Despite several leads and offers of a reward, the Boardman case remains unsolved.

Despite several leads and offers of a reward, the Boardman case remains unsolved.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Robert Rupp had been a township police detective for less than a year when he got the call about the case that would continue to haunt him for more than 30 years.
"The first call that you get on a Monday morning is of a young man who was found in a Dumpster at the Boardman Plaza," said Rupp, who retired in 2001 but remains a reserve township officer. "That's something that sticks in your mind."
Brad Lee Bellino, 12, had been reported missing Easter weekend 1972. The next Monday, police got the call that Rupp still recalls more than 30 years later: Garbage workers had discovered the boy's body in a trash bin.
Brad had been raped, and strangled with a belt that remained tightened around his neck.
A crime scene photo shows the boy's striped pants and sneakers protruding from beneath a trash bag inside of the bin.
Despite multiple leads and offers of a reward, the case remains unsolved.
But Rupp and Police Chief Jeffrey Patterson remain confident it will be solved.
"We just hope that somebody out there after 30 years knows something and that they would want to come forward," Patterson said.
What relative said
Tony D'Apolito, the boy's cousin, was working in the Youngstown police lab at the time and was called to the scene to identify his young cousin's body. It's a day that remains vividly etched in his memory.
"When you're a police officer, you feel responsible for the outcome," D'Apolito said. "I still think we can have a successful outcome to this."
The crime devastated the family.
"It was terrible for my Aunt [Elisa] and the whole family," he said. "You never get past it. You hear about things like this, but you never believe it could happen to you or to your family member."
Brad was the youngest of Joseph and Elisa Bellino's four children.
For several years, the boy's mother, Elisa, lived in the same McClurg Road house where she and her family were living when Brad was killed. She recently left the area. Joseph Bellino is deceased, D'Apolito said.
"My aunt still has nightmares about it," D'Apolito said.
D'Apolito retired from the city police department in 1980 and joined the Mahoning County prosecutor's office as an investigator 12 years ago.
"It's something I'd like to see solved before I retire for good," D'Apolito said.
DNA testing
Police believe information that wasn't reported at the time, maybe because of someone's apprehension to come forward, combined with advancements in law enforcement techniques can help solve the crime.
"Technology has given us another shot at it," Patterson said.
Shortly before Rupp's retirement from the township police department, police were able to rule out most of the people identified as lead suspects through DNA testing, which wasn't available at the time of Brad's murder, the chief said.
They await results of another suspect's DNA test. That man, who is deceased, had served time in prison for sex crimes involving children many years ago.
There's a lot police don't know about the last hours of the boy's life.
He had stayed that Friday night at a friend's house in Applewood Acres, but because of all the chaos at that house, no one was sure when he left. His mother reported him missing that Saturday afternoon.
The boy was known to hitchhike, but it's undetermined if that played any role in his death.
"We can't account [for the boy's whereabouts] from 7 p.m. Friday to the time he was discovered," Patterson said.
Although the boy's murder remains unsolved, Rupp said the investigations stemming from it led to other cases of men who had molested children who were prosecuted and convicted of those crimes. He said he takes some satisfaction in knowing that those people were punished for their crimes.
Ongoing case
People in the community who know Rupp worked the case often ask him about it, and he assures them it remains an active case.
"The Boardman Police Department never gave up on this case," Rupp said.
D'Apolito said he talks every few months with Boardman Capt. Jack Nichols about the case to see if anything new has come up.
"It's never been closed," D'Apolito said. "Boardman police have always been working on it. They never stopped, and I don't want them to stop."
He, Rupp and Patterson believe that someone has information that will lead to a resolution.
"I believe someone out there is sitting on information that can help solve this case," D'Apolito said. "I just hope they come forward."