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

[swanniee11]

I feel like he had SOMEWHERE to go that morning if he was dressed up. I could see him being in the student center early if he was maybe going to get coffee or breakfast there. But why be dressed up just for a coffee run? Especially because ~2 hours later, he's wearing very casual clothes. Why not just start out that way? The only reason I can think of for dressing up and two hours later changing is that he DID have somewhere to be that morning for which he wanted to dress nicely.

I'm assuming if he had a meeting with any other professor scheduled, that person would have come forward by now. We have pretty much ruled out him having a class that early (and this is something the school would know for sure and would tell LE). I'm curious from people who know him well if he routinely dressed nicely just for things like errands, going to the library, etc. or if he would only wear dress clothes for certain occasions.

I'm not sure if this is the case however my son is taking a class now and he has to wear a full suit twice a week for a class. Maybe he had to be dressed or at least prepared to be dressed that way for a class? Just a thought. IMO

 

[scriabina]

It's very very noticeable. It's a car that would turn heads driving down the street. If somebody saw the car driving in Peru, they would notice and remember...What was the name of that guy who got murdered by his best friend over a girl a few years ago? Christian Aguilar, maybe? That's the vibe I'm getting here.

RSBM.

Thank you for your input! Yes, the car seems super flashy. He'd be easy to track in that car. Could be someone had their eye on the car since he moved in town. I'm assuming he had just moved to the city recently, maybe around the time new leases start August 1.

I haven't heard anything reported about his love life or if he has/had a girlfriend. It could be relevant to the case.

 

[carbuff]

RSBM.

Thank you for your input! Yes, the car seems super flashy. He'd be easy to track in that car. Could be someone had their eye on the car since he moved in town. I'm assuming he had just moved to the city recently, maybe around the time new leases start August 1.

I haven't heard anything reported about his love life or if he has/had a girlfriend. It could be relevant to the case.

I was kind of picturing new guy in town meeting a woman, hitting it off with her, and ticking off her ex-boyfriend, though I haven't thought through whether that would fit the timeline or anything.

The other thought I had is--speaking from personal experience, when you're the kind of person who cares about family more than anything, it can be impossible for you to turn to family for help with something you think will disappoint them. The worse you feel, the more you hide it, and the deeper the shame gets. It can take you to some very dark places.

 

[scriabina]

He had a meeting with a professor about his grades, he was in grad school, expensive car, so there might have been pressure on him, maybe depressed as so many are.

Where did you read that? It's the first I've heard of that.

I find it hard to believe he'd have a meeting about grades after only 1 week of classes...

 

[Speculaytor]

Where did you read that? It's the first I've heard of that.

I find it hard to believe he'd have a meeting about grades after only 1 week of classes...

Yes, the woman who called his parents to report him missing. I am not sure it was anything bad, as you say it was the beginning of the year. She was supposed to meet with him, when he didn't show, she went to wait for him after his 1pm class, but he wasn't there which is when she called the family, I believe. Here is an article:
ISU faculty member, who reported Jelani Day's disappearance, says it's 'unlike him'

 

[swanniee11]

Yes, the woman who called his parents to report him missing. I am not sure it was anything bad as you say, it was the beginning of the year. She was supposed to meet with him, when he didn't show, she went to wait for him after his 1pm class, but he wasn't there which is when she called the family, I believe. Here is an article:
ISU faculty member, who reported Jelani Day's disappearance, says it's 'unlike him'

It actually says they were meeting regarding course work and not grades. This could be 2 different things. IMO.

 

[scriabina]

The trouble is that we have no idea of JJ's movements after the dispensary visit at around 9:12 a.m. on 8/24. There is no evidence to suggest (so far) that he drove it and left it there. The police received a report at around 4:20 p.m. on 8/25 and confirmed that it was his car. It could have been there for an hour, it might have been there 24h or more.

To clarify, Jelani was seen at the dispensary at 9:12am on Tues 8/24, reported missing on 8/25 and car found 8/26. I see on my timeline above I wrote the wrong dates but (corresponding with the correct days) -- oops! That's what I get for researching this case in the middle of the night.

So the car could've been sitting there for more than 50+ hours. Hard to imagine it wouldn't have been noticed sooner, so it seems more likely that it was parked there on 8/25, IMO abandoned in the middle of the night when the area was dark & desolate.

 

[scriabina]

Yes, the woman who called his parents to report him missing. I am not sure it was anything bad, as you say it was the beginning of the year. She was supposed to meet with him, when he didn't show, she went to wait for him after his 1pm class, but he wasn't there which is when she called the family, I believe. Here is an article:
ISU faculty member, who reported Jelani Day's disappearance, says it's 'unlike him'

Hm, I typed up a transcript of what she said in that exact interview yesterday (on page 8) and there was nothing about grades mentioned. The article doesn't mention grades either. Definitely if it were about grades that would play into stress/mental health but I've been obsessing over this case and have read every article I could find on it and never found a thing about his grades.

 

[scriabina]

I was kind of picturing new guy in town meeting a woman, hitting it off with her, and ticking off her ex-boyfriend, though I haven't thought through whether that would fit the timeline or anything.

His family lives in Danville IL which is about 80 miles from Bloomington/Normal IL, so it's possible he knew some people in the area before moving for grad school... Also, I'm estimating he graduated from college in 2018 judging from his track & field stats at Alabama A&M (see attached screenshot), so he may have moved back home or nearby after graduation. Could have established relationships...

Side note: I find it surprising that in the screenshot from Alabama A&M he's listed at 5'8 for track and field (as an 18-yr-old freshman), but 6'2 on the missing poster. That's a big difference! Most do not grow substantially at that age.

 

[Speculaytor]

Hm, I typed up a transcript of what she said in that exact interview yesterday (on page 8) and there was nothing about grades mentioned. The article doesn't mention grades either. Definitely if it were about grades that would play into stress/mental health but I've been obsessing over this case and have read every article I could find on it and never found a thing about his grades.

Yes, I realize it was about course work, not grades.

 

[scriabina]

Yes, I realize it was about course work, not grades.

Hope my comment did not come off rudely; I didn't mean for it to. This case is close to home for me and I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.

I very much appreciate your comments in this thread!

 

[MntnHiker]

I'm not sure if this is the case however my son is taking a class now and he has to wear a full suit twice a week for a class. Maybe he had to be dressed or at least prepared to be dressed that way for a class? Just a thought. IMO

That makes sense to me. I am still confused on why he changed into casual clothes to go to the dispensary. Someone looked up the classes in his program and I don't think there were any that met on Tuesdays at 8 AM. I could see just getting dressed in nice clothes for the day if he had class later (which he did) but I am still stuck on changing out of them for an errand to the dispensary two hours later. The best I can come up with is maybe he last minute decided to go exercise/run/walk etc after the dispensary so changed into something casual? MOO

 

[MntnHiker]

I know I seem stuck on the clothes but it's also odd to me his casual clothes were found in the trunk. If I changed clothes while out and about, I would probably just throw them in the back seat. I guess if he was worried people would steal them? But I think they were just very casual clothes. I don't know. It all seems so odd to me. Like I am not sure Jelani is the one who put those clothes in the trunk. MOO

 

[Speculaytor]

Hope my comment did not come off rudely; I didn't mean for it to. This case is close to home for me and I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.

I very much appreciate your comments in this thread!

I didn't take your comment rudely, not at all! I made a mistake, so I appreciate the clarification. It changes my thinking, so thank you!

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

I know I seem stuck on the clothes but it's also odd to me his casual clothes were found in the trunk. If I changed clothes while out and about, I would probably just throw them in the back seat. I guess if he was worried people would steal them? But I think they were just very casual clothes. I don't know. It all seems so odd to me. Like I am not sure Jelani is the one who put those clothes in the trunk. MOO

I know it has been said Jelani has no history of mental illness, but what if he was experiencing acute crisis? It isn’t always apparent to others. Something may seem off, but you can’t put a finger on it. Besides, he was in a new environment. People around him didn’t know him very well.

I can see someone experiencing paranoid delusions imagining that they are being followed and changing clothes, thinking that will help them “lose” those following them. Someone in that mental state would, IMO, put the clothes in the trunk, instead the back seat.

Same thing with removing license plates. In this scenario, Jelani would have removed and hidden the plates himself.

MOO

 

[Gobstopper]

Could he have had a job interview and then wanted to get out of the uncomfortable dress clothes? Where did he live and why wouldn't he change there? Were both sets of clothing accounted for? MOO

 

[SimplyCass]

Could he have had a job interview and then wanted to get out of the uncomfortable dress clothes? Where did he live and why wouldn't he change there? Were both sets of clothing accounted for? MOO

He was seen at the student center wearing the "dress clothes." I initially thought he was dressed up for an advisor meeting, but the meeting was the next day (8/25). However, I think/speculate he mistakenly thought it was that day - as there wouldn't be any reason to drive to campus simply to buy something at Starbucks.

A couple of hours later, he was seen at the dispensary with the "casual clothes." Then, nobody knows where he went.

The "casual clothes" were found the trunk of JJ's car. That (most likely) means he put the dress clothes back on after leaving the dispensary.

He lived in an apartment off-campus in Bloomington.

EDIT: only the shirt and hat seen in the dispensary CCTV were in the car.

"At this point, all I know is that my son has on a pair of shorts and his tennis shoes," [mother] said.

"Because his hat and his T-shirt were still in his car that he had on from the last place that we know that he was at," she added.
(source)

 

[carbuff]

Random thoughts, some of which are contradictory:

He could have had another meeting or appointment in the morning that we don't know about that he was dressed up for.

When I was first reading about the clothing change, I assumed he had gone home or to the gym and changed for a run and then the dispensary. Maybe his running route took him past it so it was easier to stop then.

Possibly he spilled that coffee on his good clothes and didn't have anything else to change to. Or maybe he went home to change because he wasn't doing anything else before his afternoon class.

I kind of think he got the marijuana to share with somebody. I have no evidence for that though.

 

[Gobstopper]

Were the dress clothes found at his apartment or are they missing? Sorry I'm so confused about these clothes.

 

[scriabina]

He could have had another meeting or appointment in the morning that we don't know about that he was dressed up for.

Yes, that seems the most likely.

In my timeline, I wrote that Jelani didn't show up to class on Tuesday but wasn't reported missing until Wednesday. I reached that conclusion based on an article that stated he missed "several days" of class, that Jelani was reported missing on Wed Aug 25, and that CB reported him missing. But it could be that Jelani missed a meeting with CB on Tues in the morning, then missed his 1pm class, and then CB contacted campus police who then contacted Jelani's family. Then maybe it was Jelani's family who officially reported him missing to BPD on Wed Aug 25.

I found this article which implies that Jelani had a meeting with CB on Tuesday morning:

Director of Clinical Education [CB] said she texted Day Monday night about his coursework, but that's the last she heard from him.

"He was actually supposed to come see me the next morning," Boester said.

So if this article's wording is correct, it sounds like he DID have a meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning... but then that leaves me wondering, what time was it scheduled for?

Two options:

Option 1: Meeting before 9am
-Jelani dresses up for meeting and gets coffee at Starbucks.
-Jelani skips the meeting, changes his clothes, and goes to pot shop, never to be seen again.
*This scenario would hint at voluntary disappearance.

Option 2: Meeting in late morning
-Jelani dresses up and gets coffee at Starbucks ~7:20am
-Unknown what Jelani does until pot shop 2 hrs later. Pot shop only ~3 miles from union and he drove there.
-Jelani changes out of dress clothes into casual clothes and arrives at pot dispensary ~9:12am, then disappears.

Unfortunately, media isn't covering this case extensively and it's really hard to gather information.