S2.E14 - The Boy The World Tried to Find: The Tragic Tale of Joseph Augustus Zarelli

S2E14 - S2.E14 - The Boy The World Tried to Find: The Tragic Tale of Joseph Augustus Zarelli

Published: April 17, 2026

Duration: 59:46

This week, the Pandemonium team discusses the heartbreaking case known for decades as “The Boy in the Box.” In February 1957, the body of a young boy was discovered inside a cardboard box in the woods of Philadelphia. He had no name, no missing persons report, and no one who seemed to be searching for him. For more than 65 years, investigators and amateur sleuths worked to identify the child once called “America’s Unknown Child.” This episode walks through the discovery of the boy, the many theories that followed, and the decades-long effort to finally give him back his name. Because ev...