Found Deceased IL - Jelani 'JJ' Day, 25, ISU grad student, missed class, Bloomington, 23 Aug 2021 #2

[GuyfromCanada]

PEORIA (25 NEWS) -The “Justice for Jelani Day” Facebook group is celebrating some movement Thursday at the state capitol for a bill that would get the FBI involved sooner in similar cases.

A proposal named for the former ISU grad student just passed through that chamber.

Bill named for former ISU graduate student passes through Illinois senate

 

[5W's]

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — A bill moving through the Illinois Senate is aiming to speed up missing persons cases.

It was filed in direct response to the death of Jelani Day, an Illinois State University student who went missing in August and was later found dead.

The new bill would require county coroners and medical examiners to contact the FBI if human remains went unidentified for longer than 72 hours.

Jelani Day death investigation inspires new Illinois Senate bill

Hopefully it helps in some cases.

 

[Silver Spring]

Reading the whole linked article, Illinois does allow pre-employment screening.
"

1. Employers can reject job applicants, and discipline workers, based on a positive test

In Illinois, companies can still conduct “reasonable drug and alcohol testing” of both current and prospective employees."

Since JD would likely work for a health care system at some point, this could be a problem in the future. Most health systems require a pre-employment drug screen and require employees to allow random screening (although random screens are extremely rare). He was not an employee at the time, so it likely wouldn't be an issue unless this was a requirement of his program.

I doubt this has anything to do with this case.
I also doubt this was his first use of marijuana.
I also don't think he was trying to avoid the TB test for any reason.

My gut feeling is that he was having issues of some sort, and possibly, the clinic not yet being open, an otherwise minor inconvenience, was the straw that broke the camel's back. To me whatever happened to him happened before visiting the dispensary.

According to this ISU student handbook, a drug screen is required before a student can begin clinicals. It’s possible Jelani knew he would test positive for marijuana and could be dismissed from the program.

https://healthsciences.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/mls-student-handbook.pdf

 

[BeckyF]

According to this ISU student handbook, a drug screen is required before a student can begin clinicals. It’s possible Jelani knew he would test positive for marijuana and could be dismissed from the program.

https://healthsciences.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/mls-student-handbook.pdf

Oh wow. Thank You for finding this. That is definitely a possibility.

 

[Seattle1]

According to this ISU student handbook, a drug screen is required before a student can begin clinicals. It’s possible Jelani knew he would test positive for marijuana and could be dismissed from the program.

https://healthsciences.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/mls-student-handbook.pdf

The "Note" portion from the link quoted seems to be in error -- i.e., citing most healthcare facilities do permit persons under the influence of marijuana to work in their facilities.

Seems to me that JD would have too much at stake with both the competitive grad program and potential donor for his dad to indulge in retail weed. But same can be said for narrowly escaping a misdemeanor for speeding.

I think all the above was likely followed in his victimology/behavioral profile by the FBI.

Speeding Ticket 26-34 MPH Over Illinois | 625 ILCS 5/11-601.5(a) Penalty

 

[branmuffin]

MOO
Just talking aloud here today.
1) CBD's belief that suicide results in an eternity in hell. and her perception that JJ believed this too.
This belief would set her up to completely reject that as a possibility. and I agree others have exploited her denial. From social media there is a mob mentality going on that really doesn't have the best interest of CBD and family in the forefront.
2) In considering the 5 stages of grief, which I have now found has been expanded (5 Stages of Grief After Facing A Loss (psychcentral.com) I really got to thinking about and wondering if the first 3 of the traditional 5 are not defense mechanisms. It just seems to make sense to me that it is. This article cited does affirm denial as being a common defense mechanism. I haven't found the other 2 classified that way but have not done much research yet. I donated all my psych, sociology, and suicidality books to the library.
3) suicidal thinking is almost always characterized as "tunnel vision". There is also the matter of intrusive thoughts & intrusive voices, some manifest just as internal mind chatter, others are truly hearing voices. It can be very isolating. I will try to expand on this later.
4) I have been reading John Douglass (founder of FBI BAU unit) new book. In the first case he presents in this book, he states that they did not write up their BAU profile to protect from leaks. They were actively involved in both the profiling and tactics to identify and capture the offender through direct meetings and consultations with the local investigating authorities. However, the case was known to be homicides. They were integrally involved but stayed in the background.

So now, I have more research to do.

I remember back on 9/11 when we all witnessed those terrible images of people jumping from the Word Trade Towers. The images were so horrific that all western newspapers decided they would not print or release them online to spare the suffering of family members and the overall trauma to the general public.

The most iconic picture of falling bodies that day was a dark skinned man captured falling head first to his death but the instant the camera caught was of man loose limbed as if he were casually walking in a light breeze.

Several journalists spent time trying to figure out who it was. One narrowed in down to a man whose family was from Puerto Rico, a Roman Catholic family. His spouse refused to acknowledge that her husband could have committed suicide because he was a devout RC and suicide is a sin. I could never understand how someone could have characterized his death as a suicide; if anything it was his brain's ancient programming to save itself from death by fire, one of the primal fears of man. It's never been verified who the falling man was which puts him in the same category as The Unknown Soldier for me.

So based on that anecdote about the identity of the falling man I can see how his family would resist categorically JJ's death as suicide. Even if, after LE's exhaustive efforts to find a loose thread to knit a blanket of foul play suspicions goes nowhere, they will always ask 'what if'.

The problem for me is that it undermines those cases where foul play is a factor in someone's death especially if there are racial overtones to the event. Case in point; Ahmaud Arbery. While AA's death was evidently caused by others, I can see JJ's mother wondering why it took so long to indict those murderers even after they released the recording of the killing. So her own son dying mysteriously is always going to be tainted by the thought that someone, somewhere, got away with murder.

 

[5W's]

According to this ISU student handbook, a drug screen is required before a student can begin clinicals. It’s possible Jelani knew he would test positive for marijuana and could be dismissed from the program.

https://healthsciences.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/mls-student-handbook.pdf

Its possible but I wonder if Jelani had a medical waiver that the ISU accepted? We don't know that critical piece of information.

 

[5W's]

I remember back on 9/11 when we all witnessed those terrible images of people jumping from the Word Trade Towers. The images were so horrific that all western newspapers decided they would not print or release them online to spare the suffering of family members and the overall trauma to the general public.

The most iconic picture of falling bodies that day was a dark skinned man captured falling head first to his death but the instant the camera caught was of man loose limbed as if he were casually walking in a light breeze.

Several journalists spent time trying to figure out who it was. One narrowed in down to a man whose family was from Puerto Rico, a Roman Catholic family. His spouse refused to acknowledge that her husband could have committed suicide because he was a devout RC and suicide is a sin. I could never understand how someone could have characterized his death as a suicide; if anything it was his brain's ancient programming to save itself from death by fire, one of the primal fears of man. It's never been verified who the falling man was which puts him in the same category as The Unknown Soldier for me.

So based on that anecdote about the identity of the falling man I can see how his family would resist categorically JJ's death as suicide. Even if, after LE's exhaustive efforts to find a loose thread to knit a blanket of foul play suspicions goes nowhere, they will always ask 'what if'.

The problem for me is that it undermines those cases where foul play is a factor in someone's death especially if there are racial overtones to the event. Case in point; Ahmaud Arbery. While AA's death was evidently caused by others, I can see JJ's mother wondering why it took so long to indict those murderers even after they released the recording of the killing. So her own son dying mysteriously is always going to be tainted by the thought that someone, somewhere, got away with murder.

Its sad IMO that a family has to think that.

 

[5W's]

The "Note" portion from the link quoted seems to be in error -- i.e., citing most healthcare facilities do permit persons under the influence of marijuana to work in their facilities.

Seems to me that JD would have too much at stake with both the competitive grad program and potential donor for his dad to indulge in retail weed. But same can be said for narrowly escaping a misdemeanor for speeding.

I think all the above was likely followed in his victimology/behavioral profile by the FBI.

Speeding Ticket 26-34 MPH Over Illinois | 625 ILCS 5/11-601.5(a) Penalty

Yes, there would have to be safeguards in place for patients whose health care providers are people who take MJ for whatever reasons they do if it is allowed. I'm just saying this is a very serious topic and because its patients we are dealing with under those circumstances. Its like alcohol a surgeon cannot obviously be over a certain limit. I suppose a small amount of wine would be ok before going to work as a surgeon (but IMO zero is best.) So its like trust of the surgeon and their ethics as well as mandatory safeguards in place. I suppose one could say MJ is a replacement for alcohol so to speak (not saying it is but just taken in this instance as).

 

[Silver Spring]

Its possible but I wonder if Jelani had a medical waiver that the ISU accepted? We don't know that critical piece of information.

That may be. However, I get the feeling his mother would have disclosed if he used marijuana for medical reasons, rather than have people think he used it recreationally.

 

[TDW59]

My guess would be that she did not know he was using until it came out publicly & even if it were used for medical reasons, it would still jeapordize being a donor for his father. I don't think he would have told her about that.

I am absolutely convinced he suicided but it cannot be proven. I have been expecting manner of death to be "undetermined".

I developed a theory here that I felt explained his mindset & actions up to a point. But I hit a full stop when it comes to his actions once he parked the car. I am sure it made sense to him. and perhaps, I don't care to really think on it too much. But I don't find anything about the scene particularly odd either.
Normal thinking will give us no answers as his thinking (if suicide) was disordered, impaired and delusional.
I am sure he grossly misjudged the consequences. Typically suicide victims think that their family would be better off without them.
And he would not have discussed his feelings with his family for religious reasons...their beliefs &/or his.

 

[Silver Spring]

My guess would be that she did not know he was using until it came out publicly & even if it were used for medical reasons, it would still jeapordize being a donor for his father. I don't think he would have told her about that.

I am absolutely convinced he suicided but it cannot be proven. I have been expecting manner of death to be "undetermined".

I developed a theory here that I felt explained his mindset & actions up to a point. But I hit a full stop when it comes to his actions once he parked the car. I am sure it made sense to him. and perhaps, I don't care to really think on it too much. But I don't find anything about the scene particularly odd either.
Normal thinking will give us no answers as his thinking (if suicide) was disordered, impaired and delusional.
I am sure he grossly misjudged the consequences. Typically suicide victims think that their family would be better off without them.
And he would not have discussed his feelings with his family for religious reasons...their beliefs &/or his.

I agree with your theory that he committed suicide for those same reasons. Manic depression, that sounds very plausible to me. What complicates things is the condition of his body when discovered, where his car was parked, and where his wallet was found. I live in the area and there were reported sightings of a vehicle like Jelani’s on the day after he was reported missing and the day before the car was discovered. So I do wonder if he actually parked his car elsewhere, closer to the river where his clothing was later found on the bank. Left his keys and wallet in the car and someone else came upon it and took it for a joyride. Then parked it in the wooded area by the YMCA, took the wallet and discarded it. But if so, I think there would be another set of fingerprints in the car.

I do think his manner of death will be ruled undetermined, since there doesn’t seem to be any hard evidence of suicide or homicide.

ETA news link and screenshot

Read the documents: LaSalle County emails give insight into Jelani Day investigation

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

From two days ago:
FBI Reminds of $10K Reward for Information in Death of ISU Grad Student Jelani Day

 

[5W's]

In an earlier post upthread someone said that because Jelani was using marijuana it was detrimental to his father for the bone marrow transplant or something to that effect. Personally if I was a donor I would not be taking anything that was not prescribed to me by a physician. But in Jelani's case he made the decision to be a (possible) bone marrow donor to his father while taking marijuana. There's a couple of things that come to mind here. For one thing Jelani may not have been a regular user and the potency of what he used was limited so it wouldn't affect his father negatively. So I don't see how this plays into this being harmful to his father. And since he cared about his father he would take precautions to not use close to the transplant date. This way he either tells his father that he is using marijuana once in a while or he doesn't have to because its not going to impact his father's health so why bother? Also a post mentioned that since Jelani couldn't be a donor as he was using marijuana he was depressed (or at least I got the impression that was what was being alluded to) but if he took precautions it wouldn't effect his father's health. So I don't see a connection. Here is an article that one can read about this topic. Its from a site called BMT infonet.org
Medical Marijuana and Stem Cell Transplant: What Do We Know?
What are potential benefits and risks of cannabis for transplant patients? Learn the facts.

 

[rainyday412]

I am not convinced Jelani was going to really be a donor. He may have indicated it was a possibility, but I think jelani had a lot of dreams he didn’t follow through on. That’s just my opinion though. He seemed like a lost soul.

 

[Silver Spring]

Sadly, Jelani’s father, Seve Day Sr. just passed away on April 8th.

Seve Day Sr.

Does anyone have any thoughts on why the Peru Police Department, which is the lead investigating agency in the case, has remained so quiet? I thought they would have given some kind of update or press conference by now. I wonder if they have pretty much determined his death a suicide and the family refuses to accept it, so they are saying nothing.

 

[scriabina]

Sadly, Jelani’s father, Seve Day Sr. just passed away on April 8th.

Seve Day Sr.

Does anyone have any thoughts on why the Peru Police Department, which is the lead investigating agency in the case, has remained so quiet? I thought they would have given some kind of update or press conference by now. I wonder if they have pretty much determined his death a suicide and the family refuses to accept it, so they are saying nothing.

Wow, so sad. What a horrible way to spend your last months alive, mourning your son's death & never even knowing the circumstances of his death. Since they are apparently very religious, perhaps he took comfort in believing that in death he would meet his son again and get all the answers he and his family had sought.

It seems hard to believe that no friends knew anything about Jelani's mental state. You'd think at least one person would have noticed a red flag, but maybe since he just started a new program, no one knew him well enough to know whether his behavior was just his personality or a warning sign. It's also extremely odd that not ONE friend has come forward and spoken up publicly about Jelani. Not ONE friend has explained his marijuana use and clarified if it was normal or abnormal for him. I'm guessing no one wants to rock the boat.

 

[5W's]

I am not convinced Jelani was going to really be a donor. He may have indicated it was a possibility, but I think jelani had a lot of dreams he didn’t follow through on. That’s just my opinion though. He seemed like a lost soul.

IMO we really don't know that he was lost. what are the clues to this. All we know about him is from the investigation so we can't judge a person's personality based on such a limited amount of information. I see someone who was taking initiative to improve his life. Just because someone is drinking alcohol or taking MJ (again potency) doesn't mean they don't want to or are not trying to improve their lives.

 

[rainyday412]

5W- please see earlier posts in regard to his traffic violations. Jelani had nearly lost his license. He was ticketed again a few days before he went missing. I think he was struggling, and mental health is more serious than u realize. My gut tells me he was avoiding the drug test for his course work. That he went out and bought drugs on the day he was supposed to be testing for drugs says a lot. He was under tremendous pressure.

i also wonder if his sexuality played a role here, u can go to other forums and read more about comments from people that knew him. I think people have tried saying thing, but the family may be silencing them since it doesn’t fit the story that CBD wants to tell. The story is strictly that he wanted to be a doctor. And that’s isn’t helping solve the case. IMO.

 

[5W's]

5W- please see earlier posts in regard to his traffic violations. Jelani had nearly lost his license. He was ticketed again a few days before he went missing. I think he was struggling, and mental health is more serious than u realize. My gut tells me he was avoiding the drug test for his course work. That he went out and bought drugs on the day he was supposed to be testing for drugs says a lot. He was under tremendous pressure.

i also wonder if his sexuality played a role here, u can go to other forums and read more about comments from people that knew him. I think people have tried saying thing, but the family may be silencing them since it doesn’t fit the story that CBD wants to tell. The story is strictly that he wanted to be a doctor. And that’s isn’t helping solve the case. IMO.

He nearly lost it but he didn't lose the driver's license. So IMO there's a question mark there. Websleuth operator's say for a reason only facts are allowed so people saying things on social media aren't facts, so like Websleuths I won't put much credence into people saying stuff. The potency of the MJ he bought was normal it wasn't a high level where he would be impared if he did take it voluntarily that day. All MOO.