Pointing to the hair and eyebrows, Frank Bender theorized that he may have been raised as a girl. Bender really had an otherworldly gift but I’m inclined to discount this theory simply because that wasn’t among M’s *released* statements. However, M stated he was sexually abused, which could generally fit with the idea of being raised as a girl.
Mystery of "Boy in the Box" sparks various theories over six decades
New DNA evidence has allowed police to identity the boy and find his birth certificate according to reports.www.newsweek.com
If I recall correctly it was just an idea Bender had and one person said that he was usually right 99% of the time when he had an idea (paraphrasing), so they pursued it a bit. I guess the thought was that longer cut strands were perhaps cut first and then the remaining hair shortened, and the shorter strands were left on the body. OT, but how awesome to have someone say your intuition is so on spot - sounds like Frank Bender was quite the guy. But most likely not correct on this point.
According to the Philadelphia Magazine article one of the detectives (Bristow) was in Mexico getting some RR and was still obsessed with the case. He thought maybe no one recognized him because he had been raised as a girl. A street artist in Mexico drew the original BITB as a girl. So, I don't know if it was Frank's idea or just if he was just drawing based on another theory. Bristow died in 1994.
Some of her statements have specificity that could have been gleaned from articles that go back to 1957 (man that saw woman pulled over w/ boy). She pointed Vidocq to Lower Merion as the boy's location, which is close to West Philly, but not West Philly. She could have speculated based on the JC Penny located in Upper Darby. Neighbors that lived near the house and had access and personal history with the house said is was a ridiculous accusation and that a boy never lived there. According to this lady, he used the floor drain as a toilet, but the investigators got access to the basement where he was supposedly kept and found no evidence of him. I see no mention about the floor drain in their follow up to the the basement inspection.Pointing to the hair and eyebrows, Frank Bender theorized that he may have been raised as a girl. Bender really had an otherworldly gift but I’m inclined to discount this theory simply because that wasn’t among M’s *released* statements. However, M stated he was sexually abused, which could generally fit with the idea of being raised as a girl.
Mystery of "Boy in the Box" sparks various theories over six decades
New DNA evidence has allowed police to identity the boy and find his birth certificate according to reports.
Not saying M's story is true or false, but neighbors absolutely don't always know what goes on behind closed doors. It is absolutely not implausible that neighbors wouldn't know about an abused child confined to a basement. IMO.
I saw this. This came out after the first interviews with neighbors.
I agree, trauma and memory can be terrible and tricky beasts. I think she was doing her best, but was just incorrect.
By the time investigators had M's info and went to see the house, it was 45 years later. They did actually find some info that could have corroborated her story such as ceiling beams where the coal bin he was allegedly kept in was, and a new patch of concrete over the spot where the drain could have, but it was impossible to find any hard evidence 45 years later. If he had been there, and if his DNA had ever been there, it would have been long gone by then. This info was in David Stout's book.
How did they prove being frequent visitors and going into the basement? The drain could have been covered. Who lived at Martha's childhood home when LE checked her accusations?
So much is the issue is the amount of time passed before M spoke to LE. So much can be neither proven nor disproven. Augustine himself said "If we could just prove one thing about it, we'd have it solved. And if we could just disprove one thing, we'd throw her tip in the garbage." Like you said, proving what she said about the house doesn't mean that Joseph was ever in the house, and they expected that before they even searched the house ("To corroborate her story, Augustine is arranging to search the Philadelphia house where she used to live. Was the drain in the basement where she said it was, for example, and did houses in that area have coal bins as she described? But these minor details will not seal a case that, for Augustine, has become a life's work."). Those quotes are from the following interview/article: CNN.com - Tossed away: The boy in the box - Dec. 5, 2002
