The Boy in the Box was buried at a potter’s field in Philadelphia with a headstone that read, “Heavenly Father, Bless This Unknown Boy.” His identity and the circumstances that surrounded his death remained a mystery for years, but he was never forgotten. In 1998, his body was exhumed in order to extract DNA, and he was moved to a new burial spot at Ivy Hill Cemetery, as reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer. His body was exhumed again in 2019, and that was when he was identified through genetic genealogy.
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Genetic genealogy makes use of genealogy techniques and DNA testing to identify family members. It is used to find genetic markers, discover one’s ethnic heritage, or find distant family members (via Genealogy Explained). Furthermore, it can be used in investigations to find out the identities of unknown individuals. Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick of Identifiers International — a company that specializes in forensic genealogy for law enforcement and medical examiners — told VOA that the Boy in the Box’s DNA was heavily degraded, and it took a couple of years before useful data was extracted. In December 2022, his identity was revealed in a press conference. He was Joseph Augustus Zarelli, a 4-year-old who is related to a “prominent family” in Delaware, per People. The outlet reported that his mother and father are dead, but Zarelli still has living siblings.
