Family of Jelani Day seeks answers five years after his mysterious death

By Kendra Bryant
Special to the AFRO

On June 15, family and friends of Jelani Day will remember his life – the aspiring doctor would have turned 30 this year – even as they continue to shine light on his death. Five years after Day went missing in August 2021, questions remain around the circumstances of his death.

“Jelani was a very compassionate, determined, energetic and loving young man,” said his mother, Carmen Bolden Day. “He could have been any of your sons, brothers, uncles, nephews or grandsons. He could have been any of that to you as he was to our family. He was just a great son, and my burst of energy. So many words can encompass him.” 

Jelani Jesse Javontae Day was a 25-year old graduate of Alabama A&M University. At the time of his passing, he was pursuing a master’s degree in speech pathology at Illinois State University with hopes of becoming a doctor. 

“He wanted to help others be able to articulate, communicate and express themselves,” said Carmen Day. 

Known as an astounding student, his program director authorized a wellness check after Day was absent for his first week of class and clinicals on Aug. 24, 2021. He was last seen alive getting into his vehicle from the Beyond Hello cannabis dispensary in Bloomington, Ill. 

“These are graduate students, adults … they’ve missed class,” said Carmen. “Not one instructor is reporting them missing or doing a wellness check. I want to know what prompted that.”

His family filed a missing persons report on Aug. 25, and one day later police discovered his Chrysler 300 in a wooded area in Peru, Ill. Inside were the clothing he had been wearing when last seen.

The investigation was led by the Jelani Day Joint Task Force, including the Bloomington Police Department, Peru Police Department, LaSalle Police Department, FBI, Illinois State Police and the Illinois Attorney General’s office. 

“When Jelani was missing and everything was occurring, I didn’t want to be seen as that person, the stereotype of an ‘angry Black woman,’” said Carmen. “I tried to let them do their job and trust them, thinking they knew what was best even though they weren’t doing their job.” 

Carmen Day said she experienced a lack of communication from police and observed delays in searching and failure to unveil evidence. 

“There was no urgency, it was not a concern to them,” she said. “They stereotyped my son. They questioned how he was driving such a nice car. An officer came to me six days into him being missing and said they had spoken to several people and no one could say anything bad about Jelani. Instead of trying to look for him, they were trying to see if they could find anything to justify not looking for him.”

Natalie Wilson, co-founder and CEO of the Black and Missing Foundation, said that approach is common when people of color go missing.

“Many times the police look into the background and try to discredit the missing individual,” Wilson said. “All of our missing are not criminals, they’re not thugs and they’re not running away. These are our mothers, fathers, children, grandparents that are disappearing at an alarming rate.”

In the search for evidence, Jelani’s wallet and school lanyard were recovered near the scene; however, his phone was not found until October on the side of a highway in Bloomington. Carmen learned about the discovery through social media.

“The Friday of the week he went missing, my (other) son had been trying to purchase all of these different apps and everything trying to locate his phone,” said Carmen. “We contacted Verizon and Apple. The Bloomington detective called me at 4:30 p.m. and informed me that he’d be getting off of work at 5 p.m. and that if we didn’t hear anything back by then, he’d contact us on Monday. I began to wonder, between now and Monday, who was going to be looking for my baby? He informed me that they didn’t have the manpower.”

She was instructed to contact the Peru Police Department for assistance. 

“And that was our phone call,” said Carmen Day. “He was going back home to his family to enjoy his weekend, and I was out there with all these questions, wondering where my son was, having to figure it all out on my own.”

Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old travel vlogger, was reported missing around the same time as Day. 

As stated by the Jelani Day Foundation, major news outlets covered her disappearance extensively, with non-stop coverage, widespread social media attention and FBI involvement. 

“Families like Jelani’s are not getting the proper police resources, media attention or community engagement,” said Wilson. “Visibility is key.

According to the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, cases involving White victims are more likely to be covered repeatedly on television news coverage and for longer durations than cases involving Black victims. 

“We as people don’t want to accept that racism and disparity still exist, but it does,” said Carmen Day. “It is terrible that people still look down on Black people as though we don’t matter. Jelani deserved the same resources and attention that Gabby Petito received. She appeared on several news channels and all over social media. I couldn’t get anybody to talk about this missing Black boy that I needed help finding. A news reporter once told me that the reason Jelani didn’t get a lot of coverage was because he didn’t have a strong social media presence.” 

On Sept. 4, 2021, a body was discovered in the Illinois River. It was not until Sept. 23, about 19 days after the body was discovered that the remains were identified as Jelani Day. 

Day was set to be a stem cell donor for his father, who died of leukemia eight months later. 

“I remember the Peru police chief said to me: ‘We’re sorry. You’re right. We didn’t do our job 100 percent, but tomorrow we’re going to start over as if it’s day one.’” Carmen Day said. “Do you know how disrespectful that was? To stand there—after being cursed out, dismissed and ignored—for you to stand before me, tell me this is my child and to apologize and say we didn’t do our job. Disrespect is not even the word.” 

The LaSalle County coroner, Rich Ploch, ruled the cause of death as drowning. However, Carmen Day is adamant that her son was murdered. 

“There are so many unanswered questions on what happened to Jelani,” said Wilson. “What his family wants is not only answers but justice. Who did this? Who murdered Jelani? Here it is five years later and she’s still nowhere closer to getting those answers. They still don’t have the answers that they deserve.”

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights giant and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, served as a prominent advocate for the Day family. He died in February 2026. 

“When he came into the picture his health was already not the best,” said Carmen Day. “But that man, his mind was sharp. He was calling the governor, the attorney general and trying to set up meetings. He was at the media, talking to them and making sure they talked to me. He was sending people to the police stations and making sure we held marches. I’d say, ‘Pops, don’t leave me. I need you,’ and he’d reply with ‘Daughter, you got this.’ But I don’t, I don’t have it. I feel helpless because the main person that was helping me to even have the exposure, gain the attention and have resources available has now passed.”

A year after her son’s death, she launched the Jelani Day Foundation (JDF) to raise awareness of his case and provide updates on the investigation. The foundation’s colors are purple, as Jelani was a member of the Nu Epsilon Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. at Alabama A&M University. 

“I knew after I buried him that I wanted to do something to continue his legacy,” said Carmen Day. “God does not have me going through this for nothing, there’s something that I have to do. I did not want him to be forgotten. I wanted to help other families because people began to reach out to me. Mothers and fathers with loved ones that were missing were reaching out to me for help.”

The foundation will host the “4th Annual All-Black Fundraising Gala” on Aug. 22. All proceeds will be donated to support families of color with a missing loved one.  

“She is turning her pain into a resource to help other people so no one has to go through that,” Wilson said. 

To learn more, follow @thejelanidayfoundation and @justiceforjelaniday on social media. 

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