The Boy in the Box - 25th February 1957

"A boy loved more in death than in life". America's Unknown Boy's death is a mystery which resonates with the world 60 years on. He has, thus far, laid in three graves, none of which could be inscribed with a name.

**This post will contain graphic images and descriptions of the unknown boy post mortem - please proceed to read at your own discretion.

Discovery

It was the 25th February 1957 when a student, Frederick Benosis reported stumbling across what he initially believed to be a discarded doll. He admitted that he had made this discovery a day before whilst spying on young women in a local school, but was anxious about telling police why he was in the area. It was later found out that the body was discovered before this, by a man checking on his illegal muskrat traps, but was not reported, again for fear of police asking why the witness was there.

The young boy's body was initially mistaken for a doll when it was discovered
the 24th February 1957.

The "doll" was discovered to be a young boy of a fair complexion with blue eyes and light to medium brown hair, aged approximately  3-7 years old. He had been stripped naked and wrapped with his arms gently crossed across his body in a flannel blanket inside a cardboard box, which was found to belong to a baby's bassinet purchased from a JC Penny's store. Just a few feet away from the box was a blue cap, the cap appeared to be in men's sizing, however had paper stuffed in it as though it was worn by somebody who was too small for it.








The boy's body revealed a heartbreaking past. Covered in black bruises from head to toe, the body had telltale signs of physical abuse. Standing at 3ft3" and weighing just 30lbs, the boy was severely malnourished and an autopsy revealed that the boy had not eaten 3-4 hours before his death. There was a brown substance in his oesophagus which suggested that he had vomited shortly before he passed away. The young boy had surgical scars on his ankle and groin and an L-shaped scar beneath his chin. He still had all of his baby teeth and pathologists suspect that he may have had a chronic eye ailment.

There are numerous strange factors about the way that the body was found, for example, one of the boy's hands and both of his feet were wrinkled, as if he had been submerged in water for a long period of time either before or shortly after his death. His nails had been neatly trimmed and his hair crudely cut and, as a result, chunks of hair covered his body suggesting that this may have been done following his death. The boy had deep bruises all over his body and is thought to have been laid in the box for 2-3 days to 2-3 weeks. The cause of death was determined to be multiple blows to the head.

Police immediately started scouring Missing Children's reports from the months prior to the discovery, looking for reports of a child that matched the boy's description, however no matches were found, it seemed as though the boy had no family to miss him. The hat found close to the body was traced to a store in the area and the storekeeper could distinctly remember the male that bought it, however with no payment information, there was no way to trace the male's identity.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though the only way to find the person that murdered the boy, was to first uncover his identity, which was becoming much more difficult than the police first thought. Fingerprint databases were searched however no matches could be found for the young child. The police became increasingly more creative with their methods, ensuring that all gas bills in the months following the child's discovery were printed with information about the case and desperate appeals for witnesses to come forward. Police even went as far as to dress the young boy and photograph him sat up to emulate his appearance as it would have been when he was alive.

These images were circulated far and wide and numerous calls came in, however as the investigation progressed, the hundreds of leads the police had dwindled to just a few, which were usually theories rather than actual evidence-based leads.

One anonymous call was from a male who stated that he had driven past the crime scene (it is unclear when) and saw a woman and a boy stood beside their car with the trunk open. The man, thinking that they may have broken down, stopped and offered to help them but the woman and boy simply ignored the man until he drove away. This witness testimony could not be substantiated by evidence.





Five months after the unknown boy's discovery, and no closer to solving this crime, police made the controversial decision to bury the boy. On the 24th July 1957, in a Potter's Field close to Mechanicsville and Dunk Ferry Road (a site for the burial of unidentified bodies) the boy was laid to rest. His gravestone simply read "Heavenly Father, Bless this Unknown Boy, February 25, 1957".

The grave was later exhumed in 1998 so that DNA could be extracted from the victim's tooth. The DNA gathered was unfortunately too small for any matches to be made and the body was re-buried in on at the Ivy Hill Cemetery on the 11th November 1998, his new headstone reading "America's Unknown Child, Dedicated November 11th 1998". His old gravestone lay at the bottom of his grave.

Theories and Suspects. 

Throughout the 60 years that this case has been open there have been thousands of theories and suspects identified. Unfortunately I cannot relay them all to you, however below are a selection of the ones that I find to be most interesting/have the most media interest.

Frederick Benosis

As with most cases, the person unfortunate enough to stumble across the crime scene became a main suspect in the case. Frederick Benosis reluctant admission that he had actually discovered the child a day before he called police raised suspicion in many, however after extensive questioning and even a voluntary polygraph test, his name was cleared of any suspicion and his profile wiped from the case.

"M's Theory"

In February 2002, an Ohio psychiatrist contacted police to advise that one of her clients wished to provide some evidence about the case of the Boy in The Box. The woman, referred to throughout the case as "M", was reported to be a business woman from Cincinnati. She claimed that the unknown boy was named Jonathon and was sold to her mother in 1954 He was subsequently put through years of physical and sexual abuse. "M" claimed that on the night of the boy's death, he had eaten baked beans which he vomited in the bath a few moments later. "M"s mother reportedly erupted into a fit of rage, throwing the boy against the floor, which resulted in the head injury that killed him.

"M" was interviewed by detectives on the case in May 2002. "M" recalled being brought up in a wealthy area in Ohio, in a home in which she was regularly sexually abused by her mother. She recalled being 10 years old when she drove with her mother to collect Jonathon from a nearby orphanage, where she believes that money was exchanged for his life. In "M"s opinion, Jonathon was bought for the sole purpose of being sexually abused by her mother.

Allegedly, Jonathon was left to live in the basement of the house, with a cardboard box as a bed and the house's drain as a toilet. The young boy was hidden from visitors to the house and was under no circumstances allowed outside.

One thing that I find incredibly interesting about this theory is that "M" distinctly recalled the days after the boy's death, and especially her mother trimming the boy's hair to conceal his identity, cutting his nails and wrapping his naked body in a blanket from their home. The pair then drove out into Philadelphia to find a suitable, secluded place the hide the boy's body. Whilst unloading the body from the trunk, a male pulled up and asked if they needed assistance. "M" was told to stand by the registration plate to cover it and to ignore the man until he left. This bares an odd resemblance to the anonymous witness testimony mentioned earlier, which the Philadelphia Police Department adamantly claim was never released as public information.

Despite this theory eerily matching so much of the evidence already corroborated in the case, "M"s mental state cast doubt over her testimony and there were quiet suspicions that she may have fabricated the story. Investigations began into "M"s claims, however after 6 months the Philadelphia Police Department and Montgomery County District Attorney's Office accepted the fact that they could find no substantial evidence to back up the woman's claims. Tests were also ran in the basement of "M"s home, where the boy that she named as Jonathan was allegedly kept for 3 years, however nothing of relevance to the case was found.

One thing that I find odd about this theory is that there are rumours that "M" informed her psychiatrist of this story in 1989, 13 years before it was relaid to the Philadelphia Police Department in 2002. I find it difficult to believe that, even in the late 1980's there were no ethical rules which would encourage the psychiatrist to speak up about what she had been told or encourage "M" to speak to police.

Steven Craig Damman

In 1955 two-year-old Steven Craig Damman and his baby sister Pamela disappeared from a storefront in Long Island NY, where he had been left in his stroller. Pamela was found a few yards away from the store, however Steven remains missing to this day.

As Steven was also a young boy of a fair complexion, brown hair and blue eyes, police explored the idea that he may have been the Boy in the Box. X-rays were performed along with footprint matches and Steven's medical records were reviewed. Two of many distinctive features Steven has are a recognisable freckle on the back of his calf and medical records showed that he had medical intervention for some issues with his kidney growth. Unfortunately, the unknown boy did not have the same freckle, and the autopsy showed no organ problems or treatment.



The Foster Home

Around 1.5 miles away from the site the boy was found was a foster home ran by a couple named Arthur and Catherine Nicoletti and Catherine's daughter, Anna Marie Nagle. The family had experienced the heartbreak of losing a child many times, with Anna Marie giving birth to three stillborn children. Her fourth child was electrocuted in a freak accident on an amusement ride and this would be a clear motive for wanting to take care of children in need in the way that they did. The foster home housed up to 25 children at one time and the children would stay with the Nicoletti's for anything from a few weeks to a few years. When this case initially opened, there were five boys and three girls in residence at the home, and, after accounting for each of the children, Police did not believe the foster home to be of any suspicion.

Later in the investigation however, psychic Florence Sternfield was asked to comment on the case, and she directed police towards a large house that had a log cabin in the vicinity of it that would have children associated with it. Police searched the area surrounding the body and came across the Nicoletti home which was a large house with a log cabin which the children would sleep in during the summer. Florence was taken to Philadelphia and, without prompting, was able to lead police from the site of the body to the foster home.

The Nicoletti's suspiciously left their history of foster care behind, sold their house and moved away. Someone from the Philadelphia Police Department had the initiative to attend the auction and viewing of the house and was able to identify a similar blanket to the one that the boy was found wrapped in and a bassinet which would match the box that the boy laid in. The house also had a small lake at the back of it and it was theorised that the boy's wrinkled hand and feet could have been something to do with this body of water. Theories became more and more elaborate but many were based around the idea that the Boy in the Box was the illegitimate son of Anna Marie. This theory was later substantiated by the marriage of Arthur Nicoletti to his stepdaughter Anna Marie, and his refusal to take a polygraph test to assist police. Arthur and Anna Marie finally agreed to be interviewed in 1998 however nothing incriminating was said and, to this day, there is no solid evidence to support this theory.

Police Contact Details

This case is one that I first discovered in my early teens and has stayed with me ever since. As well as being a heartbreaking and cruel matter, I think that it really highlights the advancements in police technology and I truly believe that if this boy was to be discovered today, we may have been able to give him a name, a past and most importantly, justice.

Should you have any information regarding this case, please contact the Philadelphia Police Department Homicide Unit on 215-686-3334. Alternatively you may contact Detective Tom Augustine on 215-686-3334. 




I very much hope that, as distressing as this case may be, you have enjoyed this post and will keep the Boy in the Box in your thoughts. Thank you for your time, Lyd.