Philadelphia plans to release victim photos in unsolved homicides
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- DNA testing led to the breaks in the case of the "Boy in the Box" Joseph Augustus Zarelli, but distributing photos of the boy's bruised body helped keep the case in the public eye.
District Attorney Larry Krasner spoke in a news conference Tuesday where members of his office and Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal spoke about 10 unsolved homicides that occurred in Southwest Philadelphia in recent years.
They distributed mugshots of the people wanted for the murders. The office is planning other events in other neighborhoods talking about unsolved killings that occurred nearby.
In that news conference, Krasner said the city may repeat the press strategy of the Boy in the Box's case and distribute photos of victims of other unsolved cases.
"While we haven't announced it yet, we will also be trying to do a similar thing with photographs and identification of people who have been killed, and whose identities we don't know yet, and whose identities we need to know in order to be able to investigate and resolve the circumstances around how they were killed," Krasner said.
"You've heard about the Boy in the Box, you've heard about the Girl in the Box, well, those aren't the only people who have been found deceased, unidentified and apparently killed. And we need to make sure that we keep the faith with them," he added.
After he spoke, homicide prosecutor Joanne Pescatore gave details on 10 unsolved murders that occurred in Southwest Philadelphia in recent years and showed photos of the suspects.
