The body of a 12-year-old boy who had been missing for many years has been found. Found in the attic A New York residence where the sex offender reportedly lived a sober life.
Jalen Griffin left his home to go to the grocery store on August 4, 2020, but was never seen alive.
Three and a half years later, on Sunday, his grandmother heard the news she had been praying for for years.
“I ask the Lord to give me strength. That’s how I handle it,” Shirley Banks said To WGRZ-TV. “I held it in until yesterday when they found me and told me that I had passed away.”
The boy’s body was found Friday at a home on Sheffield Street in South Buffalo, and police ruled his death a homicide.
“The bodies that were found inside the house had been there for quite some time,” Commissioner Joseph Gramaria told reporters at a news conference Monday.
The body was discovered by a maintenance worker working on a home about eight miles from where Griffin went missing. Workers were called to investigate a strange odor coming from the attic.
Gramaria said the Erie County Coroner used dental records to confirm the victim’s identity.
“Our hearts go out to Jalen’s family,” he added. “Our department is conducting an extensive search and we want Jaylen’s family to know we are working diligently to provide closure for them.”
Erie County Deputy District Attorney Michael Keene said the autopsy report could take months to complete.
“We hope this will uncover important forensic evidence in the investigation,” Keene said.
The victim’s family had to face a lot of violence and loss. His mother, Joanna Ponzo, died in September, and his brother, Jawan, was shot and killed in November 2020, just months after the boy’s disappearance.
A neighbor who lives near the house told WGRZ that the house was damaged by fire eight years ago and has since been rented out to parolees, sex offenders and people with mental illness.
report From WKBW TV It turns out the house is owned by a company that operates adult assisted living homes. He also acknowledged that a registered sex offender who lived in the home had been charged with a new sex crime just one month before the bodies were discovered.
Police have not yet identified a suspect in the murder investigation.
“It’s nothing short of a tragedy for a 12-year-old boy to go missing and end up like this. This is an absolute tragedy and it’s very sad,” Gramaria said.
The boy would have turned 16 the week after his body was discovered.
Here is a report on this incident:
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