Authorities in Buffalo, New York, have launched a homicide investigation after the body of a missing 12-year-old boy was discovered in an attic on Friday, nearly four years after he was reported missing.
A maintenance worker called Buffalo police Friday morning to report that hed found a body later confirmed to be that of Jaylen Griffin in the attic of an apartment house where he was working, according to local NBC affiliate WGRZ .
Jaylen was reportedly last seen on Aug. 4, 2020, when he left his home to go to a grocery store and never returned.
Jaylens mother, Joanne Ponzo, died this past September. Tim Newkirk, who is close with Jaylens family, told local news outlet WIVB that Ponzos dying words were a request to keep searching for her son.
Medical examiners identified Jaylens body through dental records and determined he was in the attic for a significant amount of time, Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told reporters at a Monday press conference .
Unfortunately, [the body] was found exactly one week before his 16th birthday, Gramaglia said.
According to WGRZ, Jaylens body was found about five miles from where he was last seen. Neighbors in the area told WIVB they saw various residents move in and out of the building, and that police were there multiple times.
Jaylens grandmother, Shirley Banks, told ABC affiliate WKBW she has no idea how her grandson ended up at the house, saying he was not a runaway.
Somebody had to take him there because theres no way he could have walked there, Banks said. He dont know nobody over there.
Brian Griffin, Jaylens father, told WIVB that the discovery of his sons remains has only opened up more questions for him.
We all dont know how long hes been deceased, Im sure there wouldve been some type of odor, Griffin said.
Since Jaylens disappearance, the family has faced other tragedies. His brother Jawaan was shot and killed in front of their family home only three months after Jaylen went missing, WGRZ reported.
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