The search for the identity of the boy in the box
For over 65 years, the identity of a murdered boy has remained unknown. The Ivy Hill Cemetery in Cedarbrook, Philadelphia, has the body of the boy with a headstone engraved “America’s Unknown Child.” To this day, people continue to cover the child’s headstone with flowers and stuffed animals.
It was February 25, 1957, when the body of a boy was found inside a box near Susquehanna Road in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The boy was said to be between 4 and 6 years old, weighed 30 lbs., and had a height of 3’3.
The unidentified boy was found naked, wrapped in a blanket. He had recently been bathed and had been freshly groomed with a messy haircut.
The child had small scars on his chin, groin, and left ankle that resembled medical procedure scars. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
The medical examiner determined that the boy had not eaten for about three hours before his death, but there was a dark substance in the boy’s esophagus.
The body was found by a college student walking on the grounds. However, he waited a full day before contacting the police.
A few days later, the police were notified that the body had actually been discovered by a hunter who had found the body while checking on his muskrat traps. The hunter chose not to report it because he did not want to be involved with the investigation.
Due to the cold weather and the delayed phone calls to the police, it was hard to determine when the boy had passed away.
Detectives quickly began to search for the identity of the child to reconnect him with his parents. The police began by comparing the child’s footprints to those of nearby hospitals, and they took the child’s fingerprints, expecting to identify him, but there was no record of the boy.
Visitors from 10 states attempted to identify the boy’s body, but there was no luck. Investigators then decided to send out 400,000 flyers with pictures of the boy, but the flyers led nowhere. In hopes of sparking a memory, police dressed the body of the boy in clothing he might have worn and photographed him sitting, but nothing came from it.
The investigators then decided to turn to the clues to catch the murderer, and the first clue was the box. Police were able to trace the serial number of the box to a JCPenney 15 miles away. A JCPenney employee was able to assist authorities and said that the box was used to deliver a bassinet. There were a total of 12 bassinets shipped, and all customers paid in cash, which meant there was no record of who made the purchases. However, authorities were able to pinpoint that the box was delivered to a home in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, because of the box’s serial number. Unfortunately, the lead on the box was a dead-end.
Authorities then focused the investigation on a blue corduroy cap that was found 15 feet from the box, sized 7 and 1/8. The hat had a label that read “Eagle Hat and Cap Company” and it was made by Mrs. Hanna Robbins in South Philadelphia. When the police spoke to Mrs. Robins, she said she remembered that it was a blonde man, between the ages of 26 and 30, who purchased the hat, and that he requested that the hat be added a leather strap and a buckle. Authorities asked over 100 stores about the mysterious blonde man, the hat, and the boy, but no one recognized them.
The identity of the boy has not been discovered after 65 years, but there are many theories about what happened to the boy.
One theory is from Remington Bristow, a medical examiner, who believed, up until his death, that the death of the boy was an accident that occurred in a foster home, but that nobody came forward out of fear of being charged with murder.
Another theory surrounds the confession of a mental patient named Martha. Martha said that her mother had paid for the boy and that she planned to sexually abuse him. In regard to how the boy died, Martha said that her mother beat the boy to death when she struggled to bathe him. Martha went on to say that the day the boy died he had thrown up the baked beans that her mother had made for dinner. Detectives attempted to confirm Martha’s claims, but neighbors and friends were not able to corroborate that there was ever a child in the home where she lived.
As of now, Detective Sergeant Bob Kuhlmeier continues to keep the investigation of the boy alive and running. Kuhlmeier and homicide captain Jason Smith have continued to search for the identity and family of the boy.
Three years ago, Philadelphia homicide detectives got an order to exhume the remains of the boy to retrieve DNA. The DNA retrieved was sent to a lab in Europe and it gave them a break in the case.
Police now have a DNA profile of the boy, and they hope that his DNA profile will lead them to the boy’s family.
The identity of “America’s Unknown Child” may soon be known.
