True Crime Infamous Murder Mysteries

Boy in the Box

On February 25, 1957, a trapper in the Fox Chase area of Philadelphia, PA stumbled upon a blanket-covered body stuffed into a cardboard box. Although he kept silent to avoid having his traps confiscated, a passing college student later reported the body. The naked victim was 4 to 6 years old with signs of severe malnourishment, a lifetime of beatings, and recently shorn hair. Further searches unearthed a child's cap, scarf, and handkerchief, while media attention brought forth several confessions. Most strikingly, one woman claimed her abusive mother had purchased, tortured, and accidentally murdered the boy before dumping his body. In 2016, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children added his facial reconstruction to their database, but, to this day, the identity and death of "America's Unknown Child" remains a mystery.