Crime House 24/7 Crime House 24/7

Throwback Thursday: The Boy in the Box Pt. 2

Aug 13, 2026 · 32m

Summary

This episode covers the second half of the "Boy in the Box" cold case, detailing decades of investigation by detectives and the V-Doc Society. It recounts failed leads, including a disputed tip from a woman named Martha, and the eventual use of genetic genealogy to identify the victim as Joseph Augustus Zarelli in 2022. Despite this breakthrough, the murder remains unsolved, with investigators still seeking answers about his parents and killer.

Topics discussed

Intro, Crime House 24-7 overview, and Boy in the Box teaser 1957 discovery and Remington Bristow's decades-long pursuit 1998 case reopening and the Anna Marie lead The V-Doc Society joins the investigation America's Most Wanted segment and online sleuthing boom 1998 exhumation, DNA extraction, and reburial Ad breaks: Alma and The First 48 podcast Mitochondrial DNA success and the search for relatives Martha's shocking tip about trafficking and murder Investigating Martha's claims and the failed verification Testing Anna Marie's DNA and the negative result 2019 exhumation, genetic genealogy, and identifying Joseph Joseph Zarelli's identity revealed and ongoing mystery Outro, Crime House Plus promo, and Crimes of Reddit ad
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