According to the Pantagraph, a LaSalle County coroner revealed on Monday that Jelani Day’s cause of death was drowning, though Day’s mother, among countless others, aren’t wholly convinced.
Earlier this week, LaSalle County Coroner Richard Ploch wrote about Day’s autopsy results, “After consideration of the currently known circumstances surrounding his death, based upon review of the extensive available investigation, medical and dental information, and after postmortem examination with multiple ancillary and special studies, the cause of death of this positively identified 25-year-old male, Jelani Jesse Javonte Day, is drowning.”
Two months after 25-year-old Jelani Day was reported missing, authorities released a medical cause of death. https://t.co/CvkmNHxykG
— The Pantagraph (@Pantagraph) October 25, 2021
Adding even more mystery to the case, the Illinois-based coroner added, “The manner in which Mr. Day went into the Illinois River is currently unknown.”
As NewsOnyx previously reported, Day’s vehicle was discovered in a wooded area on Aug. 26, shortly after the student was reported missing by his family. Then considered a missing person, Day’s case was often compared with that of Gabby Petito, with many calling out the obvious differences in race and media coverage. And though Day’s body was unfortunately discovered in the Illinois River on Sept. 4, many were still confused on how the 25-year-old possibly got there.
Describing her son as an “avid swimmer,” Carmen Bolden Day reportedly spoke out this week following Ploch’s findings, making it plain that she suspects foul play, according to NBC Chicago. In a social media post, she stated, “I don’t care what their press releases say, my baby was killed,” the outlet reported, adding, “He did not drown himself.”
Related Post: UPDATE: Jelani Day’s Body Missing Vital Organs
The grad student’s family held a burial service for the promising young student on Oct. 19, with Rev. Jesse Jackson by their side to offer support. According to WGLT, the famed civil rights leader spoke to the Illinois State University Black Student Union on Monday, telling the crowd that he, too, doesn’t fully believe the coroner’s report.
“It’s insane. We don’t believe that,” he reportedly stated, continuing, “Local investigators cannot be trusted with this. We need the state attorney general (Kwame Raoul), a federal investigation, the FBI, the Department of Justice, (and) President Biden.”
