Brad Lee Bellino. Credit: BPD
On April 1, 1972 at approximately 3:30 pm, the family of 12-year-old Brad Lee Bellino reported to the Boardman Police Department (Ohio) that their son was missing from their residence. The exact time of his disappearance was unknown. Other than home, the last place he was seen alive was at a friend’s residence at 7:00 pm the day before.
On April 4, at approximately 7:55 am Bellino was discovered deceased by employees of a trash hauling company in a refuse dumpster. The Boardman Police Department worked extensively over the years to try and positively identify and charge a subject in the homicide, but the case went cold.
In 2001, Bellino’s clothes were sent to the Ohio Bureau of Investigation’s (BCI) forensic laboratory, and a DNA profile was obtained from evidence left on the victim. Over the years, numerous potential suspects were checked against the DNA sample and also through the CODIS database with negative results.
In 2019, Boardman PD Captain Albert Kakascik revisited the case and started work to facilitate the use of familial DNA testing and genetic genealogy related to the DNA sample found on the victim. The department contracted with Parabon to analyze the DNA sample and provide leads based on the family trees related to the familial DNA. During the next four years, DNA samples of persons identified by Parabon with possible familial links to the unknown subject were taken to test. Some of the individuals volunteered their samples, while others were collected by other means. The results of this testing helped to eliminate certain branches of the extended family tree while focusing on others.
Recently, a sample taken resulted in a 98.28% probability that the DNA found on the victim and his clothing matched an individual previously unknown to investigators. The identified subject, Joseph Norman Hill, resided on Shadyside Drive in Boardman at the time of Bellino’s murder. Hill moved to California approximately six years later and died there in 2019 from natural causes. While residing in Boardman, Hill worked as a truck driver for a bottled water company. Hill was 32 years old at the time of the murder. At this time, no link between Hill and Bellino or his family has been identified.
There was a significant amount of work done on this case by the Boardman Police Department and other agencies in the area. Investigators followed up on several hundreds of leads, not only at the start of the investigation but as information and potential tips came in over the years. The work in 2001 to obtain the DNA sample was a key aspect of the investigation that led to identifying Hill as the subject in the death of Bellino over 50 years ago.
Boardman PD has been in contact with the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department concerning Hill, who resided at several addresses in the county after moving to California. Anyone that has information about Hill while he resided in Boardman can contact the Boardman Police Department at 330-726-4144.
“We believe there is sufficient evidence to present to a grand jury if Hill was alive, and that ultimately it would have led to his indictment,” said Boardman Chief of Police Todd Werth. “While Hill cannot be fully held accountable for this horrendous crime, our hope is that after 50 years. knowing who is responsible for Brad Lee Bellino’s death can bring some sense of closure to his family and friends.”
Republished courtesy of Boardman Police Department.