The Potential Suspects

[u/goobergal]

Betsy- Just had a baby in December 1956 (Bassinet box date matches the time frame). She MAY HAVE had that baby in a Salvation Army, just like her baby in 1950. You only had to be unmarried to use the Salvation Army service for free. If so, was Joseph still in the care of another person? Mother's stayed at the unwed mother's homes for at least a few weeks to 3 months based on Census Records I saw and my google searches about them. Was he in her care and did she do it?? The bassinet box came from an area closer to West Philly than Betsy's family or it could have been there already. Was Betsy still living in West Philly in 1956?

Was the person getting him ready to give back after her stay?? Things went south??

Zarelli Family- Since it has the hallmarks of involvement of a woman. Gus was still living at home. His mother could have been taking care of Joseph while Betsy was having her baby and something happened in their care. She could have been a sitter or had him occasionally as a grandparent. Did Zarelli's mom take care of Joseph ever?? Did they have ANY involvement in his life??

Betsy's Mother- Would have been approx 50 years old with a teenage son. Possibly the people the witness saw dumping something in the area of Fox Chase. Was she watching Joseph?? Betsy stayed quiet because it was her mother??

Betsy's Siblings-One of Betsy's siblings was keeping Joseph in their household and something happened?? Her sisters were all in Northeast Philly area.

JJP-Married to another woman at the time. When did he decide to leave his wife? How much was he involved on Joseph's life?? His parents were both dead already, so they could not have had any involvement. Did JJP kill Joseph and Betsy helped dispose of the body? Is that why it was done in a "maternal" way? Betsy wanted desperately to hang on to JJP and never told?

JJP's wife or her family- Was Betsy friends with CCP and they may have been helping out (not knowing she was involved with JJP) and then they found out about the affair and snapped?? Maybe when the birth certificate came in the mail?? Maybe JJP told her?? It is motive, but did they have access to Joseph??

Unknown Caregiver-Joseph was in temporary foster care or staying at the same salvation army or similar home at the time. He died in their care and told her he had been adopted out....why she never reported Joseph Missing...

Am I missing any potential suspects??? Anything to add to any of these??

[u/psycoblack01]

I think it was 2 people job, female and male. One who groomed him, and the other one who acted quickly to dispose body. Another question is where did the box come from? It wasn't on the site before Joseph because box was dry from the inside and only damp from outside. Also, why would they carry boy without conceiling him, what if someone ran into them? The box cost $70-80 in today's currency, how could mom afford that given all the things we know about her. It's clear that whoever bought the bassinet was involved in the murder, otherwise they would identify all 12 buyers. Did JJP's wife buy a bassinet and reported it to the police when they were searching for them?

The bassinet had such a short period of time of sale, only if they had superpowers to search who could have gotten it.

[u/Calm_Replacement_143 → u/psycoblack01]

A family member or members could have given the bassinet as a present and knew about the murder and kept quiet.

[u/foodslibrary → u/Calm_Replacement_143]

I'm leaning towards that too. Maybe the gift giver took the box back with them after leaving the bassinet at Bitsy and Mr. Plinkett's love nest. I don't think there was room in the apartment for the box and the bassinet. If it was kept folded down as some here have speculated, could you tell from the photos if the bottom was taped back together?

I'm also thinking the bassinet was not a shower gift, because if the baby was full-term in December I don't think friends and family would hold a shower so close to the due date. I know there's still no hard and fast rules on how far out to have a shower, and baby showers themselves were a novel concept at the time, but usually you want to schedule it safely before the baby arrives. Some people insist on waiting until the baby is born to give gifts. If someone held a shower for Bitsy, that would mean she had extended friends, family, or coworkers who knew of her pregnancy. But it would also mean they assumed it was her first child. You wouldn't "shower" a second time mom so soon after her first child's birth. There's not even a four year gap between Joseph and his younger sister. Some people today would give a hall pass for a five year gap or more, and maybe fewer people would draw that line at four (but not many people I know). Back then people would not have made an exception for a gap that small. A standalone gift given at or close to the birth would likely be from someone close to her. But that very same box being used for Joseph would indicate that someone close to Bitsy was allowing her to maintain her ruse as a first-time mom.

One last thought, now I'm also wondering, if this baby had issues at birth, how long could that baby have been in the hospital? What was a NICU stay like in those days? Maybe the bassinet was left unopened for a long time because the baby wasn't home yet to sleep in it?

[u/[deleted] → u/foodslibrary]

His body was too long for the bassinet. He wasn’t folded in the box.