The grim news that 12-year-old Jaylen Griffin had been horrifically stabbed to death before his body was tucked away in a random New York attic only confirmed what Pastor Tim Newkirk already knew.
"In my spirit, I said if Jaylen was found dead, it would be due to stabbing or something that resembles ritual, predatorial, demonic torture," the longtime family friend told HNGN in an interview Wednesday.
It would take nearly four years before Newkirk's divine intuition would be confirmed.
Loved ones last saw Jaylen on Aug. 4, 2020, moments before he mysteriously vanished while on a snack run to a corner store in his Buffalo neighborhood.
Police quickly classified the boy as a runaway, but loved ones knew better. It was out of character for Jaylen – a homebody who happily relished in the company of his parents and his video games – to be away for too long.
Newkirk said he knew something more sinister had happened, but years would pass before a maintenance worker on April 12 would discover Jaylen's decomposing body, in a Buffalo attic at a residence frequented by police, mere blocks from where he vanished.
Before Jaylen, three other dead bodies had been found in separate instances at the dilapidated Sheffield Avenue property since 2020, records show.
Newkirk suspects whoever kidnapped, murdered and dumped Jaylen's body had "sought him out" and was "looking for the perfect opportunity" to strike.
"I think someone manipulated him and pretty much persuaded him into a place that in the beginning seemed comfortable, but then wasn't. And when Jaylen began to recognize that he was not in a comfortable environment, it turned into something else," the preacher speculated. "There was no turning Jaylen loose because of the repercussions."
"A monster will go out and portray to be an innocent, non-harmful person or entity, but really is demonic and devilish behind the scenes," explained the preacher.
"Jaylen's spirit was so strong and so enormous, that whatever happened to him, I believe in my spirit, he was fighting to get back home to his mother and his father and his family. So whoever killed Jaylen was due for a fight," Newkirk said. "He did not go down easy."
But even the discovery of Jaylen's remains have not yet proven to be a large enough break in the case to initiate the arrest of his killer, and detectives continue to be seemingly perplexed by the investigation. Without proper closure, Newkirk said he hasn't begun to truly mourn the violent loss of the innocent neighborhood boy who he and so many others in their tight-knit community grew to love.
"I haven't grieved yet. Not until there's some form of an arrest made can we start the process of pursuing justice," he said.
The vanishing of Jaylen was only the beginning of a series of tragedies to strike the Griffin family. Three months later, Jaylen's 18-year-old brother, Jawaan Griffin, was shot to death near their family's home. And last fall, their mother, 48-year-old Joann Ponzo, died from health issues complicated by a "broken heart." Now, Jaylen's father, Brian Griffin, is forced to face the 4th anniversary of Jaylen's disappearance in the absence of his wife and sons.
"The family is diminishing," said Newkirk.
As Aug. 4 approaches, the pastor is praying for a miracle in hopes Brian will be offered some sort of relief from the unrelenting heartbreak he has been forced to suffer throughout the years.
"Confess – turn yourself in," Newkirk said in a public plea for Jaylen's killer to come forward."Do the right thing. He was a baby. He was a boy who did not deserve what happened to him by any means or any circumstances. Have some empathy, be remorseful. Search in your heart and find whatever compassion that may lie in any form of conviction to fix this evil that dwells inside of you."
