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

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SolR1 said:
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.
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The AP put out a press release with correct information in order to counteract the inaccurate information which had been reported RE: Jelani Day's autopsy.

1) The body was missing some upper and lower teeth in the middle due to the effects of decomposition. The body was found face down in shallow water and it was likely the front of his face scraped against something, dislodging the already loosened (due to decomposition) teeth.

2) A portion of his jaw bone was removed by the medical examiner with a saw in order to facilitate comparison of his teeth with dental records. This procedure is not uncommon in autopsies.

3) It was reported that the dental records the medical examiner received were older and not helpful in identification. The tibia was removed and completely dried out before extracting marrow in order to perform DNA testing.
 
rkendmar said:
What evidence do we have of foul play in Jelani's death?
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Multiple LE agencies and the FBI have provided zero indication that Jelani's disappearance and death were the results of a crime.

My opinion is not without digging deep for information but with the MSM facts available thus far, IMO, the only possibility I see that might place Jelani in harms way includes money issues where JL may have borrowed/owed the wrong person. However, chances appear better where JD could get money from at least six other individuals without having to borrow.

We also know he was described as loud and liked to debate but there's no indication he was ever disrespectful and the target of somebody he crossed.

Without credible evidence, I have to agree with the authorities -- I don't see JD being the victim of a random crime plausible.
 
Hmadeit said:
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.
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Thanks, @Hmadeit for sharing your personal experience. This is not the first case where the victim exhibited unexplainable behavior with no prior history after smoking weed.

I mentioned the example of Texas student Jason Landry earlier and just remembered 16- year old Karlie Guse (still missing). The difference with Karlie is she was in a weed-induced psychosis at home with her family, asked for help, and the parents believed it was "only weed" and would wear off by morning.
 
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@rainyday412 - I agree that the family was notified about the body and the chance it could be Jelani, but also that it could take weeks or months to positively identify due to the condition of the body.

Seattle1 said:
New Details On Body Pulled From River In Peru

Sept 7, 2021

It was a man's body pulled out of the Illinois River in Peru this past Saturday,

La Salle County Coroner Rich Ploch says while an autopsy revealed the body to be that of a man, they may not find out who the deceased person is for weeks or months due to the condition of the body.
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I'm also curious if Jelani was a probational student at ISU Master's program given the entry/acceptance requirements.

Although the MS SLP program officially begins in August each year, it seems to me that Jelani started at ISU before August due to his mom providing that she was very eager to see Jelani's grades from the last term and was pleased when he finally texted them to her shortly before he disappeared. (CD video on Justice for Jelani FB). The MS SLP requires students maintain a 3.0 GPA.

ETA: add link

Speech Language Pathology Masters | Illinois State University
 
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From what we have read about Jelani and his relationship with his mother, Mom held him in high esteem and knew in her heart he would be a doctor. She stated as much when she begged for Dr. Jelani Day to come back to her when he disappeared. He phoned her many times a day (IMO) for reassurance that he was a good son and living up to her expectations. Until he couldn’t. JMO

ETA He was going to be a bone marrow donor for his Dad.
 
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Seattle1 said:
Multiple LE agencies and the FBI have provided zero indication that Jelani's disappearance and death were the results of a crime.

My opinion is not without digging deep for information but with the MSM facts available thus far, IMO, the only possibility I see that might place Jelani in harms way includes money issues where JL may have borrowed/owed the wrong person. However, chances appear better where JD could get money from at least six other individuals without having to borrow.

We also know he was described as loud and liked to debate but there's no indication he was ever disrespectful and the target of somebody he crossed.

Without credible evidence, I have to agree with the authorities -- I don't see JD being the victim of a random crime plausible.
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Have the authorities confirmed he was not a victim of a random crime? Or just not released evidence of such? Only thing I've read is them saying the details they're aware of in his case are unusual.
 
SolR1 said:
Have the authorities confirmed he was not a victim of a random crime? Or just not released evidence of such? Only thing I've read is them saying the details they're aware of in his case are unusual.
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SolR1 said:
Well, I think since there was no announcement that foul play was ruled out following the autopsy, it can't be taken off the table.
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Respectfully, that's not how it works. The advantages of being able to classify an investigation as potentially "foul play" versus "suspicious" are tremendous for investigators including the ability to obtain search warrants.

We learned earlier that investigators were having to rely on subpoenas which is what authorities have to use when they cannot qualify any evidence of a crime (i.e., probable cause standards). This applies to all investigations and not just Jelani -- despite the allegations launched by family and their spokespersons. MOO
 
Seattle1 said:
Respectfully, that's not how it works. The advantages of being able to classify an investigation as potentially "foul play" versus "suspicious" are tremendous for investigators including the ability to obtain search warrants.

We learned earlier that investigators were having to rely on subpoenas which is what authorities have to use when they cannot qualify any evidence of a crime (i.e., probable cause standards). This applies to all investigations and not just Jelani -- despite the allegations launched by family and their spokespersons. MOO
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Actually, that's exactly how it works. An autopsy is required to rule out foul play, and since the investigation is ongoing, foul play has not been ruled out.

The question was what evidence do we have of foul play in Jelani's death. I'm simply implying foul play has not been ruled out, and we simply don't know if there's evidence.

ETA: But based on the facts that we do know, IMO, foul play is a strong possibility.
 
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SolR1 said:
Actually, that's exactly how it works. An autopsy is required to rule out foul play, and since the investigation is ongoing, foul play has not been ruled out.

The question was what evidence do we have of foul play in Jelani's death. I'm simply implying foul play has not been ruled out, and we simply don't know if there's evidence.

ETA: But based on the facts that we do know, IMO, foul play is a strong possibility.
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What specific evidence are you relying on for this opinion that foul play is a strong possibility? I'm very interested in what you see that authorities are not seeing. I've noted my own thoughts regarding foul play (based on profiling) but it's very weak.
 
The problem the family is having IMO is that there is no known, released evidence of a crime... Which leads to asking -- is there no evidence because there was no crime? Have they not found any evidence because the person who committed the crime covered their tracks? Or are they not able/willing to invest thoroughly?

The family seems to think it is the latter.


If LE had evidence that needs more investigation, they're not going to announce 'hey we have unknown fingerprints we're trying to ID' or 'the driver's seat was in a position that isn't consistent with JD'. Is there evidence of a crime and the family and public don't know? It's possible. And it would be responsible for them to not broadcast that.


If there is simply no evidence of another person involved but nothing obvious indicating suicide, that makes it difficult for LE to conclusively determine. And that will leave the family and community in a very difficult state of flux.
 
Has anyone seen RECENT mentions or requests by the family to contact their private investigator? For a while after they announced hiring one, they posted and spoke of it often but I don't recall anything in recent weeks. Just wondering if he is still involved or not and if not, why?
 
LotusPawprint said:
The problem the family is having IMO is that there is no known, released evidence of a crime... Which leads to asking -- is there no evidence because there was no crime? Have they not found any evidence because the person who committed the crime covered their tracks? Or are they not able/willing to invest thoroughly?

The family seems to think it is the latter.


If LE had evidence that needs more investigation, they're not going to announce 'hey we have unknown fingerprints we're trying to ID' or 'the driver's seat was in a position that isn't consistent with JD'. Is there evidence of a crime and the family and public don't know? It's possible. And it would be responsible for them to not broadcast that.


If there is simply no evidence of another person involved but nothing obvious indicating suicide, that makes it difficult for LE to conclusively determine. And that will leave the family and community in a very difficult state of flux.
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I believe solving this case is going to be by understanding Jelani's state of mind leading up to the date/time of his disappearance. Why did Jelani abandon his schedule, appointments without notice, change his clothes, and head to the weed store? What caused this change in his "normal" behavior leaving him vulnerable to a perp (or himself)?
 
Seattle1 said:
I mentioned the example of Texas student Jason Landry earlier and just remembered 16- year old Karlie Guse (still missing). The difference with Karlie is she was in a weed-induced psychosis at home with her family, asked for help, and the parents believed it was "only weed" and would wear off by morning.
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10 months missing and presumed deceased-- JL's parents, a Pastor and a CPA, just released a podcast about their missing son.

They've come to understand that their son, an extrovert, was probably self-medicating with weed to cope with the isolation imposed by COVID. He'd spent his first semester at a new school stuck inside his campus apartment where his classes were all by zoom. If not for these circumstances, his profile would likely be different and/or than the profile of who they knew versus the profile of the individual that vanished.

What incredible insight by these grieving parents. The fact that their son's remains have not been recovered has also not dismissed the possibility that he was struck by another vehicle while walking on the road and panicked.... a criminal act.

This brings me back to wondering what Jelani was doing since 2018. Looking further into his traffic violations during that time, he also failed to appear in court for these charges (while driving on a suspended license), twice.

IMO, Jelani never should have received the disposition of Nolle Prosequi. I think Jelani probably used his known gift of gab and persuasion in this situation and probably prayed on the court that he needed this (i.e., clean record) to pursue his Doctorate. And for what? He re-offended again on August 20, 2021 -- cited for speeding 25 miles over the posted speed limit!

MOO
 
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Seattle1 said:
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.
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Sadly, I'm getting the definite impression that he was interested in changing his career path, or trying to do both at once, but there was a lot of pressure on him to push on and become a doctor.
 
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The LaSalle County Coroner on Monday released the cause of death for Jelani Day, the Illinois State University graduate student who was found dead in the Illinois River in September just days after he was reported missing.

Day's cause of death was ruled as a drowning, LaSalle County Coroner Richard Ploch said in a news release Monday, adding the manner in which "Mr. Day went into the Illinois River is currently unknown."

More at Jelani Day's Cause of Death Released by LaSalle County Coroner
 
“There was no evidence of any antemortem (pre-death) injury, such as manual strangulation, an assault or altercation, sharp, blunt or gunshot injury, infection, tumor, natural disease, congenital abnormality, or significant drug intoxication,” Ploch said.
"The cause of death opinion was based upon “review of the extensive available investigation, medical and dental information, and after postmortem examination with multiple ancillary and special studies,” Ploch said."
Coroner says Jelani Day drowned, with no evidence of trauma before his death
Coroner says Jelani Day drowned, with no evidence of trauma before his death
 
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