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

[scriabina]

"One comment left on the Tougaloo sundown town registry said that the town blew a whistle every day when the sun was setting. Another said that signs were originally posted in the city using racial slurs and telling Black passer-by "don't let the sun set on you." Due to this history, Bolden Day and Crump reject the previous claims that her son had committed suicide.
"Carmen and her family reject the innuendo that he committed suicide," Crump said. "People ask me where the evidence is that he was murdered, and I say, 'You don't have any evidence he killed himself.'"

"Day was a graduate student at Illinois State University at the time of his death. He was studying for his Ph.D. in speech pathology with dreams of becoming a doctor. Crump said that it made no sense that he would want to commit suicide, as he was well-liked by peers and teachers and could afford his education.

"You look at this young Black man who did everything right," Crump said, "and yet, you are trying to find excuses for why he could have killed himself."

Sorry to say, but this article is very poorly written. Read the bolded comments and the actual quotes. I know many believe that Crump has an agenda, but this author is quite biased and her words are misleading. She is paraphrasing and presenting information to make Jelani's family and lawyer sound absurd.

Crump's point was simply that there is no evidence of suicide or murder so both angles should be thoroughly investigated. He states that rather than finding evidence that supports suicide, many are looking for excuses to call it suicide, and most is based on speculation. I think that's a sane line of reasoning, but the way the author presents it makes him look clueless.

Sadly, Jelani's death may just be nearly impossible to solve, no matter how thorough the investigation. Important pieces of the puzzle are missing even though LE and Jelani's family almost surely have that info -- like what was that meeting with the professor regarding and why did he choose to skip it and buy marijuana instead? How was he doing that semester? What was his history with marijuana and/or other drugs? The fact that no one in the media ever asks these questions -- or more likely, that MSM has asked and never received any answers to these questions -- is what leans me in the direction of suicide more than any other speculation. Very weird that LE hasn't released any of this info. Understandable if family doesn't want the info released because they are worried it may push even more people into the suicide camp.

While I do not blame the family in their time of immense grief and I empathize with their pain and anguish, I do worry about who is starting what appear to be unfounded rumors regarding people like the unnamed ISU professor. Throwing out some vague statement implicating someone without any evidence to back it up and without reporting it to LE is 100% wrong. I find it hard to believe the family or lawyer is doing this and suspect it is perhaps friends of the family or maybe even just strangers who are upset about the case.

 

[cnmccarthy]

It is absolutely an affront to people who suffer from mental illness. I’m sure most of us know of someone or of a person we read about in news media that suddenly committed suicide and absolutely no one wanted to believe that person would have committed suicide. I certainly don’t know if Jelani chose to end his own life. The circumstances are definitely odd. But for public figures to downplay any suggestion of self harm, or even an accident, is no justice or closure at all. JMO

100% agree. I balked at the part that said “he could afford his education” like being comfortable financially suddenly prevents you from having depression or being suicidal. Considering I know of a couple of students that were Ivy League at UPenn that committed suicide while my cousin was in college, that opinion is bunk and extremely harmful to anyone suffering from depression that is also financially stable.

 

[BeckyF]

While I do not blame the family in their time of immense grief and I empathize with their pain and anguish, I do worry about who is starting what appear to be unfounded rumors regarding people like the unnamed ISU professor. Throwing out some vague statement implicating someone without any evidence to back it up and without reporting it to LE is 100% wrong. I find it hard to believe the family or lawyer is doing this and suspect it is perhaps friends of the family or maybe even just strangers who are upset about the case.[/QUOTE]
RSBM
Surely the police would have interviewed this professor sometime in the last 3 months. After all, the professor was concerned enough to notify the police that he was missing. I thought family had hired a PI? Is this the person throwing out accusations? Who knows.

 

[Seattle1]

^^rsbm

I couldn't agree more @SimplyCass. And so disappointed how Attorney Crump can cite being JD's fraternity brother while ignoring their own "Brother You're on My Mind" stats:

Every year, more than 40 million Americans struggle with mental illness. African American men are as likely as anyone else to have mental illness, but they are less likely to get help.

Depression and other mental illness can be deadly if left untreated. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among African Americans 15 to 24 years old.

Untreated mental illness can also make African American men more vulnerable to substance abuse, homelessness, incarceration, and homicide.

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and NIMHD have launched Brother, You’re on My Mind: Changing the National Dialogue Regarding Mental Health Among African American Men, an initiative to help start conversations about mental health.

Brother You’re on my Mind – Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

In addition to the above, I really think the silence by family and friends by excluding any form of a personal profile on Jelani, after all these weeks, speaks volumes here and only adds to his suspicious disappearance and resultant death.

Multiple investigating agencies obviously know more and given there is no evidence of a crime, have remained silent out of respect to the family, and yet LE continues to receive the wrath by the same.

And the accusations against the witnesses (and investigators) without any credible evidence are so troubling.

 

[scriabina]

I balked at the part that said “he could afford his education” like being comfortable financially suddenly prevents you from having depression or being suicidal. Considering I know of a couple of students that were Ivy League at UPenn that committed suicide while my cousin was in college, that opinion is bunk and extremely harmful to anyone suffering from depression that is also financially stable.

He never said that. The author wrote that. It's not a direct quote and there are no quotes in the article that even resemble that. Like I said above, the author is "paraphrasing" in a harmful way. It's very upsetting to see.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

He never said that. The author wrote that. It's not a direct quote and there are no quotes in the article that even resemble that. Like I said above, the author is "paraphrasing" in a harmful way. It's very upsetting to see.

Just watched the press conference again, and you are absolutely right. Thank you for reminding us. They really should retract that “article.”

ETA: I knew you wouldn’t lie . I just wanted to see if Attorney Crump had said something that could have been construed as something even remotely similar to what the author said, thus watched the presser for the second time. I think not.

 

[scriabina]

Just watched the press conference again, and you are absolutely right. Thank you for reminding us. They really should retract that “article.”

ETA: I knew you wouldn’t lie . I just wanted to see if Attorney Crump had said something that could have been construed as something even remotely similar to what the author said, thus watched the presser for the second time. I think not.

Thank you for double checking! I did the same and was really disgusted with that author. I agree that the article should be retracted. So unprofessional, especially considering it's Newsweek which is supposed to be a reputable source.

 

[Seattle1]

12/3/2021 Ben Crump Calls on FBI to Take Over Jelani Day Death Investigation

Maybe it wasn't stress.

Maybe JD was not performing well in the program, and would rather die than tell his family he was not going to be a doctor.

We have no idea what JD's academic performance was like.

However, we do know that he recently talked with a Danville elder about a job as a youth program director. I'm not sure this follows the road to successfully completing a speech doctorate when one is just beginning graduate school. MOO

Family members speak out about missing Danville man

ETA: When asked by a reporter who/what told CBD, et. al that JD was a victim of suicide, CBD stated authorities did not tell her outright that JD committed suicide. -- It's only her opinion that by JD driving himself to Peru, dropping his property, and disrobing that suicide is inferred.

 

[cnmccarthy]

He never said that. The author wrote that. It's not a direct quote and there are no quotes in the article that even resemble that. Like I said above, the author is "paraphrasing" in a harmful way. It's very upsetting to see.

That was exactly what I meant as well. That the person who was writing the article was extremely harmful in the way that they stated things.

 

[Seattle1]

Refresh MSM from thread #1

Jelani Day's mother wants the answers she believes national attention got for the Petito family - CNN

10/27/21

[..]

The LaSalle County Coroner wrote Monday that the 25-year-old graduate student died from "drowning" with no evidence of pre-death injury but added, "the manner in which Mr. Day went into the Illinois River is currently unknown."

[..]

Day's car was found in woods behind a YMCA and surrounded by homes.
Where the car entered, according to the former family attorney, looks like a dead end from the paved road.

The license plate had been removed. The clothes Day was seen wearing on a surveillance camera on August 24 were in the car.

His wallet was found "somewhat in the bushes" about a half-mile away, according to investigators. Neither the car nor wallet was found near the water, yet Day's body was recovered more than a week later over a mile away off the bank of the Illinois River.

According to investigators, an ID lanyard was found just across the river from the body. Clothing was also found further east along the river next to the Illinois Route 251 Bridge.

[..]

Bolden Day has commissioned two independent autopsies after she told CNN it's been hard to keep faith in local authorities.

Jelani Day's body was found in a severe state of decomposition, so much so that Bolden Day does not believe the coroner could say with such certainty in his report there was "there was no evidence of any injury, such as manual strangulation, an assault or altercation, sharp, blunt, or gunshot injury, infection, tumor, natural disease, congenital abnormality, or significant drug intoxication."

[..]

The coroner's report was "an insult to not only myself, but to my son," she said. They're sentiments civil rights campaigner Jackson. shares, saying "it assumes there's a kind of suicide planned."

 

[Seattle1]

Refresher from thread #1, transcription courtesy of @scriabina:

For those who haven't listened to the radio interview with Jelani's mom, I transcribed a couple relevant excerpts.

Jelani loved to travel. He was very active; he was in a different organization where he made a lot of friends, so even this past summer, Jelani would call me. I got the richest broke kids in the world. My kids know how to travel on a budget to some very nice places and they enjoy themselves and Jelani, he lives his best life all the time. Jelani would call me, he’d be like, “Mama, I’m going to Jamaica.” - 'When?' He didn’t tell me when he was going. I’d be like, 'Where are you gonna get the money from?' J- 'Well, I was gonna ask you, then I’m imma call daddy, then imma call [name], then imma call [name],' so he’s gonna get all the money he needed to travel for a month. So I be like 'I’m not gonna give you the money' and he’s like 'yes you will.' So I continued to tell him no, and I’d be at work, and every break Jelani would get, he would call me and I answered the phone… 'Mom, did you think about that money?' I be like 'Jelani I'll call you back.' -'No mom, don’t hang up!' I’d hang up. Not two hours later he’d call me back. 'Hey mom! Did you think about that?' I hang up on him. Jelani would call me like 6, 7 times, that’s why I’d call Jelani my bill collector child, cause Jelani would call me like he's a bill collector, until I give him the YES or until I tell him I’m sending it to you right now…Then he'd go 'oh mom, you are the best. Thank you so much mom, I love you mom.' He was very persistent. He would tell his siblings all the time, 'Y'all, I need tell y'all a lesson on how to get money from mom and dad.'

Another excerpt:

He was the loudest, he’d call me in the morning like ‘HELLO HELLO HELLO!’ and I’d say ‘Jelani, stop screaming in my phone!’ -'OK, mom, what you doing? -‘Jelani you know I’m getting ready for work.’ - ‘OK, I just wanted to hear your voice. I’ll call you later.’

 

[Seattle1]

Danville gathers to remember Jelani Day

10/9/2021

The four-hour-long service was held in the auditorium of Danville High School, where Day graduated in 2014. He would continue on with his education, graduating in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in communicative sciences and disorders from Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, Ala., and was pursuing a master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology at Illinois State University in Normal. His goal was to earn a doctorate.

Many college friends and associates called Day an inspiration to others on campus. To honor his memory, representatives from the National Alumni Association of Alabama A&M University, 100 Black Men of Greater Huntsville, Black Speech-Language Pathology Association, and Omega Psi Phi fraternity and the House Arrest 2 dance team, both of which Day was a member at A&M, presented Day’s family with resolutions and declarations.

[..]

One poignant story was told by Paul DeArmond, a childhood classmate of Day’s since kindergarten.

“He was always nice to me. He went to college to help people like me,” DeArmond said. “He wanted to become a speech therapist because of me.”

[..]

“He was the loudest, and he would argue with you up and down,” she said.

Day’s skillful debating and role as a protector for his siblings and cousins were characteristics many family members mentioned during the service.

“Jelani was my protector, but Jelani made me tough, Jelani made me strong because he said he might not always be around,” his younger sister, Zena Day, said tearfully. “I want to say thank you to Jelani for being a great brother and for making me laugh the hardest.”

[..]

After telling a story about how Day would find older sister Dacara Bolden’s journals and diaries no matter where she hid them, Bolden read aloud her journal entry from the night before in which she said she missed her brother’s bear hugs and Facetime calls.

“I feel lost, heartbroken, and that I have failed you,” Bolden said. “You always wanted to protect me, but I always wanted to protect you, and I’m so sorry this one time I couldn’t.”

 

[rkendmar]

Carmen Bolden Day talking about her son, Jelani Day:
"He would not commit suicide. His faith in God was too much and he knew from what we were taught in our religion that suicide automatically takes you to hell, so Jelani wouldn't of did any of that."
Starting at 3:51

 

[Seattle1]

Dec 3, 2021 presser, Attorney Ben Crump stated Jelani was naked when recovered. This is not correct according to the Autopsy report was drafted by forensic pathology Scott Denton:


Jelani Day autopsy report found 'no evidence' of assault on 'severely decomposed' body

10/27/21

An autopsy report of Jelani Day released Wednesday says there was “no evidence” of assault or altercation on the body and further demystifies several longstanding rumors in the case.

The report was drafted by forensic pathology Scott Denton based on an autopsy that happened Sept. 5, the day after the body was found in the Illinois River in Peru. The report was submitted to the LaSalle County coroner on Oct. 23 and released to WGLT on Wednesday through the Freedom of the Information Act.

Details in the seven-page report appear to align with the previous cause of death (drowning) released by Coroner Rich Ploch on Monday:

• There was no evidence of pre-death injury or assault, altercation, sharp, blunt or gunshot injury.
• No projectiles or foreign objects were found, although “abundant insect larvae” were found within and throughout the body and clothing.
• There were no hand or finger fractures.
• “There is no evidence of tool or sharp force marks in the external tissues or exposed bones," the report said.

[..]

But it was apparently clear early on the unidentified body was an adult Black male. The color of the body’s skin is “most consistent with Black race,” according to the autopsy report.

Day was wearing a tank top T-shirt and underwear, with a black sweatshirt tied around his waist at the time of his autopsy and presumably when he was discovered.

Authorities said little in the month after Day was positively identified. False rumors have swirled on social media about the condition of Day’s body. The autopsy report provides some clarity:

• The jaw (mandible and maxilla) was removed for dental identification purposes. They were returned to the body before release the family and funeral home, the report said.
• “Organs appear intact, complete, and within their usual anatomic positions,” the report said.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Refresher from thread #1, transcription courtesy of @scriabina:

For those who haven't listened to the radio interview with Jelani's mom, I transcribed a couple relevant excerpts.

Jelani loved to travel. He was very active; he was in a different organization where he made a lot of friends, so even this past summer, Jelani would call me. I got the richest broke kids in the world. My kids know how to travel on a budget to some very nice places and they enjoy themselves and Jelani, he lives his best life all the time. Jelani would call me, he’d be like, “Mama, I’m going to Jamaica.” - 'When?' He didn’t tell me when he was going. I’d be like, 'Where are you gonna get the money from?' J- 'Well, I was gonna ask you, then I’m imma call daddy, then imma call [name], then imma call [name],' so he’s gonna get all the money he needed to travel for a month. So I be like 'I’m not gonna give you the money' and he’s like 'yes you will.' So I continued to tell him no, and I’d be at work, and every break Jelani would get, he would call me and I answered the phone… 'Mom, did you think about that money?' I be like 'Jelani I'll call you back.' -'No mom, don’t hang up!' I’d hang up. Not two hours later he’d call me back. 'Hey mom! Did you think about that?' I hang up on him. Jelani would call me like 6, 7 times, that’s why I’d call Jelani my bill collector child, cause Jelani would call me like he's a bill collector, until I give him the YES or until I tell him I’m sending it to you right now…Then he'd go 'oh mom, you are the best. Thank you so much mom, I love you mom.' He was very persistent. He would tell his siblings all the time, 'Y'all, I need tell y'all a lesson on how to get money from mom and dad.'

Another excerpt:

He was the loudest, he’d call me in the morning like ‘HELLO HELLO HELLO!’ and I’d say ‘Jelani, stop screaming in my phone!’ -'OK, mom, what you doing? -‘Jelani you know I’m getting ready for work.’ - ‘OK, I just wanted to hear your voice. I’ll call you later.’

How the heck did he hold down a job and do all that traveling? How do you take off a MONTH from work?

What about a second gig job to save up for that vacation?

If my mother called me a bill collector because I called her incessantly on a regular basis (while at work?!) for money to fund my “travel” - it would not be a compliment.
JMO

 

[Seattle1]

How the heck did he hold down a job and do all that traveling? How do you take off a MONTH from work?

What about a second gig job to save up for that vacation?

If my mother called me a bill collector because I called her incessantly on a regular basis (while at work?!) for money to fund my “travel” - it would not be a compliment.
JMO

Unfortunately, although I think many of us see JD's behavior at age 25-- as described by his own mother, with red flags. I don't think CBD could see anything about her son as unusual-- then or now. Also, I'm afraid that her strong religious views might also condemn seeking mental health treatment apart from faithful prayer. Clearly, JD was self-medicating when the urge was so strong that he abandoned his schedule and left campus without telling a soul-- or at least that we know of. And important to note that this behavior begins in Bloomington, not Peru. And for what it's worth, I believe multiple LE agencies, and FBI saw it too. MOO

 

[rkendmar]

"One comment left on the Tougaloo sundown town registry said that the town blew a whistle every day when the sun was setting. Another said that signs were originally posted in the city using racial slurs and telling Black passer-by "don't let the sun set on you." Due to this history, Bolden Day and Crump reject the previous claims that her son had committed suicide.
"Carmen and her family reject the innuendo that he committed suicide," Crump said. "People ask me where the evidence is that he was murdered, and I say, 'You don't have any evidence he killed himself.'"

"Day was a graduate student at Illinois State University at the time of his death. He was studying for his Ph.D. in speech pathology with dreams of becoming a doctor. Crump said that it made no sense that he would want to commit suicide, as he was well-liked by peers and teachers and could afford his education.

"You look at this young Black man who did everything right," Crump said, "and yet, you are trying to find excuses for why he could have killed himself."

Sorry to say, but this article is very poorly written. Read the bolded comments and the actual quotes. I know many believe that Crump has an agenda, but this author is quite biased and her words are misleading. She is paraphrasing and presenting information to make Jelani's family and lawyer sound absurd.

Crump's point was simply that there is no evidence of suicide or murder so both angles should be thoroughly investigated. He states that rather than finding evidence that supports suicide, many are looking for excuses to call it suicide, and most is based on speculation. I think that's a sane line of reasoning, but the way the author presents it makes him look clueless.

Sadly, Jelani's death may just be nearly impossible to solve, no matter how thorough the investigation. Important pieces of the puzzle are missing even though LE and Jelani's family almost surely have that info -- like what was that meeting with the professor regarding and why did he choose to skip it and buy marijuana instead? How was he doing that semester? What was his history with marijuana and/or other drugs? The fact that no one in the media ever asks these questions -- or more likely, that MSM has asked and never received any answers to these questions -- is what leans me in the direction of suicide more than any other speculation. Very weird that LE hasn't released any of this info. Understandable if family doesn't want the info released because they are worried it may push even more people into the suicide camp.

While I do not blame the family in their time of immense grief and I empathize with their pain and anguish, I do worry about who is starting what appear to be unfounded rumors regarding people like the unnamed ISU professor. Throwing out some vague statement implicating someone without any evidence to back it up and without reporting it to LE is 100% wrong. I find it hard to believe the family or lawyer is doing this and suspect it is perhaps friends of the family or maybe even just strangers who are upset about the case.

The unfounded rumors about the ISU professor, the two ISU students and even Beyond/Hello employees were initially posted on the private "What happened to Jelani Day" Facebook discussion forum.

The rumors are now being posted on the family-run Facebook page, "Justice for Jelani Day." I can only assume that nobody in the family actually reads posts written by others on their FB page because I assume the family would not only delete the defamatory posts but make a strong statement against posting lies about innocent parties.
JMO.

 

[Razz]

The unfounded rumors about the ISU professor, the two ISU students and even Beyond/Hello employees were initially posted on the private "What happened to Jelani Day" Facebook discussion forum.

The rumors are now being posted on the family-run Facebook page, "Justice for Jelani Day." I can only assume that nobody in the family actually reads posts written by others on their FB page because I assume the family would not only delete the defamatory posts but make a strong statement against posting lies about innocent parties.
JMO.

Yes, I would think so too. If the family isn't careful, they could have a defamation suit filed against them. Best to monitor responses asap. They certainly don't need another thing to deal with. But neither do the people being defamed on their FB page.

 

[BeckyF]

The unfounded rumors about the ISU professor, the two ISU students and even Beyond/Hello employees were initially posted on the private "What happened to Jelani Day" Facebook discussion forum.

The rumors are now being posted on the family-run Facebook page, "Justice for Jelani Day." I can only assume that nobody in the family actually reads posts written by others on their FB page because I assume the family would not only delete the defamatory posts but make a strong statement against posting lies about innocent parties.
JMO.

BBM. I said a very similar statement a few weeks ago on this thread. It’s very sad. A family with deep religious beliefs, as stated by CBD, that would not see the need to attempt to put a stop to what are accusations against people who have not even been named as suspects or POI’s in this case.

 

[Seattle1]

The unfounded rumors about the ISU professor, the two ISU students and even Beyond/Hello employees were initially posted on the private "What happened to Jelani Day" Facebook discussion forum.

The rumors are now being posted on the family-run Facebook page, "Justice for Jelani Day." I can only assume that nobody in the family actually reads posts written by others on their FB page because I assume the family would not only delete the defamatory posts but make a strong statement against posting lies about innocent parties.
JMO.

I believe CBD is doing what a mother's shattered heart is calling her to do. I think the family joined forces with the Rainbow Push Coalition and Attorney Crumb essentially for exposure and momentum on their mission to move Jelani's case from a death investigation to a homicide-- without credible evidence or support from multiple investigating agencies.

And just as they allowed false rumors about the autopsy to be published and moved the needle before citing them false, I see the inaccurate and/or defamatory comments on the FB page the same where the horses already left the barn. To this date, many still believe and cite the false information from the autopsy-- including Rev Jackson! Let's be honest, it fuels the foul play camp.

IMO, the answers as to what happened to Jelani reside in Bloomington: what caused him to abandon his schedule on 8/24 without alerting anybody? I don't think it's disputed this was suspicious behavior and totally out of character for this much loved, 25 yr old graduate student.

Given that Jelani was texting with his Director on 8/23 and was scheduled to meet with her on 8/24, I think the timing of Jelani's suspicious behavior and the week of 8/21-27 are significant. Per the published ISU academic calendar, this is the week designated for course drops and department-approved course adds with override. 8/27 is also the last day to drop course with no withdrawal grade (see links below). And we've already discussed the statements by CBD about badgering Jelani for his grades which seem to contradict when Jelani actually enrolled in school.

At this time, without citing foul play, I don't see investigators releasing any information uncovered about problems Jelani may have been experiencing as a first-year student in the Speech Program out of respect to the family and their privacy. However, I do fear blaming an unnamed ISU faculty member might be an advance cover for the anticipated disclosure of an academic issue.

Mostly I'm hopeful the recent recovery of Jelani's phone now in the hands of the FBI might finally provide some missing pieces to this suspicious death investigation. Regardless of the manner of death, it's a tragedy just the same. MOO

Last day to drop course with no withdrawal grade | Events - Illinois State
Course drops and department-approved adds with override on My.IllinoisState.edu | Events - Illinois State