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#Post#: 154--------------------------------------------------
Re: THE BOY IN THE BOX: WM, 4-6, found in Philadelphia, PA, Feb
1957
By: Akoya Date: November 25, 2018, 12:17 pm
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HTML http://hiddencityphila.org/2014/07/remembering-the-citys-last-potters-field/
At the intersection of Dunks Ferry and Mechanicsville roads in
the Far Northeast, not far from the Philadelphia County line, a
weathered utility pole endures the sun. The shadow it casts
makes a cross in the grass between a gravel parking lot and a
lonely soccer field with overgrown weeds and a single goal. On
the utility pole, someone has spray-painted, in big black
letters, the word “POTTER’S.
Back then, in the 1960s, the potter’s field at Dunks Ferry and
Mechanicsville contained a single headstone. The inscription
read, “Heavenly Father, Bless This Unknown Boy, February 25,
1957.”
The unknown boy, like the other people buried in this city
cemetery, was never claimed. He was found in a cardboard box in
Fox Chase and despite an investigation that lasted decades, was
never identified. In 1998, his body and headstone were moved to
Ivy Hill Cemetery. Now, in the center of the field, right about
where the stone stood, a pair of groundhogs peak out of a hole
leading into a network of tunnels in a mound of lumpy earth.
HTML https://i.imgur.com/eSmDGwV.jpg
#Post#: 155--------------------------------------------------
Re: THE BOY IN THE BOX: WM, 4-6, found in Philadelphia, PA, Feb
1957
By: Akoya Date: November 25, 2018, 12:18 pm
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The daughter told the police detectives that they went home and
things were supposed to return to normal. I don't know if the
woman had any reactions to what she had done. She certainly
didn't seem to feel guilt for starving the child, dragging him
up the stairs, beating him to death, and sexually abusing him.
I'm sure there are many things the daughter told the detectives
that weren't included in the book. The daughter has insisted
that her mother did not bring the box with them. She claims it
was already in the woods.
He was wrapped in a little blanket. We went into this patch of
woods, not that far from the road. Then my mother saw this box
sitting there. "Oh, good," my mother said. "Tilt it." So I did,
standing it up enough for her to lay Jonathan inside. She made
sure he was out of the rain. Did it matter? Then we hurried back
to the car, going back the same way we'd just come.
On the way my mother stopped at a little diner so I could get
something to eat. Imagine! I guess I was hungry. I think I had a
donut. But before we'd gone too far, I begged my mother to pull
over. Then I opened the car door and threw up. My mother was
angry about that, but I couldn't help it. Then we went home and
tried to act like everything thing was normal. Like we were
normal.
David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's
Unknown Child (Kindle Locations 2024-2027). Kindle Edition.
#Post#: 156--------------------------------------------------
Re: THE BOY IN THE BOX: WM, 4-6, found in Philadelphia, PA, Feb
1957
By: Akoya Date: November 25, 2018, 12:20 pm
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When the tub was full, she picked him up, took off his diaper,
and put it in the wastebasket. I was embarrassed to look. Then
she picked him up under his arms and lowered him into the water.
He let out a little scream. The water was too hot. He kicked and
splashed; my mother got wet. She lifted him back out and held
him up on his feet. He was still complaining. You know,
whimpering. And dripping water. "That's enough," my mother said.
"That's enough!" Still, he kept complaining. Stomping his feet
and crying. Pretty soon he had tears and
stuff from his nose running down his front.
"I said, enough!" my mother said. Now I knew she was really
angry with him. Back into the tub he went. He didn't scream this
time. Maybe the water was cool enough. Or maybe he was afraid.
And then he threw up. Out came this brown mess-the baked
beans-into the bathwater. My mother let out a shriek like I'd
never heard before. She yanked him out of the tub and slapped
him. I mean hard. So, of course, he started to cry real hard.
And when he wouldn't quit, she slapped him some more. On the
face. So, of course, his crying only got worse. And that was
when my mother lost it entirely. She slapped him so hard, he
fell and hit his head on the floor with a loud sound. She kept
hitting him with both hands, on his head and around his body. My
mother's head was shaking from side to side, she was swinging so
fast. Then she wasn't slapping anymore, but punching as hard as
she could. Jonathan was just lying on the floor. He'd tried to
curl up. I don't think he was making any sounds by then. And
then my mother looked at me. "Get out!" she screamed. "Get out!"
So I ran to my room. Only, I stood in the doorway, because I
wanted to hear. I
heard splashing noises, and a loud thud. I knew she'd thrown him
back into the tub. "Wake up!" my mother hollered. "Wake up!"
Nothing. Just silence. It seemed like the longest time, but it
was probably only a few seconds. "Jonathan? I want you to wake
up right now. Come on!" Again, nothing. Then I heard the other
bedroom door start to open. I knew it was
my father, coming to check on the commotion after hiding through
it all. Right then I ducked into my room and pulled my door
shut. I heard the two of them talking, very nervous.
David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's
Unknown Child (Kindle Locations 1961-1962). Kindle Edition.
#Post#: 157--------------------------------------------------
Re: THE BOY IN THE BOX: WM, 4-6, found in Philadelphia, PA, Feb
1957
By: Akoya Date: November 25, 2018, 12:22 pm
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It sounds like he couldn't support himself on his legs.
The water was too hot. He kicked and splashed; my mother got
wet. She lifted him back out and held him up on his feet.
HTML http://i.imgur.com/ahSdp6R.jpg
It sounds like he could sit, but I wonder if he could stand.
He'd sit there, rocking back and forth. Making these sounds that
you'd expect from a little baby. I'd talk to him, call him
Jonathan. Sometimes he'd look into my eyes, like he almost
understood. I even got him to smile.
David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's
Unknown Child (Kindle Locations 1951-1952). Kindle Edition.
#Post#: 158--------------------------------------------------
Re: THE BOY IN THE BOX: WM, 4-6, found in Philadelphia, PA, Feb
1957
By: Akoya Date: November 25, 2018, 12:23 pm
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This was when he first arrived in the coal bin.
As soon as we got home, my mother took him down to the basement
and put him in this little room that used to be a coal bin. That
was going to be his place, my mother said. I don't remember
where my father was at the time. I remember thinking, it's like
we just got a new puppy. Only, we never had a dog when I was
growing up. My mother took some blankets and some heavy dishes,
like dog dishes, down to the basement. "Don't you go down
there," I remember her saying. I was afraid to, anyhow. That
first night, I lay awake for a long time, worrying rying about
Jonathan. I listened for crying, but I never heard anything. I
knew it was warm enough down there, especially with the
blankets. And there was a big cardboard box in the coal bin from
the time we got a refrigerator. The cardboard was real thick,
like it could be a mattress. But I felt sorry for him, down
there in the dark. I didn't want him to be afraid. My mother
would take food down to him. I don't ever remember my father
doing it, for some reason. Sometimes I'd go down there with my
mother.
We didn't talk to him much. When I would say something, he
wouldn't answer. After the first few times, I thought he might
be retarded. I'm not sure I even knew that word then. But
looking back, yes, I think he was. Oh, God! This poor child. All
the time he was with us, he never said a word. Not a word. After
a while, I used to sneak down to the basement to see him.
The smell. It was the first thing I noticed when I got to the
bottom of the basement stairs. It was so strong. But of course
it was; I mean, the little drain near the coal bin was his
toilet. Sometimes when my mother took food down to him, she'd
stay longer than other times. For whatever, I suppose. She'd
bring him upstairs maybe once a week and put him in the bathtub.
He'd splash a lot and make funny noises, but not real words. I
don't remember Jonathan athan ever saying any real words. Ever
talking.
David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's
Unknown Child (Kindle Locations 1929-1931). Kindle Edition.
#Post#: 159--------------------------------------------------
Re: THE BOY IN THE BOX: WM, 4-6, found in Philadelphia, PA, Feb
1957
By: Akoya Date: November 25, 2018, 12:24 pm
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He was emaciated.
HTML http://i.imgur.com/jzVAIbi.jpg
#Post#: 160--------------------------------------------------
Re: THE BOY IN THE BOX: WM, 4-6, found in Philadelphia, PA, Feb
1957
By: Akoya Date: November 25, 2018, 12:28 pm
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HTML http://i.imgur.com/ScEktJ1.jpg
HTML http://i.imgur.com/0477DOd.jpg
The detectives dressed him in clothing and took photographs.
They hoped it might possibly help with an identification. The
finger bruises are really obvious on his forehead. His malformed
head is also obvious.
#Post#: 161--------------------------------------------------
Re: THE BOY IN THE BOX: WM, 4-6, found in Philadelphia, PA, Feb
1957
By: Akoya Date: November 25, 2018, 12:30 pm
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I didn't know the neighborhood. My mother drove for quite a
while, but we were still in Philadelphia. I'm pretty sure. The
houses were close together, and close to the street. Close
enough so I could hear after my mother parked the car in front
of this one house.
David Stout. The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America's
Unknown Child (Kindle Locations 1914-1916). Kindle Edition.
HTML http://i.imgur.com/8HjqbXG.png
#Post#: 162--------------------------------------------------
Re: THE BOY IN THE BOX: WM, 4-6, found in Philadelphia, PA, Feb
1957
By: Akoya Date: November 25, 2018, 12:34 pm
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This is the statement made by the daughter's roommate, from a
University in Virginia, to Philadelphia Police Detectives. The
detectives interviewed the woman about her recollections as the
daughter's roommate. The roommate didn't hesitate to confirm the
story she had been told. This wasn't a story that was suddenly
created by a woman from Ohio in 2002. The woman was a roommate
in 1962, five years after the boy was killed.
Mary paused and looked at me as if she was emerging from
someplace deep inside her mind. That's when she confided in me
her horrible secret. Mary told me she had a foster brother. That
her parents worked at her high school. And the mother was very
abusive to her and her brother. Mary told me that one morning
her mother snapped and beat Jonathon to death. And that later
that morning, Mary had to accompany her mother to hide the body
of the boy.
Hoffmann, Jim. The Boy in the Box: America's Unknown Child
(Revised Edition) (Kindle Locations 2363-2366). . Kindle
Edition.
#Post#: 163--------------------------------------------------
Re: THE BOY IN THE BOX: WM, 4-6, found in Philadelphia, PA, Feb
1957
By: Akoya Date: November 25, 2018, 12:37 pm
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This reference says the daughter was more specific and referred
to a location on the outskirts of Philadelphia. This could
actually narrow the possibilities.
[i]MARY She bought the boy from a couple in the outskirts of
Philadelphia. My mother locked the boy in the basement most of
the time. She never let him out of the house. Ever.
[/i]
Hoffmann, Jim. The Boy in the Box: America's Unknown Child
(Revised Edition) (Kindle Locations 2312-2313). . Kindle
Edition.
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