Only 1 Tip Since Joseph Zarelli ID’d but a Suspect Search Continues

The trail has gone cold as to who was responsible for the death of 4-year-old Joseph Augustus Zarelli of West Philadelphia, according to Philadelphia Police Inspector Ernest Ransom.

Philadelphia Police released Zarelli’s name back in December with the expectation they would find out who murdered the child, reports NBC 10 investigative reporter Claudia Vargas.

“If he does lead us to a suspect or a person of interest and if that person is still alive we’ll definitely bring charges to that individual,” said Inspector Ransom, who is overseeing the investigation.

At this point, there are no suspects or persons of interest and only one tip has come in since Zarelli’s name was released.

Inspector Ransom said the lack of leads is disappointing but not surprising since the case happened in 1957.

Zarelli was born on Jan. 13, 1953, but little is known about what happened to him until Feb. 25, 1957, when his body was found in a bassinet box in a wooded area of the Fox Chase neighborhood.

Detectives also hit a setback when they were unable to get DNA off a blue hat found near the scene where the body was discovered.

Read more about the latest efforts to find the person who was responsible for the death of Joseph Zarelli at NBC 10 Philadelphia.

Here how this case affected the genealogist who helped identify Joseph Zarelli.