Found Deceased IL - Jelani 'JJ' Day, 25, ISU grad student, missed class, Bloomington, 23 Aug 2021

Status
Not open for further replies.
Is the FBI is declining to take over the case because they are sure it is not a homicide?


Possible but can't know for sure. It is positive that they are aware, in touch, and can provide resources if necessary.

It is interesting that PD made the request (on behalf of the task force) only based on the family's request (demand, really). I wonder if that happens often. It won't appease the family, but it is certainly an acknowledgment from the task force that they hear the complaints and mistrust (of course they did!).


(“The family numerous times asked us to pass this investigation off, and we have attempted to do such,” Pyszka said.)
 
Family of Jelani Day, state lawmaker want Peru police to hand death investigation over to FBI

"18 days from the day his body was found in order for it to be identified. Even with dental records. Now lets juxtapose that against a similar case … the case of Brian Laundrie. The FBI was a part of that investigation and led that investigation and they found his remains on Wednesday of this week and yesterday on Thursday of this week they were able to identify who he was based on his dental records. That's a one-day period versus an 18-day period," Buckner said.

[RSBM]

Yeah...this is not a fair comparison. JJ's remains had front and bottom teeth missing and the coroner extracted a sample from the tibia to test. (Source)

LE hasn't disclosed in detail the conditions of Laundrie's remains, only that they were skeletal. (source) But since it wasn't found in a river after 11 days I assume there was less trauma and that the jaw was intact so dental records identification could go much faster.

The expectation that things can be instantly, quickly identified (the "CSI effect") should be tamped down a bit, IMO.
 
Last edited:
PERU — The Peru police chief said he's requesting that the FBI take the lead in investigating Illinois State University grad student's Jelani Day’s disappearance and death.

“There have been several calls made to the FBI and also a written request email to them as recently as early this week,” Chief Robert Pyszka said Friday morning. “The FBI is assisting on this case, but will not take over the lead of this investigation. They will assist us in any possible way they can, but they will not take over the lead in this case.”

Pyszka said he made that request on behalf of the joint task force as a response to the Day family's requests.

“The family numerous times asked us to pass this investigation off, and we have attempted to do such,” Pyszka said.
Peru police chief: FBI asked to take over Jelani Day case

This all makes me sad.

It gives the impression that no one wants to take Jelani's case. At least it'll certainly make Jelani's family feel that way.

I hope the local PD are not fed up with all the criticism and are not thinking, "Fine, if you don't like the way we're doing things, we'll gladly remove ourselves from the case!" Then at the same time, the FBI has stated they don't want to take the lead due to unknown reasons.

I am very curious to know what the FBI has found in its behavioral investigations. It's strange that Jelani's family is so opposed to the FBI studying Jelani's behavior. Analyzing his behavior could lead the FBI in the direction of suicide or homicide, not just suicide.

I really want Jelani's family to get closure.

I do wonder if Jelani had an undiagnosed mental illness. I know Jelani's mom found his hourly phone calls asking for money for impulsive trips to be endearing and amusing -- and maybe that was just Jelani's sense of humor -- but that pattern of behavior could also be a result of some sort of psychosis.

Is it odd that there's no footage released of Jelani leaving the cannabis dispensary's parking lot? Surely that footage exists?
 
I'm beginning to believe that he smoked the weed somewhere after he left school, and he ended up in a drug induced psychosis. His behavior regarding his traveling and finance seems strange to me IMO. Also his tolerance for weed might've been low and he tried smoking his normal amount and had a bad trip. That mixed with underlying mental health issues if he had them could've made him start having hallucinations which led him to the river. I think the family not wanting the FBI to evaluate his personality is because they are in denial about his mental health. I feel terrible for his family. Just my amateur opinion.
 
This all makes me sad.

It gives the impression that no one wants to take Jelani's case. At least it'll certainly make Jelani's family feel that way.

I hope the local PD are not fed up with all the criticism and are not thinking, "Fine, if you don't like the way we're doing things, we'll gladly remove ourselves from the case!" Then at the same time, the FBI has stated they don't want to take the lead due to unknown reasons.

I am very curious to know what the FBI has found in its behavioral investigations. It's strange that Jelani's family is so opposed to the FBI studying Jelani's behavior. Analyzing his behavior could lead the FBI in the direction of suicide or homicide, not just suicide.

I really want Jelani's family to get closure.

I do wonder if Jelani had an undiagnosed mental illness. I know Jelani's mom found his hourly phone calls asking for money for impulsive trips to be endearing and amusing -- and maybe that was just Jelani's sense of humor -- but that pattern of behavior could also be a result of some sort of psychosis.

Is it odd that there's no footage released of Jelani leaving the cannabis dispensary's parking lot? Surely that footage exists?
There is something about the phone calls that continues to bother me. I thought his mother likening his frequent phone calling as “a bill collector” was that he called her frequently to just talk to her.
But it was to constantly ask for money repeatedly.
Call every two hours and pester his mother and then siblings until he got want he wanted?
When did he want to take a month off and go to Jamaica?
There are clues in these phone calls and his behavior that unfortunately his mother doesn’t want analysed.
JMO
 
There is something about the phone calls that continues to bother me. I thought his mother likening his frequent phone calling as “a bill collector” was that he called her frequently to just talk to her.
But it was to constantly ask for money repeatedly.
Call every two hours and pester his mother and then siblings until he got want he wanted?
When did he want to take a month off and go to Jamaica?
There are clues in these phone calls and his behavior that unfortunately his mother doesn’t want analysed.
JMO
I keep thinking the same. This is not normal behavior for a 25 year old college graduate. It’s more typical of a middle school child. Something is off.
 
I'm beginning to believe that he smoked the weed somewhere after he left school, and he ended up in a drug induced psychosis. His behavior regarding his traveling and finance seems strange to me IMO. Also his tolerance for weed might've been low and he tried smoking his normal amount and had a bad trip. That mixed with underlying mental health issues if he had them could've made him start having hallucinations which led him to the river. I think the family not wanting the FBI to evaluate his personality is because they are in denial about his mental health. I feel terrible for his family. Just my amateur opinion.

IMO, the family and Mrs. D especially did not want the trip to the legal dispensary disclosed publicly, and releasing the surveillance video was the birth of the tension and distrust of the local police.

In comparison, I can't help thinking about missing TX student Jason Landry who after leaving campus-- driving home for Christmas break, crashed his car on an isolated rural road. Abandoning his vehicle, Jason stripped naked including his wristwatch as he walked along the road. He most likely died of hypothermia but his body has not been recovered. Similar profile: smoked some weed, early 20's, a good student starting a new program. I believe Jason was also in a drug-induced psychosis. It's suspicious but there's no evidence of a crime so very few resources were expended on his investigation.
 
I keep thinking the same. This is not normal behavior for a 25 year old college graduate. It’s more typical of a middle school child. Something is off.
From our own sleuthing, Jelani appeared to like community social work. I'm not so sure that he was ready for the path of a rigorous Masters program before the Doctorate. The financial and driving problems are concerning -- he had yet another speeding ticket on August 20, 2021!

Just days before his death, he talked to a Danville elder that was ready to name him head of a youth program. From the link up-thread:

Ed Butler said he spoke with him just days before he went missing.

"Had a real good talk with him. We sat down and talked, and I was going to have him be my youth director and chairperson in my NAACP, and he was really enthused about it," said the Danville NAACP President.
 
Last edited:
This all makes me sad.

It gives the impression that no one wants to take Jelani's case. At least it'll certainly make Jelani's family feel that way.

I hope the local PD are not fed up with all the criticism and are not thinking, "Fine, if you don't like the way we're doing things, we'll gladly remove ourselves from the case!" Then at the same time, the FBI has stated they don't want to take the lead due to unknown reasons.

I am very curious to know what the FBI has found in its behavioral investigations. It's strange that Jelani's family is so opposed to the FBI studying Jelani's behavior. Analyzing his behavior could lead the FBI in the direction of suicide or homicide, not just suicide.

I really want Jelani's family to get closure.

I do wonder if Jelani had an undiagnosed mental illness. I know Jelani's mom found his hourly phone calls asking for money for impulsive trips to be endearing and amusing -- and maybe that was just Jelani's sense of humor -- but that pattern of behavior could also be a result of some sort of psychosis.

Is it odd that there's no footage released of Jelani leaving the cannabis dispensary's parking lot? Surely that footage exists?

1) IMO, none of the LE agencies want to take this case because the mother and siblings are convinced that Jelani was murdered and there is no evidence that a third party was involved in Jelani's demise.
If LE cannot produce a suspect than LE will be suspected of involvement in his death and cover-up, IMO.

2) I would be interested to know why Jelani did not go to graduate school immediately after getting his undergraduate degree as Alabama A &M has a graduate program.
A master's degree is the entry-level degree in speech-language pathology.
His mother stated in an interview that Jelani wanted to go to Florida (UF-Gainesville?) but was not admitted. It was her idea for him to apply to a program closer to home...ISU.

3) IMO, Jelani demonstrated a pattern of risk taking, poor impulse control and decreased long term planning/problem solving skills.
I believe it is very likely that Jelani did not have the completed work to present to the Clinic Dir. the morning of the meeting and he initially planned on meeting her anyway and accepting the consequences. However, at the Student Center he impulsively decided to ditch the meeting and 'escape.'
He changed clothes (at his apartment?), went to the dispensary and took off driving.
Jelani couldn't face telling his mother and family that he 'blew off' grad school and he could see no way out.

Just My Opinion and Speculation Only.
 
From our own sleuthing, Jelani appeared to like community social work. I'm not so sure that he was ready for the path of a rigorous Masters program before the Doctorate. The financial and driving problems are concerning -- he had yet another speeding ticket on August 20, 2021!

Just days before his death, he talked to a Danville elder that was ready to name him head of a youth program. From the link up-thread:

Ed Butler said he spoke with him just days before he went missing.

"Had a real good talk with him. We sat down and talked, and I was going to have him be my youth director and chairperson in my NAACP, and he was really enthused about it," said the Danville NAACP President.

Ed Butler said he spoke with him just days before he went missing.

Was Jelani considering leaving grad school to take this position?
Or, did Butler mean that he wanted Jelani to be the youth director AFTER he finished his master's degree?
 
There is something about the phone calls that continues to bother me. I thought his mother likening his frequent phone calling as “a bill collector” was that he called her frequently to just talk to her.
But it was to constantly ask for money repeatedly.
Call every two hours and pester his mother and then siblings until he got want he wanted?
When did he want to take a month off and go to Jamaica?
There are clues in these phone calls and his behavior that unfortunately his mother doesn’t want analysed.
JMO
I agree. Jelani’s Mom stated that she worked and he would call her at work with the requests for money, as often as every 2 hours. This behavior seems rather intrusive. If she declined, he would ask his siblings. This also seems intrusive. Perhaps family members had not set any boundaries to curb this repeated behavior.
 
Ed Butler said he spoke with him just days before he went missing.

Was Jelani considering leaving grad school to take this position?
Or, did Butler mean that he wanted Jelani to be the youth director AFTER he finished his master's degree?

The MS in SLP program begins in August. I think it was too soon for Jelani to be quitting the program but who knows. However, I doubt that the elder would be offering him a position for 2 years in the future. You'd think by then that Jelani would be pursuing work in his field or Speech Pathology. IMO, JD probably thought he could do this job while attending grad school 70+ miles away. Sounds like another impulsive idea and not very well thought out.

The Master’s Degree in Speech-language Pathology (MS in SLP) is a two-year degree program (six semesters with a summer start). This degree consists 40 hours of academic credit hours, 18 clinical credit hours, and the completion of one of the following degree options: comprehensive exams, an independent study, or master’s thesis.

Speech Language Pathology Masters | Illinois State University
 
I agree. Jelani’s Mom stated that she worked and he would call her at work with the requests for money, as often as every 2 hours. This behavior seems rather intrusive. If she declined, he would ask his siblings. This also seems intrusive. Perhaps family members had not set any boundaries to curb this repeated behavior.

The MS in SLP program begins in August. I think it was too soon for Jelani to be quitting the program but who knows. However, I doubt that the elder would be offering him a position for 2 years in the future. You'd think by then that Jelani would be pursuing work in his field or Speech Pathology. IMO, JD probably thought he could do this job while attending grad school 70+ miles away. Sounds like another impulsive idea and not very well thought out.

The Master’s Degree in Speech-language Pathology (MS in SLP) is a two-year degree program (six semesters with a summer start). This degree consists 40 hours of academic credit hours, 18 clinical credit hours, and the completion of one of the following degree options: comprehensive exams, an independent study, or master’s thesis.

Speech Language Pathology Masters | Illinois State University

This description of the MS in SLP leaves out the hundreds of Clinical Clock Hours (supervised + only direct patient contact time is counted) required in order to receive the CCC-SLP from ASHA (American Speech-Language Hearing Association) and to qualify for state licensure...after taking and passing the national boards (after graduation).

There is no extra time. Most programs do not allow graduate students to work outside jobs.
 
Just days before his death, he talked to a Danville elder that was ready to name him head of a youth program. From the link up-thread:

Ed Butler said he spoke with him just days before he went missing.

"Had a real good talk with him. We sat down and talked, and I was going to have him be my youth director and chairperson in my NAACP, and he was really enthused about it," said the Danville NAACP President.

I thought it was very strange that Jelani was planning to take on a likely time-consuming job like that while already in a demanding graduate program. I wonder if he was planning to drop out of the speech path program. If he was actually planning to continue the speech path program AND release a clothing line AND be a youth director AND chairperson, that doesn't leave much time for sleep. Judging from his behavior and his mom's descriptions of him (very talkative, calling mom multiple times a day even when she was at work, calling first thing in morning all hyped up and excited about trips, fixating on unrealistic goals, etc), it sounds like Jelani was at the very least a real bundle of energy. It also makes me think of hypomania, a feature of bipolar II disorder.

Check out the symptoms for hypomania:

Symptoms of a hypomanic episode are the same but less intense than mania. Hypomanic symptoms, which vary from person to person, include:

  • Having an abnormally high level of activity or energy.
  • Feeling extremely happy, excited.
  • Not sleeping or only getting a few hours of sleep but still feel rested.
  • Having an inflated self-esteem, thinking you’re invincible.
  • Being more talkative than usual. Talking so much and so fast that others can’t interrupt.
  • Having racing thoughts — having lots of thoughts on lots of topics at the same time (called a “flight of ideas”).
  • Being easily distracted by unimportant or unrelated things.
  • Being obsessed with and completely absorbed in an activity you’re focus on.
  • Displaying purposeless movements, such as pacing around your home or office or fidgeting when you’re sitting.
  • Showing impulsive behavior that can lead to poor choices, such as buying sprees, reckless sex or foolish business investments.
 
I'm beginning to believe that he smoked the weed somewhere after he left school, and he ended up in a drug induced psychosis. His behavior regarding his traveling and finance seems strange to me IMO. Also his tolerance for weed might've been low and he tried smoking his normal amount and had a bad trip. That mixed with underlying mental health issues if he had them could've made him start having hallucinations which led him to the river. I think the family not wanting the FBI to evaluate his personality is because they are in denial about his mental health. I feel terrible for his family. Just my amateur opinion.

I wonder how plausible it is for someone in a drug-induced break to travel somewhere they've never been, strategically throw out their wallet in a random neighborhood, drive to a hidden area, remove his car tags, and then enter water. Sounds very calculated.

For me, a self-harm theory requires quite a bit of creativity to disengage with the evidence we have. I hope more evidence is released soon.

ETA: I'm not sure his mother is in denial about his mental health. There's simply no known evidence that he had any issues. Doesn't denial require a disregard of facts?

I think someone else had more cause to kill Jelani. Based on the evidence we have, it's more in the ballpark of foul play.
 
Last edited:
I wonder how plausible it is for someone in a drug-induced break to travel somewhere they've never been, strategically throw out their wallet in a random neighborhood, drive to a hidden area, remove his car tags, and then enter water. Sounds very calculated.

For me, a self-harm theory requires quite a bit of creativity to disengage with the evidence we have. I hope more evidence is released soon.

ETA: I'm not sure his mother is in denial about his mental health. There's simply no known evidence that he had any issues.

True, I agree that trying to piece together a theory of self-harm is kind of "out there" with the information that has been released.

However, I feel that a theory of foul play/homicide is just as "out there" as well. It literally doesn't make any sense (in the real world, not fiction) that an unknown suspect would attack or abduct JJ (with zero pings/whereabouts of his phone after the dispensary visit), drive his car 60 miles north, abandon it (so car theft wasn't a motive), and throw him in the river, leaving the lanyard near the river and his wallet in another area.

Releasing more information about the car would be key, I think. If there was any evidence that someone else had last driven his car, I could support some kind of foul play.

His mother's complete denial of any problems, her citing that he had a million reasons to live, that he had plans, couldn't do self-harm due to deeply held religious beliefs, and that he would never abandon his late grandfather's car...with all delicacy, does not sway me. She is not asking for an investigation open to results, she's asking for LE to find a suspect, and not finding one is a cover-up/incompetence.
 
Last edited:
<modsnip: Reddit is not an approved source at Websleuths>

I would be most interested in knowing jelanis grades in the program. It would be helpful to know if he was succeeding or struggling. The dispensary visit tells me he was stressed. And his prior job may have involved drug testing (if he dealt with families with addiction)?? So I wonder if this was his first experience with it?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
<modsnip: Reddit is not an approved source at Websleuths>

I would be most interested in knowing jelanis grades in the program. It would be helpful to know if he was succeeding or struggling. The dispensary visit tells me he was stressed. And his prior job may have involved drug testing (if he dealt with families with addiction)?? So I wonder if this was his first experience with it?

I think we're also assuming he was making the purchase for himself.

Also, has anyone been able to clarify whether JD was retrieved from the water with all teeth missing, some teeth missing, or if they were all (or some) removed by the coroner? If he was found with no teeth, anyone know why a coroner would saw his jawbone out, and if there were some teeth, why dental records couldn't be used. That sounds really conflicting, IMO.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I wonder how plausible it is for someone in a drug-induced break to travel somewhere they've never been, strategically throw out their wallet in a random neighborhood, drive to a hidden area, remove his car tags, and then enter water. Sounds very calculated.

For me, a self-harm theory requires quite a bit of creativity to disengage with the evidence we have. I hope more evidence is released soon.

ETA: I'm not sure his mother is in denial about his mental health. There's simply no known evidence that he had any issues. Doesn't denial require a disregard of facts?

I think someone else had more cause to kill Jelani. Based on the evidence we have, it's more in the ballpark of foul play.

What evidence do we have of foul play in Jelani's death?
 
I wonder how plausible it is for someone in a drug-induced break to travel somewhere they've never been, strategically throw out their wallet in a random neighborhood, drive to a hidden area, remove his car tags, and then enter water. Sounds very calculated.

For me, a self-harm theory requires quite a bit of creativity to disengage with the evidence we have. I hope more evidence is released soon.

ETA: I'm not sure his mother is in denial about his mental health. There's simply no known evidence that he had any issues. Doesn't denial require a disregard of facts?

I think someone else had more cause to kill Jelani. Based on the evidence we have, it's more in the ballpark of foul play.

I've unfortunately had a personal experience with drug psychosis. I also got in my car and travelled some distance before I was stopped and arrested. You can be high functioning during these hallucinations or at least I was. Taking his car tags off, ditching his wallet, and turning off his phone tells me he was running from something whether it was real or not. And yes I agree there isn't enough evidence to make the claim he was mentally ill, but the behavior of begging for money every 2 hours to go on these spontaneous trips is suspicious to me. Also his mother wanting the FBIs help, but then refusing the personality evaluation is strange too. I believe she believes this was foul play and doesn't want to accept that maybe her son did this to himself. No disrespect to the family as I feel awful for them. I do not know their internal thoughts. Just my amateur theory/opinion.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
195
Guests online
1,643
Total visitors
1,838

Forum statistics

Threads
589,953
Messages
17,928,195
Members
228,015
Latest member
Amberraff
Back
Top