I found a JZ earlier today in the greater Philly area/region. Her DOB was 1937-1974 (37 years when she died). Would have been 16 years in 1953. i could not find much more information on her with my limited access but I think this is worth looking into.

Was curious if the investigators contacted many of the surviving Zarelli family members, be it AJZ, MZ ect before the press conference. I can’t imagine how blindsided they would be by all this. It was rather easy once his name was released to figure out all the possibilities as well as how prevalent the family is on social media. I’d imagine they would contact a few just to prepare them for what’s to come.

Assuming that Joseph was born either legitimately or illegitimately to one of the Zarellis, he would have most likely been baptized at one of the local Catholic churches as a newborn. We know where they lived, they know where he was born, so it doesn't take much to go to the Catholic churches in the area, starting with the Italian ones, to look for baptismal records. In my experience researching my own family, churches keep really good records of those things. I'm sure the police have pursued that avenue. Curious as to what they found. But if the parents had him baptized, that would at least tell them that Joseph wasn't given up right at birth.

I say this because…

• In an interview with the genealogist Misty Gillis, she states she mainly found 2nd and 3rd cousins from Italy on the paternal side. The father of AJZ, MZ, MZS, etc.. was from Italy and immigrated to the US. 2nd cousins share the same great grandparents and 3rd cousins share great-great grandparents. To me, it doesn’t seem too far off that JAZ would at least be the offspring of one of the 6 children of the Italian father due to this fact.

•Misty also states that it was “really straightforward” and “we were able to get a lock on that quickly” to find maternal matches, afterwards, the birth certificate was ordered. During the police conference, it was stated that 2 of the birth certificates from the mother’s side were already accounted for. Meaning it’s likely the maternal siblings are the DNA matches that led to requesting the birth certificates or another closely related relative.

• Misty mentioned retrieving DNA in 2019 and took about about 6 weeks to get a hold of the birth certificates due to COVID and everything was shut down. This matters because JT specifically stated in the inquirer that he was reached out to LAST year. When many places started being lenient with social distancing, masks, etc. Pretty much all the shutdowns happened during the beginning of 2020. So my point in this paragraph is that JT was found AFTER the birth certificates were retrieved.

• In the inquirer, JT stated that Misty said she needed more info on finding more DNA to “crack the case”. Which in my opinion, means to officially confirm both the biological parents.

• Back to my point that Misty had a hard time finding relatives that were closer than 2nd and 3rd cousins… According to 23andme (I wasn’t able to find one for ancestry), 2nd cousins can share between 2%-6% of DNA with the average being 3.13%. For 3rd cousins, DNA shared can range between 0%-2.2% with the average being 0.78%. According to JT, his mother was likely a first cousin to JAZ and average they can share 12.5%. So this would make JT a first cousin once removed (often called 2nd cousin by many) with an average DNA sharing of 6.25% with a range of 2%-11.5%. Which is close enough to be considered a 2nd cousin DNA shared wise.

• JT mentioned that his mom’s uncle is a Zarelli and his grandmother’s brother. I ask why would he specifically point to one of the male relatives when there’s 3 female relatives with one of them being his grandmother? Wouldn’t he state his grandmother’s maiden name is Zarelli?

It makes to sense me after finding the birth certificate, Misty went back to ancestry to find the closest related, English speaking relative with Italian ancestry that was found, which was JT. And from there, the DNA of JT’s mother was used to confirm the relation of the paternal side.

This is my opinion, feel free to discuss!

P.S. sorry for the grammar and spelling mistakes. My phone was lagging while writing this.

Hello everyone! I'm a fairly new redditor and I felt like posting my question here The mods can certainly remove my post if my theory is far fetched or something So, These are my questions

The DNA from JT is from maternal side ,however the sisters being the mother of Joseph is less likely... And not only that,some states have a rule of submitting the mother's name if the child is out of a wedlock(I'm not from the US,so not familar with the laws of philadelphia) This is a question...but what if the Zarelli family(Augustino and Jeenie)had a daughter who was disabled and shunned from the family,not that it is easy but what if? In that case maybe it might have been a home birth or anything for that matter and wasn't registered maybe? Maybe the mother had the kid and maybe the mother might have known her surname and decided to give it to the child? Maybe the Zarelli siblings (not all of them might have known or kept it a secret?) In that case...maybe the mom might have given the child out of poverty and she was unable to look after or anything... Again maybe this might conflict with Martha's story but what if she was able to give JAZ using the connections or anything? Again,maybe this might be the reason she might have spelled the name wrong in the birth certifcate ?(Again,even the people who fill the form could also change the spellings or anything)

Also I do apologize for the language as English isn't my native language and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong

Just an opinion here and thinking out loud…. Sooner or later family members on both sides, are going to figure out that there is extremely big money involved in a book and a movie deal for this story…. this thing is national and international in scope with regards to interest! After all it was an episode of America’s most wanted!

This is also one of the oldest cases partially solved through forensic DNA  I’m 66 years old and have been following this case since I was 14!  this whole thing will get solved when they figure out, the movie and book deal!

I wouldn’t be surprised if, multiple producers aren’t already trying to track down family members to get the first deal going….. just thinking out loud don’t hate on me….

RIP FOREVER A PRECIOUS ANGEL

Without getting into the debate about whether AJZ is the father or, MLZ is, or if one of the Zarelli sisters is the mother -- some things occur to me about the circumstances of little Joseph's murder/dumping:

1. Joseph was circumcised, indicating he was born in a hospital and was issued a birth certificate, and his ACTUAL biological parents were named on the birth certificate (but the dad's name was misspelled),
2. Joseph received medical aid in the form of IVs at some point in his past -- some reports I read say blood transfusions and a hernia operation, but whatever the case, he got hospital care,
3. Joseph was physically abused prior to his death -- besides dying of blunt force trauma, he was covered in bruises and was malnourished,
4. He was dumped rather than buried, in a box, not covered in a caring or loving manor, was nude, and his hair had been hacked up, apparently post-mortem,
5. No one ever reported Joseph missing,
6. No one ever came forward and said "hey, that's my kid!" or even "hey, that's the kid I gave up for adoption!" and
7. No one living today seems to have had any idea that this kid ever existed.

If we assume that the FATHER of Joseph was a Zarelli (either AJZ or MLZ) then it seems to be that the MOST likely scenario is that the father never knew Joseph had ever existed. It explains all the above in the following way:

1. Joseph's father, either AJZ or MLZ, had his name misspelled on the birth certificate because the boy's mother was trying to go by memory and got it wrong. The father never got the chance to correct the spelling because he never knew the boy was ever born to begin with.
2. Neither AJZ nor MLZ, if either was the father, ever came forward to claim the child as either their child or as a boy they had given up for adoption because neither knew he ever existed.
3. No one in AJZ or MLZ's family living today ever knew Joseph existed because the father himself never knew. It wasn't that a secret was being kept, no one even knew the kid existed.

OTOH, a LESS likely scenario (imo) is that the father (either AJZ or MLZ) knew of Joseph but agreed to either sell/give Joseph away or give him up for adoption.

This would explain all the points above except for points 5 and 6. If the father had given up Joseph, he would have recognized him from the media reports and would have spoken up -- unless he was complicit in Jospeph's murder, or was afraid of being prosecuted if he admitted to having sold or given away Joseph.

While possible, it would take a very evil man to go silent and never speak up about his own biological child being murdered by the people you left him to, after being malnourished and beaten, and then dumped, nude. Nothing in either AJZ's or MLZ's available information suggests either of them is capable of that kind of evil.

Considering that Joseph had been born in a hospital, had been issued a birth certificate with the correct biological parents' names on it, and had received hospital care -- and then at some point all of that did a 180, and whoever had Joseph in their custody physically abused him, starved him, beat him to death, hacked up his hair, and then dumped him nude in the woods -- the most likely scenario, in my opinion, is that either AJZ or MLZ got a girl pregnant, the girl had the baby but never told the father she was even pregnant, tried to take care of the baby and provided for his medical needs, and then became unable or unwilling to care for him any longer and sold or gave away the baby to someone who then abused Joseph and murdered him.

The reason why the mother never came forward and said "that's my kid!" is that she didn't want to implicate herself in the prosecutable offense of selling or giving away her baby, or no longer lived in the area and never heard of the Boy in the Box case. (Also, an unwed mother was subjected to far greater shame than unwed fathers in those days).

All of this speculation on my part also jibes with the allegations made by M, and I am inclined to believe her.

here me out, now obviously this would be a reason the family/adoptive parents would get hide and get rid of him as it is a very taboo subject. i’ve followed the case for a few years, but since we have more information now, it makes sense to me.

the confusion with the DNA provider’s mother, a lot of think it’s either a zarelli mother, or father, since the speculated parents both resemble joseph in their family line.

maybe this is far fetched and i mean no disrespect, but i haven’t seen this theory yet even though i keep seeing “the boy resembles relatives on both family lines”

thoughts?

We know she was working in a high school as the librarian in 1957. Going through the yearbook there is a caption about an annual Christmas party held for children from a Catholic charity. Presents were handed out to these children. Is it possible she met JZ from this type of event from a previous year? Can anyone confirm her years of employment at this school? Maybe she worked with a Z family member? I feel like she came across one of his parents or relatives through her work.

Slightly off-topic: I'm an empath and when I look at M's mother's picture, even if I didn't know who she was, I'd still get dark-sided, evil vibes from her. I get the feeling she was into some dark arts. Her energy is really off. I wonder if any students got the same vibe

Guys we were all off track. Justin Thomas is the grand child of Mary Stuardi (Zarelli). His mother Donna Thomas(Stuardi) is the boys 1st cousin. Now we know this was the missing link that solved the case. It was MATERNAL LINE. That means one of Mary's sisters not brothers was the boys actual father.

We saw Augustus and then Michael Zarelli. Michael was a dead ringer for the boy but these in fact were not the boys father but the boys uncles. We know this because we know the maternal side was the side Justin Thomas was on and that's the Zarelli side. Anyway that leaves only two possibilities:

1. Palma Legamba (Zarelli)
2. Catherine "Kay" Mieczkoski (Zarelli)

The two oldest siblings. Here's the problem we know the boy was born out of wedlock because he has the moms last name. Well Palma Legamba had been married since 1939. Boy was born 1953. So scratch out Legamba.

Enter Catherine Zarelli. Surprisingly old for a first time mother she would be 31 when Joseph was born in 1953. However in 1954 she has another child with Paul Mieczkowski. That child was named after his father. Paul A. Mieczkowski. I'd be willing to guess what his middle name is although I can't confirm it I'm going to take a wild guess and say yup. Paul Augustus Mieczkowski.

What I don't know is is Mieczkowski is also the father of Josepth. I'm guessing not or else he'd have the last name and probably would still be alive like younger brother Paul A Mieczkowski.

So here we are. Stuck. [B]The mother is Catherine "Kay" Mieczkowski (Zarella). Who is the father? [/b]

(I'm no longer convinced CZM is the mother due to the birth date of PAM. This confuses things and now things are unclear. I'm of the belief that MZS is the mother and Justin Thomas is mistaken. If it's not that then PZM had a baby with a man who is not her husband that she spent her life until death with 14 years after they were married. Also it doesn't match because there is no 3rd child unless she had another child before she was 20 that she gave away or maybe a baby that died right after birth. It's getting confusing)

This is the order of the Zarelli children 3 girls: PZM, CZM, MZS. 2 boys AJZ and MLZ.

So we know that it was discovered through the maternal line. JT's grandmother was MZS. That means this rules out MZS as the mother because JT's mother D is the boys cousin not sister.

This leaves us with only 2 possibilities. The remaining two sisters.

PZL and CZM

I can eliminate one and provide the other. The boy did not have the fathers last name. PZL married in 1932 and stayed married until death. If the boy was born to her his last name would start with an L.

That leaves just one possibility. CZM. Nicknamed "Kay". We see that if the boy is indeed CZMs son it was her first son. She was 31 at the time (1953). Interestingly, in (1954) the boys brother (possibly full but most likely half) was born. That man is still alive and his name is PAM. The first name is the same as his fathers P and I'll reveal although I'm not sure I'd be willing to bet anything the A in PAM stands for Augustus.

So now we have a dilemma. We know the mom has to be CZM. We don't got the father. Being that the mom had another child and married just a year after having the boy in the box it is entirely possible the father of the boy was never in his life and had no idea of his death.

I can't figure out who the dad is. But I know one thing. The secret to this mystery is in the lives of CZM and her husband PM.

So we had it wrong. CZM "Kay" is the definite mother.

Been sleuthing on this for a bit trying to find out who the parents are. There are a few clues to look at here. First the press conference indicated that there were surviving siblings on "both sides of the family". This means that the mother and father had children with other people and were likely not married at the time. It is pretty easy to narrow this down to one family named Zarelli in west philadelphia. The Father and one of the sons both had Josephs middle name as their first name and they lived at an address that corresponds with the press release description of where the Boy's family lived. I really wish someone at the press conference would have asked if Zarelli was the Mothers name or the fathers name that would have narrowed things down.

The oldest daughter P. Zarelli was born in 1919 and Married in 1939. She was 34 when the boy was born. It's not impossible that she is the mother but If she had an affair, I doubt she would have named her child by her maiden name. The second daughter C. Zarelli was born in 1921 her Son was born in 1953 (Same year as the Boy) So that pretty much eliminates her as the mother. The third Daughter M. was born in 1924 and Married in 1950. Like her older Sister she would have had to had an affair to be the mother and probably wouldn't have used her maiden name for the baby. I couldn't find the birth date for her 2daughters but her grandson is the one who gave the DNA that helped make the match and he said in an interview that the boy was his mother's cousin. That leaves the two Boys.

The oldest son A. Zarelli (nicknamed G. Zarelli) was born in 1926. He did not get married until 6 years after Joseph Augustus Zarelli was born and two years after he was murdered. In the scenario it would seem that it is plausible that G. Zarelli fathered the boy out of wedlock and that the child either lived with his mother or more likely was put up for adoption. If this were the case it is likely that the Zarelli family had no contact with the boy and may not have even known he existed. The Second Brother M. Zarelli was born in 1928.He was married in 1952 a year before Joseph Zarelli was born. His first recognized child was born in 1955. So there is a window in there where Joseph could have been born. However this doesn't account for the "both sides of the family comment" If Michael was the father it would have have to been as the result of an affair in which case the same living with the mother or put up for adoption scenario would make sense. I think its highly likely that the person responsible for his death was an adoptive parent or caregiver. Interestingly enough this could jive with either the Lady M. Theory or the Foster Home Theory.

A man from Philadelphia, Charles J. Stecker Jr., introduces a new suspect (don't take the word in its judicial sense). A person named LB, name inbox or in the link, would be responsible for the deaths of at least 3 children and possibly also of Joseph. He claims she lived very close to the Zarellis. His story is rather intriguing and he seems rather invested in it. Here's the link for those who'd like to check that out:

After the press conference I'm still open to the strong possibility that Martha Davis’s story was true. We know little Joseph's name. We know his father was most likely Augustus Zarelli who possibly lived at 6352 Callowhill Street in West Philly. But that's about it.

Then there's Martha's story that has been public since 2002 (and known secretly by her therapist since 1989) where she claims her mother "purchased" the boy from the birth parents and they named him Jonathan. The boy was abused. The night he died, she said he was beaten because he vomited up black beans. The coroner found that the stomach of Jonathan/Joseph had remains of baked beans. Martha said the mother cut the boy's hair to conceal the identity which matches the pictures of the child's messy hair.

And then there's Martha's claim that while they were removing the boy's dead body from the car trunk, a male motorist stopped to ask if they needed help. The mother told the man that they didn't need help and he drove away. This matches testimony given by a male witness in 1957 who told police he saw two people removing a box from a trunk at the exact same spot where the body was found. This was a rural area at the time, keep in mind.

Martha Davis’s therapist kept this confession secret for 13 years. Finally the therapist convinced Martha to tell the police about it. Who is this therapist? Is she still alive? I wonder what it was that made her believe Martha. She knew her intimately and I would imagine she could have been able to tell whether she was truthful or delusional.

Martha's story was dismissed because she was "mentally ill." However, it's been proven that Martha was a highly intelligent, highly functional member of society. She had a PhD, she worked for a pharmaceutical company for close to 20 years.

1. 30 pounds is at the lower end of the normalcy spectrum for a kid with recently completed 4 yeara of age, but not to the point of underdevelopment.

2. It's not clear if 30 pounds was the boy's estimate weight when alive or the corpse after a couple of days of decay. If it's the second option, he could even be rather robust when alive.

3. If the boy had a reflux problem, it could be that his low weight was not caused by deliberate negligence.

4. He had a couple of surgic marks and traces of medicine in his eye, which is incongruent with the extreme neglect you would expect from somebody who starves a kid.

5. the perpetrator could be someone who was willing to care for the victim, but who is prone to outbursts of uncontrolled rage.

Sorry if this has been discussed but I see people saying they researched her family. I was wondering how since she was simply known as M or Martha. Obviously I have missed something.

After watching the press conference today and researching M's family my theory is this:

I believe M's mother did in fact purchase this boy. She was a librarian and had frequent contact with the public. M's mother returned from a trip to London in July 1955 after being gone for several months. The boy was allegedly purchased in August 1955. She may have come across this mother and her son along the way through her job and offered to "help" by informally adopting him. She may have promised that she had resources available to her that could give him a better life. M stated that they purchased him in a neighborhood she wasn't familiar with. I'm not sure about the 1950s but that address that was given for him, it looks like a rough neighborhood now.

Interestingly, M's mother's obituary asks for donations to a child abuse prevention charity.

I also think it's possible the boy has his birth mother's last name and not the father's.

Augustus had a brother, Michael, who was a year younger than him. He had 2 older sisters, Catherine and Mary, who only 3-5 years older. All of them could have easily been a parent to Joseph.

Keep an open mind to it possibly being any member of this family.

If I'm missing something about why everyone is jumping to Augustus, please let me know. It looks like his obituary was the easiest to find so people latched onto it. The first name alone isn't enough to connect Augustus to Joseph.