The Disappearance of Jaylen Griffin

 

Jaylen Griffin has been missing since August 4th, 2020. The young boy was only 12 years old at the time of his disappearance. Jaylen's family members last saw him near his home on Warren Avenue in Buffalo, New York. The day he vanished; Jaylen took his new puppy for a walk in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood. Shortly after he returned home, he told his mother he was going out again. Jaylen never returned home and has never been heard from again.

Jaylen reportedly left his home around 11:00 AM, and he did not tell his mother where he was going. He was known to frequent nearby stores in the area so he could help people carry their grocery bags. Jaylen's mother initially thought he was doing that on the day of his disappearance. However, when he did not return home, his family members began to think that something was wrong. 

According to sources close to Jaylen's family, he is not the type to go far from home or to stay out late.  There has been reported sightings of him around the Buffalo area in the months following his disappearance, and authorities believe he may still be in the area. In November 2020, three months after Jaylen vanished, his older brother Jawaan Griffin was shot and killed. Many thought that the news of his brother's passing would encourage Jaylen to return home, but he didn't--nor did he contact his family at all. 

Despite all of this, authorities reportedly still believe Jaylen is alive. An article from April 2021 quotes Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo, who stated, "we have no information that leads us to believe he is in immediate danger. I mean the fact of his age and the fact that he is not under his parental supervision is obviously dangerous to begin with, but we do not believe that he was abducted or taken against his will." It is unclear if authorities have any concrete evidence to support this statement, and they have revealed very few details about the investigation.

If you have any information that could lead to Jaylen's whereabouts, please call the Buffalo Police confidential tip line at (716) 847-2255.

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Sources: [1, 2,]

The Murder of Sydney Loofe

24 year-old Sydney Loofe’s final Snapchat, taken and sent on November 15th, 2017.

On the day this Snapchat was taken, Sydney planned to go on a second date with 23 year-old Bailey Boswell, a woman she had met on Tinder. Sydney never returned to her Lincoln, Nebraska home after meeting with Bailey and was reported missing after she failed to show up to work on November 16th. Around two weeks later, on November 28th, Lincoln Police announced that they wanted to question two persons of interest in Sydney’s case. One of those persons of interest was Bailey. The other was Bailey’s flatmate, a 51 year-old man named Aubrey Trail.

Between November 29th and 30th, Bailey and Aubrey posted two videos to the Find Sydney Loofe Facebook page, declaring their innocence in the case. In the first video, Bailey says that when she went to drive Sydney home after their date, Sydney requested to be dropped off at a friend’s house instead. After allegedly dropping her off at the home of this unidentified friend, Bailey claims she has not seen or heard from Sydney again. That first video was deleted a few hours later and the joint Facebook account that Bailey and Aubrey had been using was deactivated. Aubrey posted the second video on the following day. He once again declared their innocence in Sydney’s case and angrily called out people who accused them of wrongdoing. At the end of the video, Aubrey explains that, despite having warrants for other unrelated charges, he and Bailey were going to turn themselves in because it was the “only viable option” in order to clear their names in Sydney’s case. The two were taken into custody in Taney County, Missouri and were taken back to Nebraska on December 1st. After the Lincoln Police were able to speak with Aubrey and Bailey, they announced on December 2nd, 2017 that the two remained persons on interest in the case, but they had still had not been charged with anything related to Sydney’s disappearance. The two remained behind bars on the aforementioned unrelated charges.

On December 4th, 2017, Sydney’s body was found in a rural area of Clay County, Nebraska. In a press conference held the following day, authorities said that they had been following a “digital footprint” that prompted a search of that area and subsequently lead to the discovery of Sydney’s body.  Sydney had been strangled to death and dismembered.

Bailey Boswell and Aubrey Trail remained the only suspects in Sydney's murder, however they were not immediately charged with anything related to her case. Then, in February 2018, Aubrey reportedly admitted to killing Sydney. In a phone interview with a local news station, Aubrey said that Bailey Boswell was not in the room when Sydney was killed. “When she was told what happened, she freaked out so badly she had to be sent out with a bag of weed to try and calm down,” he told reporters. 

Finally, on June 11th, 2018, Bailey and Aubrey were charged with first-degree murder and improper disposal of human skeletal remains in the killing of Sydney Loofe. It was then that even more evidence of the couple’s guilt was revealed. According to court documents, Sydney and Bailey met for their first date on November 14th, 2017. At the end of that date, they decided to meet up the following night for a second date. Around 10:35am the following day, hours before the planned second date, Bailey and Aubrey were captured by surveillance footage at Home Depot purchasing the tools and supplies believed to have been used in the dismemberment and disposal of Sydney. This particular clue indicates that the killing was premeditated, because Sydney was still alive at the time the purchase was made.

Aubrey Trail went to trial in June 2019. During the trial, he exhibited odd behavior in court. After a witness left the stand during testimony, Aubrey immediately screamed"Bailey is innocent, and I curse you all!"before slitting his throat with an object that appeared to be a blade. He was immediately taken to the hospital where he recovered and the trial was able to continue. Eventually, in July 2019, Aubrey was found guilty of all charges.  He is currently awaiting sentencing and the death penalty is being considered.

Bailey Boswell has pleaded not guilty and is expected to go to trial during the fall of 2019.

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UPDATE (October 14, 2020): Bailey Boswell has been found guilty of the murder of Sydney Loofe.

At trial, it was revealed that Bailey had fantasies of sexual torture. Both she and Trail attempted to get numerous girls involved in their sexual relations. Both were also interested in witchcraft and the pair spoke numerous times about "gaining witchcraft powers" by killing someone. This evidence, in addition to the physical evidence, pointed to Bailey's guilt. She remains behind bars and will be sentenced at a later date.

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UPDATE (November 2021): In June 2021, Aubrey Trail was sentenced to the death penalty. During the sentencing hearing, Aubrey spoke directly to Sydney’s family. He said, “Almost everything I’ve said before was a lie unless it benefitted me. I lured her there to try and pull her into our group. But once I sat Sydney down and explained to her our criminal activities and group sex I knew I had made a big mistake. The truth is I killed her because of her reaction to what I had told her. I had no doubt she’d tell people what I told her. She did nothing but reject my lifestyle and threaten to expose it and I killed her for it.” The judge stated that the crime was committed with “exceptional depravity” which fit the criteria for a death sentence.

In November 2021, Bailey Boswell was sentenced to life in prison.

Lists including this case:

[Dangerous Duos]
[Horrific Cases of Dismemberment]
[Murder Victims Who Helped Solve Their Own Case]

The Disappearance of JaShyah Moore

JaShyah Moore (14) has been missing since October 14th, 2021. The young teen vanished under suspicious circumstances in East Orange, New Jersey. On the day of JaShyah's disappearance, her mother sent her to a local store called U.S. Market to buy some juice and paper towels. A short time after leaving her home, JaShyah returned empty-handed after saying that she lost the card she was going to use to purchase the items. JaShyah's mother then sent her back out to retrace her steps. After an hour passed without JaShyah's return, her mother began to worry. Police were called later that day.

JaShyah reportedly does not own a cell phone, so police were unable to look at cell phone pings to track her movements. Investigators spoke to employees at U.S. Market, who stated that JaShyah was accompanied by an unidentified man who paid for her items at the store. Local surveillance footage revealed that JaShyah was last seen near Poppie's Deli between 10:00 and 10:30 AM. JaShyah's mother was unaware that JaShyah had also stopped at Poppie's in addition to U.S. Market. It's unclear if JaShyah was accompanied by the unidentified man at Poppie's as well--but this is the last known sighting of her, and she has not been seen or heard from again.

JaShyah's estranged stepfather is a police officer for the East Orange PD. According to JaShyah's aunt, the stepfather is currently facing assault charges from an incident that occurred in the previous year. JaShyah's aunt told reporters, "I saw him punch my niece twice in the face."While this suggests that the niece in question was JaShyah, this has not yet been confirmed. Two weeks before JaShyah's disappearance, her mother received a letter that stated the case was going to the grand jury. 

It seems quite suspicious that JaShyah vanished a short time after her mother received the letter-however investigators currently do not believe that the two cases are related. Essex County authorities stated, "The missing person’s case is being handled by municipal authorities in East Orange.At this point, the domestic violence assault and the status of the missing person do not appear to be related; however, it is being monitored by law enforcement."

The FBI has since joined the search of JaShyah. If you have any information that could lead to her whereabouts, please go here to submit a tip. 

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UPDATE (Nov. 12, 2021): JaShyah has been found safe!

The teen was located at a shelter in Harlem, New York after reportedly running away from home. According to investigators, JaShyah did not want to return home and allegedly felt safer in the shelter. JaShyah's mother has since been arrested and charged with child endangerment. Both JaShyah and her 3 year-old sibling have been removed from the mother's custody. 

sources: [1, 2, 3]