Identified! PA - Philadelphia, 'Boy in the Box', WhtMale 4-6, 4UMPA, Feb'57

[Ms Suzanne]

http://americasunknownchild.net/summary.htm


When an ultraviolet light was shone on the boy's left eye it fluoresced a brilliant blue, suggesting that a special diagnostic dye had been applied, possibly to treat a chronic eye ailment.



He had possibly just seen a Dr.An ophthalmologist?I strongly believe someone knows who this little boy is.

 

[Synaptic Cliff]

Surely this must be Fluorescein dye, which has been used for many years to diagnose abrasions etc on the corneal surface. The dye is yellow in color, but fluoresces blue under UV light. Normally it doesn't stay in the eye very long (a couple hours is the most I would expect from my experience.) I can't think why anyone other than a healthcare professional would put this in the eye--he MUST have recently had a medical exam with an eye complaint. Especially since it is in only one eye.....

Just my thoughts..

 

[Ms Suzanne]

Yes.I believe someone was checking him and grooming him possibly just getting into a foster home or orphanage or through Child Welfare DHS or about ready to be adopted out.I've been through this.They check you with a DR when you are initiated into a place or to be adopted out and then again right before and when you are adopted out.I feel there is no doubt there are records of some kind and court records of this little boy out there somewhere.I hope and pray someone will actually go look to see if there are any now.

 

[Robin Hood]

Surely this must be Fluorescein dye, which has been used for many years to diagnose abrasions etc on the corneal surface. The dye is yellow in color, but fluoresces blue under UV light. Normally it doesn't stay in the eye very long (a couple hours is the most I would expect from my experience.) I can't think why anyone other than a healthcare professional would put this in the eye--he MUST have recently had a medical exam with an eye complaint. Especially since it is in only one eye.....

Just my thoughts..

I too scratched my eye and had anaesthetic and dye added to show up the damage, I'm sure it doesn't last long (will need to check) It could be he was admitted to hospital and that's where his nails were clipped. The haircut so near to death is odd though.

 

[alliemay]

I had thought the automotive grease on the blanket was an indication that the person who did this might be someone who works of cars. After thinking about it some more, the grease on the blanket might have come from a trunk of a car.

 

[Ms Suzanne]

I had thought the automotive grease on the blanket was an indication that the person who did this might be someone who works of cars. After thinking about it some more, the grease on the blanket might have come from a trunk of a car.

I agree.He was put in the trunk of a car.Maybe the box did not fit in the trunk and it was brought in the back seat.I am rethinking about the box coming from the killers house.I'm not sure if that happened or not.I always thought the box came from his killers house.I'm not sure where the box came from anymore.I feel the blanket came from where he was.Possibly a orphanage,foster home or institution.But I'm not ruling out a regular family.

 

[alliemay]

I agree.He was put in the trunk of a car.Maybe the box did not fit in the trunk and it was brought in the back seat.I am rethinking about the box coming from the killers house.I'm not sure if that happened or not.I always thought the box came from his killers house.I'm not sure where the box came from anymore.I feel the blanket came from where he was.Possibly a orphanage,foster home or institution.But I'm not ruling out a regular family.

Yes I think the blanket came from where he was staying, I think the reason it was cut in half was because there was evidence of some kind on it. I wondered about where the box came from, I know the area was sort of dumping ground for people garbage, I wondered if the box had already been there, if so that would have been convenient for the killer.

 

[Ms Suzanne]

Can Someone please check all these orphanage,foster home and institutions child welfare DHS records and court house records again (I'm not sure if they were ever checked)to see if any were falsified in any way for who this poor little boy is.He at least deserves his name.It looks like no one is doing any thing at all.Please help find out who this little one is.I know the answers are out there somewhere.

 

[alliemay]

Sent a message two days ago to the vidocq society, haven't heard anything back from them yet.

 

[Roselvr]

Does anyone know if they have DNA from him & have they uploaded it to any genealogy sites?

Sorry if this has been asked/answered; I haven't been following this case

 

[Ms Suzanne]

Does anyone know if they have DNA from him & have they uploaded it to any genealogy sites?

Sorry if this has been asked/answered; I haven't been following this case

They only have mtDNA on him.I don't know if they uploaded it anywhere. CODIS? He is not on NAMUS either. I tried to get him on there.

 

[alliemay]

Didn't get an e-mail back from Vidocq Society yet, guess I'll have to try and call them.

 

[alliemay]

I agree.He was put in the trunk of a car.Maybe the box did not fit in the trunk and it was brought in the back seat.I am rethinking about the box coming from the killers house.I'm not sure if that happened or not.I always thought the box came from his killers house.I'm not sure where the box came from anymore.I feel the blanket came from where he was.Possibly a orphanage,foster home or institution.But I'm not ruling out a regular family.

I'm also not sure that the box came from the killers house, one has to consider the fact that the boy was dumped in an area that had been used by local's as a dumping ground for their personal garbage. It's possible the box had already been there. Maybe the fact that this spot was used for "illegal" dumping kept the real owners of the box from coming forward. Maybe they thought they would get in trouble or worse be accused of murder.

 

[alliemay]

It was the Robbins Bald Eagle Hat&Cap company at 7th&Shunk in South Philadelphia; the other end of the city from where the boy in the box was found. The hat company owner that Detectives spoke to was Hannah Robbins. She said she sewed the strap in the hat for a blond fella in his late twenties, who didn't have an accent, and resembled the picture of the boy in the box.

The Robbins hat co is long gone. I believe a barber shop is in that space now.

So the hat with the strap becomes "one of a kind", I know I'm thinking way to much into this, just a thought, but what if Hannah knew this man and was afraid of him. Part of running a business is customer service, like using a customers first name. I also find it odd that this hat was thrown away as garbage with the tissue paper in it, I would assume it was in good condition, so why throw it away? I know Hannah gave a description of the man and a sketch was done, were there any sketches done of the man wearing a hat?
I tried to find on the web if Hannah Robbins was still alive but couldn't find anything.

 

[Ms Suzanne]

I'm also not sure that the box came from the killers house, one has to consider the fact that the boy was dumped in an area that had been used by local's as a dumping ground for their personal garbage. It's possible the box had already been there. Maybe the fact that this spot was used for "illegal" dumping kept the real owners of the box from coming forward. Maybe they thought they would get in trouble or worse be accused of murder.

I don't feel the box was already there.The guy who found the boy in the box didn't see it there where he was there earlier.The bassinet was bought I feel too far away from where this little boy was found..But it may have been thrown away not far from where the bassinet was bought.I'm not sure what happened.

 

[Synaptic Cliff]

Is there more evidence from the autopsy? I'm thinking of a young boy who has just been examined by a physician for a complaint of eye pain, tearing, or vision change, or maybe trauma. What could cause these things? Trauma, accidental or otherwise, likely. And why would someone who hurt the boy then take him to a doctor? Maybe he WAS a doctor.....

Maybe the person with him didn't know what happened (someone else could have hurt the boy before he got him) or didn't think his injuries would be that dangerous. But then the boy's dead in a manner of a couple hours. Was he hit in the head? Scratched in the eye? Drugged so he couldn't see? Poisoned? Then--Why cut his hair? Change his looks. Who would be looking for him?

Too many questions. Not enough answers. MOO

 

[alliemay]

Is there more evidence from the autopsy? I'm thinking of a young boy who has just been examined by a physician for a complaint of eye pain, tearing, or vision change, or maybe trauma. What could cause these things? Trauma, accidental or otherwise, likely. And why would someone who hurt the boy then take him to a doctor? Maybe he WAS a doctor.....

Maybe the person with him didn't know what happened (someone else could have hurt the boy before he got him) or didn't think his injuries would be that dangerous. But then the boy's dead in a manner of a couple hours. Was he hit in the head? Scratched in the eye? Drugged so he couldn't see? Poisoned? Then--Why cut his hair? Change his looks. Who would be looking for him?

Too many questions. Not enough answers. MOO

I had thought about the Doctor angle...or someone who worked in a doctor's office and had access to the dye. Going to google information on how long the dye lasts in the eye after its administrated. To bad we can't get more info on the autopsy.

 

[alliemay]

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/eye-exam/MY00245/DSECTION=what-you-can-expect

Says the dye can last several hours, which does not add up if they say the boy could have been dead for several days or a few weeks?

If IRC, I think the sketch of the man, matched Hannah Robbins description. I think the sketch of the man on the bus with a child, matched the sketch that Hannah Robbins was shown. A woman working in a restaurant said she recognized the man...thinking the man in the sketch did not live in the area otherwise more people would have recognized him.

 

[Synaptic Cliff]

Right Skeet, the dye would likely be absorbed or washed away by tears within a few hours. But--I think if the circulation were stopped (if the person died), it would maybe not be washed away as fast.

Still--I think it must have been placed within hours of his death. I cannot come up with another scenario that would explain why it was still there when he was examined.

JMO

I am also intrigued by the 'surgical' scars. If three of these are really from surgical procedures, then this is a boy who had access to extensive medical care. I read that the scar on his ankle looked like a "cut-down" scar. This would probably only happen in a hospital setting. Of course, we don't know the timing of this, but it must have been within the previous 4-6 years, right? I assume (hope) someone checked nearby hospital records.... University of Pennsylvania Medical School was around in the 1950s.

I assume the groin scar was from a hernia repair, and the 1.5 inch scar on the left chest--that I have no idea. Pediatric cardiothoracic surgery was in its infancy and pretty dangerous back then. Chest tube maybe? Pretty rare in the 50s but not unheard of for chest trauma (I don't know about in kids). What else?? Think.. think.. think..

Again, just my thoughts. IDK if they will be of any help.

 

[Robin Hood]

While searching info re. the dye in the eye, I came across something about diabetes. It included the cut down and the test on the eyes as one procedure. I wouldn't know where to start looking to find it again. Sorry.