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The Fox Chase Boy

Murder Victim

The so-called Fox Chase Boy was an unknown child found dead in 1957 in a vacant lot in the Philadelphia community of Fox Chase. The blue-eyed and blonde-haired boy was estimated to be between 3 and 5 years of age, and his bruised body was found inside a cardboard box. (Hence he is also known as "The Boy in the Box.") An autopsy showed that the boy had been dead at least two days and possibly as long as three weeks, and that he had died of head injuries. Though the death was presumed to be a homicide, the exact cause of the boy's injuries could not be determined. Among the case's many odd twists: the boy's hair had been crudely cut shortly before death or possibly afterwards. The search for the boy's identity became a huge news story of the era and a personal mission for the police detectives assigned to the case. However, the mystery was never solved and the boy has remained unidentified into the 21st century.

Other victims of unsolved murders include The Black Dahlia and Bob Crane... For other mysterious cases, see the loop Disappearing Acts.

Blog posts mentioning The Fox Chase Boy:
The Strange Case of the Boy in the Box

Four Good Links

Boy in the Box Mystery

Full site devoted to the case; great newspaper articles

Tossed Away

2002 Court TV article recaps the case and its investigators

America's Unknown Child

Another site devoted to the mystery

Who Was the Fox Chase Boy?

Recap of the story

Vital Stats

Birth

c. 1953

Birthplace

?

Death

February 1957
(head injury, age 4)

Best Known As

Mysterious 1950s Philadelphia victim

Something in Common with Fox Chase Boy