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

[LotusPawprint]

“Unfortunately, there is no specific test at autopsy for drowning,” Ploch said. “Drowning is considered a diagnosis of exclusion with supporting investigation circumstances when a person is found deceased in a body of water.”

Examination of Day’s body was made difficult because of how badly it was decomposed and other organisms in the water eating away at it, Ploch said.


(from the link above)

 

[rkendmar]

Updated: October 25, 2021 at 5:39 PM CDT
This story was updated Monday night after the LaSalle County coroner released Day's cause of death: drowning.

"However, Rainbow PUSH appears to be spreading information about the case that is untrue.

During an interview Friday, Rainbow PUSH national field director Bishop Tavis Grant told WGLT two pieces of information purportedly about Day’s death (including the state of his body) that other reporting has shown to be false. WGLT is not going to repeat them here. WGLT has reported previously on how the lack of updates early on in the investigation allowed the online rumor mill to go into overdrive. At times Day’s family has had to debunk false information."
Rev. Jesse Jackson invited to ISU student meeting ahead of Jelani Day march in Peru

 

[Seattle1]

Coroner says Jelani Day drowned, with no evidence of trauma before his death

10/25/21

Former Illinois State University graduate student Jelani Day died from drowning, with no evidence of other injuries suffered before his death, authorities said Monday.

Day, 25, was found Sept. 4 in the Illinois River in Peru, about an hour north of Bloomington-Normal. He had been missing for over a week.

LaSalle County Coroner Richard Ploch said Monday the cause of death has been determined as drowning. But authorities still don’t know how Day ended up in the river.

 

[Seattle1]

Updated: October 25, 2021 at 5:39 PM CDT
This story was updated Monday night after the LaSalle County coroner released Day's cause of death: drowning.

"However, Rainbow PUSH appears to be spreading information about the case that is untrue.

During an interview Friday, Rainbow PUSH national field director Bishop Tavis Grant told WGLT two pieces of information purportedly about Day’s death (including the state of his body) that other reporting has shown to be false. WGLT is not going to repeat them here. WGLT has reported previously on how the lack of updates early on in the investigation allowed the online rumor mill to go into overdrive. At times Day’s family has had to debunk false information."
Rev. Jesse Jackson invited to ISU student meeting ahead of Jelani Day march in Peru

Emmett Hill was beaten, shot in the head, and thrown in the river with a cotton gin fan tied to his body.

How exactly does this compare to Jelani?

Emmett Till is murdered

 

[Seattle1]

Autopsy findings misrepresented in grad student Jelani Day’s death

10/15/21

CLAIM: Coroner’s report says missing graduate student Jelani Day was found with his organs missing, including his teeth, eyeballs and spleen. His jawbone was “sawed out.”

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The LaSalle County coroner who first examined Jelani Day’s recovered body said it was severely decomposed, but no body parts were missing. The coroner said the jaw was removed to assist with identification and that all parts of the body were returned to the family.

[..]

more at the link above...

 

[LotusPawprint]

Updated: October 25, 2021 at 5:39 PM CDT
This story was updated Monday night after the LaSalle County coroner released Day's cause of death: drowning.

"However, Rainbow PUSH appears to be spreading information about the case that is untrue.

During an interview Friday, Rainbow PUSH national field director Bishop Tavis Grant told WGLT two pieces of information purportedly about Day’s death (including the state of his body) that other reporting has shown to be false. WGLT is not going to repeat them here. WGLT has reported previously on how the lack of updates early on in the investigation allowed the online rumor mill to go into overdrive. At times Day’s family has had to debunk false information."
Rev. Jesse Jackson invited to ISU student meeting ahead of Jelani Day march in Peru

GOOD FOR WGLT, not even giving it life.

It's pathetic when a news organization deserves praise for doing what they should (all) be doing.

 

[BeckyF]

Drowning is the cause of death but not the manner of death. It’s yet to be determined how JJ ended up in the river.

 

[Seattle1]

Jelani did NOT go missing on August 15!

I'm absolutely dumbfounded at the continued misinformation coming directly from press conferences with this case. IMO, it's almost as if it's on purpose or intentional.

Timeline:

8/24/21 - JD failed to show for scheduled classes/appointment
8/25/21 - JD reported missing to LE
8/26/21 - JD vehicle located - Peru, IL
9/4/21 - Body recovered from Illinois River - Peru, IL
9/7/21 - Coroner states an autopsy revealed body recovered 9/4 is a male but positive identification could take weeks or months due to the condition of the body.
9/23/21 - Body officially identified as JD by DNA and dental.

No cause or manner of death has been released by authorities.

Jelani Day's Cause of Death Released by LaSalle County Coroner

10/25/21

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."
___________________________

I trust the combined agencies working this case can professionally conclude the manner of death expeditiously, and false information and accusations not be given any opportunity to exploit Jelani. MOO

 

[Seattle1]

Jelani Day update: ISU graduate student drowned, LaSalle Co. coroner says

10/22/21

The LaSalle County coroner said a forensic autopsy did not reveal any evidence of injury before Day's death, "such as manual strangulation, an assault or altercation, sharp, blunt or gunshot injury, infection, tumor, natural disease, congenital abnormality, or significant drug intoxication."

It is still not known how Day ended up in the Illinois River.

[..]

Day's mother also said his phone has not been found, and is asking Apple to release phone records that may help investigators.

So far, investigators have only called the circumstances surrounding the disappearance "unusual."

Police are still investigating the case, along with the FBI.

His funeral was held last week.
_________________________________

Probable cause is required for a search warrant to be served on Apple. This is true for all investigations.

Jelani's body, however, was located very quickly and information already provided by his carrier (by subpoena) confirmed that Jelani powered off his phone at the Dispensary.

I don't believe phone records are impeding this investigation.

Supreme Court rules that police generally need a warrant to access cell phone data

 

[Seattle1]

Jelani Day cause of death: Illinois coroner releases new information

10/22/21

[..]

The Peru Police Department is handling the investigation, but Illinois State Representative Kam Buckner wants that to change. He wrote a letter to the police chief asking him to hand over the entire investigation to the Illinois State Police or the FBI.

[..]

Peru police did acknowledge they received Buckner’s letter.

Day was last seen on security footage on Aug. 24. He was reported missing on Aug. 25. On *September 5, his body was found in the Illinois River.

The family is upset that the FBI is looking at whether he might have committed suicide.

ETA: *OP Disputes Fox32 Chicago report - Body was recovered on Sept 4, not Sept 5 as reported here.

 

[bombardier]

As this case continues to unfold, it's just really, really sad. Very smart young man, handsome, strong family connections, family members who thought very highly of him, I know he would have had a great future, even if he didn't complete this specific program.
I had reservations regarding why he chose this not-very-tall bridge, but my reservations is not enough for me to discount this being self-inflicted. If he hadn't skipped expected meetings that day, I might be more reluctant, but missing academic appointments does lead me to believe that he was not worried about the consequences.
Stress and isolation for people in their 20s during the pandemic has been a killer I feel it, my friends feel it, everyone I speak has noticed their mental health worsening. It's really really suffocating to be spending the so-called "best years of your life" and most academically-challenging years inside your dorm, behind a computer screen, not knowing if things will ever improve.

 

[mewmew]

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.

Not trying to be petty but I keep seeing quotes (mostly from his mom) about how he was going to become a doctor. He was in a masters program right? Not PhD? Were they expecting him to continue on after the masters program and THEN go get a PhD? Or even MD? Just curious, cause a masters degree in anything does not make you a doctor, yet I keep seeing that referenced. Just trying to gauge exactly how much pressure he was being put under (or putting on himself).

 

[scriabina]

It's hard to imagine how a tall, strong swimmer like Jelani could be murdered by drowning when there's no evidence of intoxication or any other injuries.

While I started out strongly believing that Jelani was a victim of foul play, I'm now leaning toward Jelani being a victim of mental illness. And I fear the family will never be convinced or get closure if the investigation concludes the same.

I wonder if that last speeding ticket he got just a few days before his disappearance could have been the last straw. Seems Jelani was very convincing in getting his other driving violations tossed out. Maybe he knew he wouldn't be able to get out of this one and feared it would ruin his career dreams (I highly doubt it would)? If I had to guess, I'd say he was speeding not due to irresponsibility but due to a hypomanic or manic state. I think Jelani was a genuinely good person who really cared and wanted to help so many people, but he was plagued by mental health problems which others merely interpreted as amusing personality quirks. The speeding ticket plus the shock/challenges of grad school may have plunged him from a manic to a depressive state.

I'd like clarity about Jelani's career aspirations. His mom and many articles and reports have stated Jelani was going to be a doctor. What kind of doctor? His graduate program was a masters program, not a doctoral program. Was he using the speech path program as a stepping stone to med school or a PhD program? Or is term word "doctor" just an exaggeration? Saying he was "going to be" a doctor is making a lot of assumptions/putting on lots of pressure. Edited to add, I see @mewmew just asked the same question!

 

[rkendmar]

Not trying to be petty but I keep seeing quotes (mostly from his mom) about how he was going to become a doctor. He was in a masters program right? Not PhD? Were they expecting him to continue on after the masters program and THEN go get a PhD? Or even MD? Just curious, cause a masters degree in anything does not make you a doctor, yet I keep seeing that referenced. Just trying to gauge exactly how much pressure he was being put under (or putting on himself).

I don't know what to make of the "doctor" thing.
In order to practice as a speech-language pathologist you have to have a MS, MA or MEd in Communication Disorders or Speech & Hearing Science, etc.
If you want to teach and do research in academia you get a PhD in Communication Disorders or a related field which will take you at least 3 more years in the academic grind.
In an interview with Jelani's mother, she mentioned Jelani wanted to be a doctor so she wouldn't have to work anymore.
I'm thinking Jelani's mother may not have had a clear understanding of what we do professionally and, especially, how much money we make.

 

[scriabina]

...information already provided by his carrier (by subpoena) confirmed that Jelani powered off his phone at the Dispensary.

Supreme Court rules that police generally need a warrant to access cell phone data

Wow, this is the first time I've seen that information presented as fact and not just based on rumor/assumption.

Still would like it confirmed that Jelani left the dispensary alone and of his own volition. We don't know for sure if he powered off his phone or if someone else did. Knowing that he turned off his phone and left on his own would point toward a voluntary departure.

 

[rkendmar]

Wow, this is the first time I've seen that information presented as fact and not just based on rumor/assumption.

Still would like it confirmed that Jelani left the dispensary alone and of his own volition. We don't know for sure if he powered off his phone or if someone else did. Knowing that he turned off his phone and left on his own would point toward a voluntary departure.

His phone was turned off at 9:20am on 08/24/21.
It was reported that he was at the dispensary at 9:17am.
Was the phone turned off before or immediately after he left the dispensary?

In the dispensary security photo, I noticed he had backed into the parking place at the dispensary and, even though his windows were tinted, there should be a view into the car from the front windows.

 

[scriabina]

In an interview with Jelani's mother, she mentioned Jelani wanted to be a doctor so she wouldn't have to work anymore.
I'm thinking Jelani's mother may not have had a clear understanding of what we do professionally and, especially, how much money we make.

I wonder if Jelani also didn't quite understand. You'd think he would've explained it to his mom. Either he also misunderstood what he was getting into, or he deliberately misled her. Considering how long and often Jelani and his mom talked, I can't imagine how she wouldn't understand how his grad program worked unless he himself didn't explain it correctly to her, either because he didn't understand, or he wanted to give an elevated/glorified impression of the career.

No disrespect, but I'm wondering if he applied to grad school somewhat impulsively without talking to others in the field and without gathering enough information to fully understand all the work it entailed. On the other hand, I saw an article where Jelani's mom said Jelani got 2 A's and 2 B's in the summer semester, so that indicates he was doing decently well. I don't know anything about the specifics, if the summer semester is just classes and nothing else and then things really intensify in the fall?

 

[rainyday412]

Something that also crosses my mind is that in jelani’s career as a family counselor in the addiction center, the bulk of his time there was very likely spent doing very little. I work with government grants in illinois, and MANY of these grant positions had very little to do due to covid shut downs…and the government Grant would keep paying (which pays for salaries). The bulk of the Grants didn’t care if u were working or not. We had employees that didn’t have to really ‘work’ for 16 months since their jobs involved meeting with people. Things didn’t really start up again until around June/July 2021. So he would have been overwhelmed by the change in pace when going back to college.

 

[rkendmar]

"Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson said Monday he doesn’t believe an autopsy report released Monday which indicated Illinois State University graduate student Jelani Day drowned in the Illinois River with no signs of injury before his death.

Jelani’s mother Carmen Bolden Day pleaded with students to push for state authorities to get involved.

“I want you all to just pester the state of Illinois attorney general’s office until he gets tired of everybody calling him, until he gets tired of filtering emails, until he gets tired of people asking him (to get someone on the case) because there’s something he can do,” Day said. “I need you all to help us because I need justice for Jelani.”

The Peru police chief has said previously the FBI declined to take lead in the investigation.

Day also dismissed the autopsy report, saying it’s part of a narrative that suggests her son would harm himself.

“It’s amazing to me that all these Black men that get killed somehow get associated with them doing something to themselves,” Day said. “Jelani was strong.”"
Rev. Jesse Jackson disputes Jelani Day’s autopsy report ahead of planned rally in Peru

 

[rkendmar]

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