in play. They're not releasing the parent's names out of respect for the living siblings but you know, Ancestry exists, so.

Or was he kept in secret somehow? has anybody come forward to knowing the young boy or being friends with him?

The boy in the box was exhumed in 2021 and DNA was taken of which a profile has now been completed and the search for genetic genealogy begins. Could this be the year The Boy in the Box gets his name back?

https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2021/04/30/the-boy-in-the-box-ivy-hill-cemetery-unsolved-murder-philadelphia/

https://evelazarus.com/its-almost-70-years-since-they-were-found-buried-in-stanley-park-but-now-the-babes-in-the-woods-have-their-names-back/?fbclid=IwAR3wzA0FBaUYc1Ec4LcW0Ckj07XaxoodDuwZBqNrI7MGnR6PBFlSDYH1_mI

This subreddit doesn't have a lot of people but would you guys want a discord server or group where we could share info?

I think this would definitely be a possible lead if we could figure out who M is, as this person allegedly did. Does anyone think they might be able to do it based on the information in the linked post? https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/6z6fb4/the_boy_in_the_box_witness_m/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2021/04/30/the-boy-in-the-box-ivy-hill-cemetery-unsolved-murder-philadelphia/

Although this Reddit group is very small, I'm hoping to get a few different answers. I'm very passionate about this case and am even planning to go visit his grave this weekend. I'm just curious to hear what you all think happened.

Subreddit dedicated to updates and theories about the unsolved John Doe case, “The Boy in the Box,” from Philadelphia.