Remains of Missing Boy Jaylen Griffin Found After Four Years in Buffalo's 'House of Horrors'

What began as a desperate search for a missing 12-year-old boy in 2020 has now become a homicide investigation .

The remains of Jaylen Griffin who vanished from his Buffalo neighborhood nearly four years ago were found in December 2024, less than two miles from where he was last seen.

On the night of August 4th, 2020, Jaylen walked out of his home around 10:30pm and was never seen again. For his mother, Joann Ponzo, that night marked the beginning of a nightmare that stretched on for years.

“I knew something was wrong the moment he didn’t come back,” she told reporters in past interviews.

Within hours of his disappearance, Buffalo police launched a citywide search.

Volunteers, neighbors, and eventually the FBI joined the effort.

Flyers were posted on every corner. Jaylen’s face was shown on local billboards, news broadcasts, and social media posts as the community rallied to bring him home.

Despite all efforts, leads dried up and the case remained open but unsolved.

Through it all, Joann never gave up hope. She kept Jaylen’s room exactly as he left it, marked each birthday, and remained a tireless advocate for her son.

She appeared on local media and worked with law enforcement to keep the case alive.

Then, in December 2024, a construction crew in Buffalo discovered human remains buried deep beneath the surface of a site previously searched at 107 Sheffield.

The house has been notorious for criminal activity in Buffalo. 911 call logs show police received over 160 complaints to the address where sex offenders and criminals on parole have lived. Jaylen was the fourth body discovered at this specific address in the last four years.

DNA testing confirmed that the remains were Jaylen’s. Investigators said the body had been hidden beneath compacted soil and debris. The location had been examined early in the investigation but never revealed clues at the time.

Officials say weather, ground settling, and the depth of burial likely concealed the site during earlier searches. While cadaver dogs and radar had been used, the burial location went undetected.

The case has now shifted from a missing person search to a homicide investigation. Police are reexamining old leads, witness statements, and digital evidence with fresh urgency and updated forensic tools.

Investigators are hopeful that advances in DNA and digital forensics since 2020 could provide the break they need.

This is now a murder case.

Joann Ponzo, who endured nearly four years of agonizing uncertainty, now faces a different kind of pain, but also the opportunity to honor her son’s life and push for justice.

Remains of Missing Boy Jaylen Griffin Found After Four Years in Buffalo's 'House of Horrors'