'The boy's body in the box': Mysterious cases over 60 years failed to find the culprit

60 years on, the boy's identity and portraits of murderers are still a mystery that investigators have a headache, became the case without the longest resolution in American history.

This was a horrifying and haunting case in Philadelphia in 1957, the savage case of the cold-blooded murderer killing the victim in a box. The case was brought on American television but still could not investigate the motives and suspects. The identity of the boy and the murderer is still a mystery!

Who is the "boy in the box"?

On February 25, 1957, it was discovered that a large carton was left in the landfill on Susquehanna Road (near Fox Chase, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA). Inside the box was a corpse of a boy, naked with countless wounds.

When found, the child was in a supine position in a large carton box, his hands placed neatly on his belly, his hair cut short almost bald. On the boy's body, small, broken hairs were still found.

Many people believe that the boy is about 4-6 years old. Through autopsy, the boy was malnourished and had been a victim of abuse and abuse. There were many bruises and scars found in different areas of the boy's body, especially in the head and face. Investigators predicted that the boy's hair had been cut after the killer took action to hide the victim's true identity.

The box discovered the boy's body.

Portrait of the boy sketched.

Location of the boy's body.

Numerous media outlets posted information about the boy's body in the box.

Initially, thinking like many other murders, Philadelphia police confirmed: " We will soon find out the identity of the victim soon." However, soon after they realized this case was not simple. Hundreds, thousands of poster prints, and descriptions of the identity of the child were broadcast, white on the streets, streets as well as in supermarkets and offices throughout Philadelphia. However, no one knows who the child is.

All of the Philadelphia police evidence found only include: the box containing the victim's body, an old blanket torn in half, a blue hat. Persistently follow each evident evidence, five times sent the evidence to the FBI laboratory for assessment but still did not lead to any results.

Hypotheses and failures

During the past 60 years, there are many theories, clues have been set about his mysterious death but all are rejected because there is not enough evidence. After the incident, many families lost their children to the police. However, the police still cannot prove these people are related to the child.

In 2002, a woman with a history of mental illness declared that her family had "bought" the boy from another family. She also said the boy had been sexually abused and mistreated for two years before being killed. She also emphasized that it was her parents who beat the boy after she vomited in the bath and the poor boy died after being hit hard on the floor. However, when the police investigated this woman's family, there was no result.

The police were forced to post pictures of the boy's body in search of information but nothing was obtained.

The case with many hypotheses was put forward but did not bring any results after decades.

In 2004, 47 years after the incident, Tom Augustine, one of the detectives who used to "decode" the mysterious box in Philadelphia, received the contact of the Mr. and Mrs. Clairmants, living in Florida. . The couple insisted, the victim in the box was his son and offered to conduct DNA testing to find the answer. However, the results from the lab once again "reject" their assumptions.

In 1955 there was another theory. At that time, a 3-year-old boy named Steven Craig Damman was kidnapped outside a supermarket. As described, Steven and the "boy in the box" have many similarities: the same age, the same hair color, the eye color has a chin scar like the victim. Investigators hypothesize that it is possible that two boys are the same person.

Even so, both people have different points. Steven has a kidney problem but the boy in the box has no health problems. At the end of 1998, the boy's grave in the box was excavated. Science has come a long way over the years and it is time for authorities to use DNA as evidence. However, this measure still identifies the victim not Steven Damman.

On July 24, 1958, the boy was buried in a field near Philadelphia State Hospital. A stone tablet is placed on the grave with the words: "Please Heaven in heaven bless this anonymous boy".

The boy's identity in the box and what happened to him is still a mystery. Today, on many US crime and detective websites, this case is mentioned a lot and accompanied by a call: "Detectives have failed! But you know, you can Help us find the whereabouts of this child. Please contact us if . ".