The search for a missing 12-year-old boy came to a gruesome end last Monday when police discovered his badly decomposed body in an attic, just months after the death of his own mother.
Jaylen Griffin was last seen on August 4, 2020 while heading to a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, but never returned home.
A desperate search ensued, with community members and police posting leaflets and combing the town for any sign of the missing boy.
The search ended on April 12, when police found Jaylen’s body in the attic of a home shortly after 10 a.m. They publicly announced the discovery three days later.
The event came too late for Jaylen’s grieving mother, Joann Ponzo, who was buried in September without knowing what had happened to her son.
The body of 12-year-old Jaylen Griffin was found in an attic in Buffalo, New York, nearly four years after she disappeared.
The discovery came too late for Jaylen’s mother, Joann Ponzo, who died at age 48 in September.
A maintenance worker came across the body at 107 Sheffield Avenue last Monday.
Ponzo, 48, died at the Sisters of Charity Hospital after her health rapidly deteriorated.
It is unclear what her illness was, but friends and loved ones suspect that her illness was only exacerbated by the loss of her children.
Three months after Jaylen disappeared, Ponzo’s eldest son, Jawaan, 18, was shot to death just steps from the family home.
Kareema Morris, founder of Bury the Violence, worked closely with Ponzo before her death.
She said Buffalo News that the heartbroken mother was reluctant to speak to journalists about her son’s case because she lacked confidence.
But she was a familiar face at all of Jaylen’s vigils, where she could be seen throwing paper lanterns into the sky.
A month before her death, Joann was seen crying and praying that her son would be found during one of the ceremonies.
Ponzo continued to hold on to his son’s memory. Months after Jaylen disappeared, he posted a birthday message on Facebook.
“Wherever you are, I pray that you are safe and able to enjoy your day,” he wrote.
While Ponzo was hesitant to speak to members of the media about Jaylen’s case, she attended all of his vigils and was seen sobbing at one of the ceremonies just a month before his death.
Jaylen’s body was found five miles from where he was last seen, nearly four years after he left the family home and headed to a nearby store.
The boy’s body was so deteriorated that the medical examiner had to identify him through dental records.
Morris told the publication that Ponzo struggled to imagine his son in any way other than the last time he saw him.
When an age-processed image was released showing Jaylen at age 15, her mother was shocked.
‘That’s not my son. He doesn’t look like my son,’ he said.
Ponzo also showed Morris a drawing he found in his home weeks after Jaylen disappeared. He was scrawled with a message: “I’m already gone.”
Jaylen was last seen leaving his home on Warren Avenue in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood. He told his mother that he was headed to a nearby store.
But it was at the Sheffield Avenue house, a dark and sinister residence amid a sea of ​​white and gray houses, that his body was recovered.
A maintenance worker raised the alarm when he came across a body in the attic of the multi-unit home. The worker said he did not smell decomposing matter.
Homicide detectives arrived shortly before 10:30 a.m. and said they would need more time on scene due to a “dead on arrival.”
Months after Jaylen disappeared, Ponzo posted a birthday message on Facebook that read, “Wherever you are, I pray that you are safe and able to enjoy your day.”
The Buffalo Police Department held a press conference on April 15.
“The body that was located in the house had been there for a significant period of time,” said Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia.
While he couldn’t elaborate on how long the body had been there, Gramaglia said it was so deteriorated that the medical examiner’s office had to confirm Jaylen’s identity using dental records.
“First and foremost, I want to express my deepest condolences to Jaylen’s family,” Gramaglia said.
“This department has conducted extensive searches and I want Jaylen’s family to know that we are working diligently to achieve next closure for the family.”
District Attorney Mike Kane echoed Gramaglia’s condolences.
‘This is a young boy. He is 15 years old. “This is a tragedy and it is a terrible way to carry out this search,” he said.
Morris also spoke at the press conference, where he shared a statement from the family thanking the community for their combined efforts in bringing Jaylen home.
Jaylen would have turned 16 on April 22. A birthday memorial service was held in her honor.