Sixty-five years after the body of a child was found on the side of a road, dubbed the "unknown child of the United States", the Philadelphia police managed to identify him on Thursday as Joseph Augustus Zarelli after using modern forensic technology.
It is the oldest unsolved case in this Pennsylvania city, according to police, who also told a news conference that the investigation is continuing as it is unknown who was responsible for the four-year-old's death.
The minor, who has been determined to have been born on January 13, 1953, was found on January 25, 1957 in a cardboard box naked, malnourished, and severely beaten.
"We have our suspicions about who may be responsible, but it would be irresponsible to share these suspicions as this is still an active criminal investigation," Philadelphia Police Capt. John Smith told a news conference.
Police are offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the boy's death.
He also pointed out that "the boy in the box", as the case is known, has siblings on his mother's and father's sides, who were not identified.
"Joseph has several siblings, both on his mother's and father's side, who are living and it is out of respect for them that their parents' information remains confidential," the captain said.
The authorities explained during the conference that the DNA tests that had been carried out had not yielded results to identify the child.
However, in 2019, after obtaining a court order, the body was exhumed and forensics were able to obtain enough DNA that it was subjected to the new technology.
City Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said today's announcement, after 65 years of investigation, "closes a chapter in this boy's story and opens a new one."
"This is still an active homicide investigation and we still need the public's help to complete his story," he said.
He recalled that several investigators have worked on this case for six decades and that some died without knowing the identity of the child.
"Without the hard work, dedication, passion and tenacity of so many, we would not be here today to give America's previously unknown child a voice," he said.
Until now on the minor's tombstone it said: "The unknown child of the United States."
