Jelani Day

 

Jelani Day was a 25-year-old graduate student at Illinois State University whose mysterious disappearance and death in August 2021 sparked a nationwide search and ongoing calls for justice.

Key Facts of the Case

• Disappearance: Day was last seen alive on August 24, 2021, leaving a cannabis dispensary in Bloomington, Illinois. He was reported missing the next day after failing to show up for class.

• Discovery: His abandoned car was found in Peru, Illinois, and his body was recovered from the Illinois River on September 4, 2021. It took officials nearly three weeks to positively identify his remains.

• Cause of Death: The LaSalle County coroner officially ruled the cause of death as drowning, with the manner of death remaining officially unknown.

• Family's Stance: Day’s mother, Carmen Bolden Day, along with civil rights advocates and attorneys like Ben Crump, have rejected the official timeline and theories of suicide, pressing authorities for a federal investigation and asserting that he was murdered.

• Advocacy & Foundation: His family established the Jelani Day Foundation to support families of missing Black and Brown individuals and push for legislative reform, including bills requiring rapid FBI notification for unidentified remains.