In February 1957, a college student stumbled upon the remains of a young boy in the woods of Philadelphia and reported his gruesome discovery to the police. The boy was found badly beaten and laid to rest inside an old bassinet box. His identity was unknown.
Several people came forward with information relating to the case, but the police were not able to verify anyone’s testimony. One woman, Martha, claimed that her abusive mother bought the boy. Under their roof, he was subjected to physical and sexual abuse. What made the police take interest in Martha’s story was her knowledge of details that had not been released to the public. She claimed that shortly before the boy was beaten to death, he ate baked beans, which corroborated the autopsy. She also claimed that he was bathed before his death, which matched the coroner’s finding of water-pruned fingers. Though Martha’s testimony seemed to match the evidence, her substantial history of mental illness made her an unreliable witness.
Another lead came from a psychic who accurately described a foster home near where the boy had been found, without ever having seen it. Remington Bristow, an employee at the examiner’s office, followed the psychic’s directions to the foster house. Inside, he discovered a bassinet matching the description of the bassinet box the boy was found in. He also found blankets similar to the one that was wrapped around the boy’s body. Because there was no real incriminating evidence against the foster parents, Bristow’s findings were dismissed as well.
62 years later, the case of the Boy in the Box has gone cold. Facial reconstruction technology has provided mock images of what the boy might have looked like alive, but no one has ever come forward to claim him. DNA and dental testing have also been attempted, with no success thus far. The identity of the Boy in the Box remains unknown to this day.