Jelani Day's mother blows hole in missing organs theory, as story takes a new twist
PEORIA, ILLINOIS: In an unexpected twist to Jelani Day's brutal murder case, the mother of the slain student has now refuted the claim of vital organs being missing from his body. Originally reported by Chicago Sun-Times, it was earlier shared that Jelani Day's body was found in a gruesome state, with his eyeballs, brain, liver and spleen missing and his genitalia almost unidentifiable. Additionally, the report by Chicago Sun-Times also stated that Day's family attorney Hallie Bezner said his organs were "completely liquiefied."
However, Day's mother Carmen Bolden-Day has now confirmed that no organs were missing from her son's body. Dismissing the earlier reports, she stated, “No organs were missing. I do not want to stray off from the facts. There were contradicting facts from the first preliminary autopsy compared to the second independent autopsy, but this is not a case of organ harvesting. However, my son did not put himself in a river. My son was murdered and my goal and purpose are to find out what happened and hold those responsible accountable.”
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Before Jelani Day's body was discovered on September 4, 2021, his mother had expressed distress over the limited coverage of her son's case. Carmen Day had said, "I was very frustrated with the fact that Jelani hadn’t been getting the coverage. Jelani has been missing for 24 days. It appears that help has ceased. I’m imploring, pleading, and asking that the police still pay attention and look for my son.” She had cited Gabby Petito's case and added, "Her face is plastered everywhere, and the FBI is involved. And I do not understand why Jelani doesn’t get that same coverage; Jelani doesn’t get that same attention."
The Illinois State University student went missing on August 25 but only gained attention over the past few days after the massive interest in the case of Gabby Petito. The 25-year-old student's body was found floating in the Illinois River but it took 19 days to identify, sparking furious backlash on social media over the difference between the case of a White person and a Black person.
As soon as the Chicago Sun-Times report about missing organs surfaced, social media burst out with raging demands for 'Justice For Jelani'. Reflecting on the same, Carmen Bolden-Day has dismissed the brutal theories and insisted that Jelani Day's death was indeed murder with sinister motives. It was not suicide as suggested by FBI before, nor was it a case of organ harvesting.
According to WMBD, LaSalle County Coroner's Office, who performed the autopsy on Day's body, has not made any comments on the claims of missing organs yet. Meanwhile, the investigation is being continued by LaSalle County Sheriff's Office.