Located on February 25, 1957 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Estimated Date of Death: The cool weather made it difficult to tell how long the child had been dead. It may have been two or three days, or possibly as long as two or three weeks.
Cause of Death: Homicide by multiple blows on the head.
Born Est. 1951-1953
3'4"-3'5"; 30 lbs.
Medium to light brown, or blond hair; blue eyes.
AKA: "The Boy in the Box" and "America's Unknown Child".
His hair had been cut recently - very close to the head, in a crude, hurried way, perhaps as a deliberate attempt to conceal the child's identity. Small clumps of cut hair clung to his entire body, suggesting that someone had groomed him while he was unclothed, probably either shortly before or immediately after death.
He had pale skin, and appeared malnourished. The boy had a full set of baby teeth, and was also slightly bucktoothed. The tonsils had not been removed.
X-rays of the boy's body showed no evidence of current or prior bone fractures.
The child's shirt size was 4; his shoe size was 8-D.
There were many bruises all over the child's body; particularly on the head and face. There were seven scars on the body, three of which could have resulted from surgical procedures. Two of these "surgical" scars were on the chest and groin. They had healed quite well, leaving only a hairline trace. There was also a scar on the boy's left ankle, which looked like a "cut-down" incision. Such an incision is 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 the chin was an L-shaped scar - a quarter of an inch long in each direction. There was no vaccination scar. The boy had been circumcised. He had several small moles on his body, including three on the left side of his face; one below his right ear; three on his chest; and one on his right arm, two inches above his wrist. Also ultraviolet light was shone into the boys eyes. His left eye fluoresced a brilliant blue. This may indicate that a special dye had been put in the eye to diagnose an eye ailment.
On February 25, 1957, the young victim was found lying face up inside a large cardboard carton. His nude body was wrapped in a cheap flannel blanket and was found just a few feet from the edge of Susquehanna Road, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The body was dry and clean. The boy's arms were carefully folded across his stomach. The finger and toenails had been recently trimmed short and neat.
In 1957, Susquehanna Road was a narrow country lane in the sparsely settled Fox Chase section of northeast Philadelphia. It was approximately a half-mile in length, linking Pine Road on the west with Verree Road on the east. The southern side of Susquehanna Road was wooded at that time, but the tree cover did not extend beyond a few yards from the road in most places. It quickly gave way to extensive stretches of open field and scrub growth. This provided a perfect habitat for rabbits, muskrats, and other small game. There were no houses on Susquehanna Road itself, but the compound of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, a religious order which operated a school for "wayward girls", adjoined the road on the north. A driveway providing access to this large, multiple building facility was located about 500 yards west of the intersection of Susquehanna and Verree roads. Almost directly across the street from the entrance to the Good Shepherd School was a wooded area choked with thick underbrush that was often used by local residents as a place to dump refuse. It was here, at the junction of two well-worn footpaths, that the victim's body was discovered in February 1957.
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