The mother of Jelani Day, the Illinois State University graduate student who was found dead just days after being reported missing, is expected to discuss developments regarding new evidence in her son's case Friday evening.
Carmen Bolden Day and Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. are expected to speak during a Zoom town hall update Friday evening.
Day disappeared on Aug. 24 and was reported missing soon after by his family and a professor after he did not show up for class for several days. Bolden Day said it was not like him to disappear without telling someone about his whereabouts.
His cause of death was ruled as a drowning, the LaSalle County Coroner said Oct. 25, however the manner of death hadn't been determined.
Authorities previously noted "unusual" circumstances surrounding both his disappearance and the discovery of his body.
Day's mother also recently cited undisclosed discrepancies between an autopsy done by the LaSalle County Coroner's office and an independent autopsy ordered by the family.
Local
Reports had surfaced indicating Day's body was missing several organs when an independent autopsy was ordered by the family, but Day's mother and the coroner later dispelled those rumors.
LaSalle County Coroner Richard Ploch told NBC 5 in a statement "some were severely decomposed due to the body being in the water," but he noted that no organs were missing.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
Still, Bolden Day said questions lingered following the two autopsies.
"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," she said in a statement.
She did not comment further on the "contradicting facts" she cited between the autopsies, but continued her cry for answers.
"My son was murdered and my goal and purpose are to find out what happened and hold those responsible accountable!!!” Bolden Day wrote.
