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Woman's Long-Lost Dad Is Face-Eating Victim

Janice Poppo DiBello had never met her father, Ronald Poppo

By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 1, 2012 5:13 PM CDT

(Newser) – The estranged daughter of the homeless man whose face was eaten in that horrific Miami crime was astonished to find that her long-lost father was the victim. New Jersey's Janice Poppo DiBello, 44, had never met her biological father, Ronald Poppo, 65, who is now hospitalized with most of his face gone, reports the New York Daily News. “Since I was 2 years old, him and my mom got divorced… I didn't know if he was alive or dead," said Poppo DiBello.

“It was a complete shock, because like I said, I’ve never had a relationship with my biological father,” said Poppo DiBello, now an IT analyst in New Jersey. “I have never heard from him. I have no idea what happened to him.” Her mother said they were divorced around 1970, and no one had heard from his since. Poppo had graduated from the prestigious Stuyvesant High School in New York City before spiraling down an alcohol- and crime-filled path that left him homeless in Florida for decades.

Rudy Eugene, left, and Ronald Poppo, his victim, right
Rudy Eugene, left, and Ronald Poppo, his victim, right   (AP Photo/Miami-Dade Police Dept.)
Ronald Poppo, 65, the victim of the Miami Zombie
Ronald Poppo, 65, the victim of the "Miami Zombie"   (AP Photo/Miami-Dade Police Dept.)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 10 comments
George-Jetson
Jun 2, 2012 11:19 AM CDT
Pretend he's still lost
crafter67
Jun 2, 2012 5:23 AM CDT
hell of a way to find a lost relative...
cascadoux
Jun 1, 2012 8:49 PM CDT
I read somewhere that neither his siblings nor his children will be visiting with him in the hospital. Lord, what I will give to have my alcoholic, wife and child abusing father to be alive today. I can have the chance to forgive  him, and he could still offer me love. Dad you were never not loved.
 

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