Mom of ISU grad student Jelani Day enlists civil rights attorney Ben Crump to urge FBI investigation into her son’s death. ‘I need to know what happened.’
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Jelani Day, who was last seen alive in Bloomington, Illinois, on Aug. 24, was reported missing the next day by his mother, Carmen Bolden Day.
One-hundred days later, she is still looking for answers and has enlisted civil rights attorney Ben Crump to help urge authorities to look further into her son’s disappearance and subsequent death. Bolden Day spoke Friday at a news conference along with Crump, several family members — including her other children and Jelani’s siblings — and other supporters
“I need the FBI to come in and take over because these local jurisdictions have shown us that they have not made us a priority,” Bolden Day said. “They have not made Jelani a priority.”
Day, 25, was identified as the person whose body was found in the Illinois River in LaSalle County in September. The LaSalle County coroner said in October the Illinois State University graduate student died by drowning. The manner of Day’s death is still unknown. Bolden Day said Friday the coroner has told her there were no signs of trauma to the body and no indication that Day’s body was put in the river.
Bolden Day did not say that authorities have explicitly labeled Day’s death as a suicide, but she said she’s been told several things by investigators “that says to me without saying to me that Jelani did this to himself, and Jelani did not do this to himself.”
“I will never accept that that’s what happened to him,” she said.
Attempts to reach the Bloomington Police Department, LaSalle County sheriff’s office and other agencies involved in the investigation Friday were unsuccessful.
Crump said it was “very emotional” being at the news conference at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition headquarters. The last time he was in the nonprofit’s auditorium was nearly 10 years ago with the mother of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African American high school student who was shot and killed in Florida in 2012.
Crump said the group of family members and supporters gathered Friday are “demanding” the U.S. attorney general instruct the FBI to investigate Jelani’s disappearance and death as a hate crime investigation.
He said “we are very clear in our declaration that this was not suicide” based on facts such as Day’s car, clothes, wallet and cellphone being found away from where his body was found, nowhere near where he attended school, and some of the items were found in different areas. Day’s car was found Aug. 26 hidden in a wooded area in Peru, in LaSalle County.
Crump brought up the multistate and federal resources used in the investigation surrounding Gabby Petito’s disappearance, which made national headlines for weeks earlier this year. He said Day’s family is “losing confidence in the local authorities” because Day’s case is not being given nearly the same amount of resources.
“They didn’t make him a priority, but we will make him a priority,” Crump said. “We’re asking the FBI to make this young Black man, Jelani Day, a priority just like they made a young white woman, Gabby Petito, a priority.”
Bolden Day recalled seeing Petito’s news coverage on TV and remembered hearing that her parents hadn’t spoken with their daughter in two weeks and then began to worry. Bolden Day said she empathized with those parents because she knew what it felt like to be missing your child, but she knew something was wrong after not speaking to her son for one day.
After more than three months, she said she hopes the other agencies she wants the same attention from will hear her and get her some answers.
“I’m asking you,” she said. “I’m imploring you. I’m begging you. I need to know what happened to my son.”
