Brad Lee Bellino:1972, Boardman, Ohio

   

   Brad Lee Bellino was born April 7th, 1959.  He was the youngest of four children of Elisa and Joseph Bellino.

 In 1972 he was 12, soon to be 13. He was a typical middle school student in Boardman, Ohio. That’s a suburb south of Youngstown. 

  Brad had been to a friend’s house on March 31st, 1972 and was on his way home that evening. He left about 7:30. His friend’s parents usually drove him home but that evening Brad decided to head out on his own. His friends stated that he sometimes hitchhiked. Many young people did in 1972. Sunset that evening was 6:48. But, this was a city with streetlights and shopping centers. He had been out after dark many times before. His curfew was 9 p.m. and he would make it home well before then. 

   But, Brad Lee Bellino never made it home. 

   The Bellino family mistakenly thought that Brad was spending the night again with his friend that Friday night. His mother had given him permission. His father had said no. But, the busy parents had not had a chance to tell one another. Like most people in the United States, both parents worked long hours to make ends meet. It was also Easter weekend and people were in a rush to prepare for the upcoming holiday gatherings.

   It was Saturday afternoon, April 1st, before Brad was reported missing. The newspapers made much of that delay. But, even if someone had reported Brad missing on Friday March 31st; it probably would not have changed the outcome.

   His family and friends searched the route he would have taken but did not find him. Brad’s 13th birthday was approaching on the 7th and his family knew he wouldn’t run away and miss his birthday. It was also Easter weekend. Like many missing kids in the 1970’s Brad was thought to have run away by some investigators. His family was adamant that he wouldn’t have run away. 

   His family was right. He hadn’t run away. On April 4th, 1972, Brad Lee Bellino’s body was found in a dumpster behind a Isaly’s Dairy Store in a shopping center in Boardman, Ohio.  A tan leather belt was still cinched tightly around his neck. He had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death. 

   The investigation was as thorough as possible for 1972. Family and friends were questioned. Employees of the nearby shops were checked out. DNA testing was, of course, not an option. Tips came in and leads were followed up. But Brad’s case went cold. 

   In 2001, Brad Bellino’s clothes were sent to the Ohio State Crime Lab.  Brad Lee Bellino’s body was also exhumed. A DNA profile of both Brad and the killer would have to be developed. The DNA profile of the killer was then isolated. Genetic genealogy techniques were then used to identify the perpetrator of this heinous crime. 

  Joseph Norman Hill was 32 in 1972 and drove a truck delivering bottled water. He lived in Boardman, Ohio. He was a married man. In 1978, he packed up his family and moved to San Bernardino County, California. Over the years, he moved house 14 times there. 

   He died in San Bernardino County on July 3rd, 2019.  Investigators in Boardman, Ohio stated if Hill was still living they would have charged him with the crime. They believed they had sufficient evidence to prosecute him for Brad Lee Bellino’s murder.  Officials in Ohio are looking at him for a series of murders of boys in Northeast Ohio prior to 1978. 

   

  On December 3rd, 1970 15 year old Thomas Baird was found on Lake Park Road. Most of his clothing had been torn from his body. He had been violently beaten but was still alive. He was transported to the hospital.   Detectives were able to ask him if he knew who did this.  He answered yes but was unable to give more details before he died of his injuries. 

   In late January 1973, Marvin Lee King was strangled and left in a field near Springfield, Ohio. 

  On August 15, 1974, James David Morgan disappeared from Akron, Ohio. His skeletal remains were found, with no sign of clothing, in a wooded area near Stow, Ohio. (Northeast of Akron) Investigators were sure that he was a victim of foul play but the cause of death was difficult to determine. 

   On January 18th, 1975, 12 year old David Evans went missing. Six days later his frozen body was found at Market Street and U.S. 224 in Boardman. He was found on January 23rd, 1975 buried in a pile of snow in a shopping center parking lot. A large puncture wound was found in his back. 

  The spot where David Evans’ body was found is incredibly close to where Brad Lee Bellino was found in 1972.

   Police in Ohio have coordinated with police in San Bernardino County. 

   Hill had one arrest for “lewd conduct” in California in the 1980’s. It is possible that there are many more victims and more cold cases there as well. It’s hard to imagine that he stopped killing once he moved to California. 

 

    Brad Lee Bellino never got to see his thirteenth birthday. He never got to start high school or learn to drive. His future was stolen from him. 

   Rest in Peace, Brad Lee Bellino