It’s been a week since Philadelphia police identified the Boy in the Box as Joseph Augustus Zarelli and now internet speculation is in hyperdrive over the decades-old murder case, writes Jason Nark, Wendy Ruderman, Max Marin, and William Bender for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Joseph Zarelli’s body was found back in 1957 in a cardboard box in Fox Chase, dead from blunt force trauma. The four-year-old remained unknown until last week.

Since his name was released, thousands have speculated on blogs, unsolved case forums, Reddit, and Facebook discussing names, photos, and theories about who the murder suspect might be.

Those close to the case say it was right to release the boy’s name.

“It’s an open active homicide investigation and there’s no possible way to solve an investigation without identifying who the victim is,” said Misty Gillis, a forensic genealogist and cold-case liaison with Identifinders International who worked intensely on the case.

Online speculation is part of modern police work, said Bill Fleisher, cofounder of the Vidocq Society, which reexamines cold cases.

“We know who he is, and now we want to know why he died,” Fleisher said. “Maybe in all the chatter, in all this static, we’ll get a gem.”

Read more about internet speculation over this unsolved murder case at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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The final identification of “The Boy in the Box” made national news.