On Aug. 4, 2020, 12-year-old Jaylen Griffin went missing after last being seen leaving his home to take a new puppy for a walk in the Central Terminal area of Buffalo, New York.
For nearly four years, the young boy’s fate was unknown, though his family, friends, and authorities understandably feared the worst. His mother, 48-year-old Joann Ponzo, died from illness and a “broken heart” in September 2023 before finding out what happened to her son.
In 2021, Ponzo told People magazine about the type of boy her son was, saying, “We live near a few stores and he would carry people’s bags, and they’d give him change.”
Tragically, Griffin — whose 18-year-old brother was shot dead near his home just three months after he disappeared — was found dead on April 12, 2024, in the attic of a house in upstate New York after a three-and-a-half year search just five miles from where he went missing, one week before what would have been his 16th birthday. His body was severely decomposed, and he was only able to be identified from dental records.
Police commissioner Joseph Gramaglia says Griffin must have been “up there in the house” for a “significant amount of time” and described the discovery as “nothing short of a tragedy.”
How did Jaylen Griffin die?
The medical examiner working on the case has ruled Jaylen Griffin’s death as a homicide, but specific details on how it happened or who the culprit is have not been provided by police.
What is known is that the house in which the boy was found — 107 Sheffield Avenue in South Buffalo, New York — has a dark history.
According to WIVB, three other bodies have been found on the property over the last four years. A plethora of 911 logs reveal the address has been complained about more than 160 times since 2007, with the cases comprising everything from domestic violence and fire to wellness checks and the discovery of bodies.
The other three bodies, whose identities haven’t been revealed to the public, were found in June 2020, September 2022, and August 2023, respectively.
It has recently been revealed the address’ long history of troubled residents includes sex offenders and criminals out on parole. It isn’t officially classified as a halfway house, but it has housed people recently out of prison, and prison records indicate a sex offender had lived there until March 2024.
Jaylen Griffin’s remaining relatives will be desperately hoping to learn more about what happened to him in the coming weeks, and police are offering a $7,500 reward for any information leading to the arrest or indictment of the person or people responsible for his death.
