Artistic rendering of the victim; sketch of the victim if raised as a girl; The box & blanket the child was found in; Artistic rendering of what the child's father may have looked like. To view post-mortem photos of the victim please click here
Identified...Identified...Identified
Artistic rendering of the victim; sketch of the victim if raised as a girl; The box & blanket the child was found in; Artistic rendering of what the child's father may have looked like. To view post-mortem photos of the victim please click here
Date of Discovery: February 25, 1957
Location of Discovery: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Estimated Date of Death: Days prior
State of Remains: Homicide by blunt-force trauma
Estimated Age: 3-6 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 3'0" to 3'3"
Weight: 30 lbs.
Hair Color: Light brown to blond trimmed in an odd, bowl-shaped haircut.
Eye Color: Blue
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Pale complexion. Seven scars, three of which could have resulted from surgical procedures. Two of the possible surgical scars were on the chest and groin. They had healed quite well, leaving only a hairline trace. The third was on his left ankle, which looked like a cut-down incision, made to expose a vein so that a needle may be inserted to give an infusion or transfusion. There was a 1 1/2 - inch scar on the left side of the chest, and a round, irregular scar on the left elbow. On his chin was an L-shaped scar, a quarter-inch long in each direction. There was no vaccination scar. He had been circumcised. Several small moles on his body, including three on the left side of his face, a tiny one below his right ear, three small ones on his chest, and a large one two inches above his right wrist.
Dentals: Available. Full set of baby teeth. Slightly bucktoothed.
Fingerprints: Available
DNA: Available
Clothing: A tan child's scarf and a boy's yellow flannel shirt were also recovered at the scene. Investigators determined that the size four shirt matched the child's size at the time of his homicide. A child's pair of black shoes were also located, however, they did not fit the unidentified boy. An Ivy League style cap made of blue corduroy with a leather strap and buckle across the back was also found. It was determined that the cap was made in a south Philadelphia shop. The store owner recalled that a man between the ages of 26 - 30 made the purchase. He did not speak with an accent. The purchaser was never identified.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: A cardboard box from JC Penney for a white bassinet, with the words "Furniture, Fragile, Do Not Open With A Knife." Inexpensive, well-worn flannel with a faded design of diamonds and blocks in green, rust-colored red, brown and white. An additional piece of the blanket was found inside the box, smeared with automotive grease.
A traveler discovered the child's unclothed body at a garbage-filled locale on Susquehanna Road in Philadelphia. He had been wrapped in a blanket and placed inside a cardboard box. His body had been beaten. His nails had recently been trimmed. The palm of his right hand and the soles of his feet were rough and wrinkled, indicating that the limbs had been submerged in water prior to or shortly after his death. Strands of his hair were present on his body, leading authorities to believe that his hair had been cut shortly before or following his homicide. This has lead some to speculate he was raised as a girl prior to his murder.
The blanket he was wrapped in was a large piece of an inexpensive, well-worn flannel with a faded design of diamonds and blocks in green, rust-colored red, brown and white. An additional piece of the blanket was found inside the box, smeared with automotive grease. The third piece of the blanket remains missing.
The box which contained the child's body was from JC Penney, located in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was marked with "Furniture, Fragile, Do Not Open With Knife" and had originally contained a white bassinet. Records were unable to pinpoint the purchaser of the item.
The coroners' investigations were unable to pinpoint any previous broken bones or inflicted trauma.
A long strand of brown hair - not the child's - was removed from the scene. In addition, a man's handkerchief with the initial "G" was located near the box. Short stands of hair were present on the material and were tested to determine if the hair came from the unidentified boy; the results of the tests are unknown.
This case has been reopened and closed many times in over 40 years. The boy's remains were exhumed in the late 90s for DNA testing. He was re-interred into a tomb marked "America's Unknown Child" in Ivy Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.
The boy is referred to as "America's Unknown Child," "The Fox Chase Boy" or "The Boy In The Box."
Agency Name: Philadelphia County Medical Examiner's Office
Agency Contact Person: Seth Ditizio
Agency Phone Number: 215-685-7445
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 57-863
Agency Name: Philadelphia Police Department, Homicide Division
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 215-686-3334
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: Unknown
NCIC Case Number: Not entered
NamUs Case Number: 13111
NCMEC Case Number: 1231830
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Added: 7/23/06; Last Updated: 12/31/16
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information may be estimated.
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